Lost and Found

After surviving this past week in the Phoenix sun, we are convinced that daytime outdoor activities in the summer are not a good idea. I guess that makes us locals at last. For this reason, last night we decided to take a post dinner bike ride. With the babies strapped into their carriage and the rest of us on our bikes, we headed to the dirt trail near our house.

This was a big event for Emmry as most of her riding thus far has been done as a passenger on the back of my bike. Memories of a fall last fall that sent her to the ER also filled her head, so it was with a bit of trepidation that she mounted her bike. To our amazement she rode nearly two miles with no complaint. Braden on the other hand tried his best to be patient, but a nine-year-old can only hold back so long. We therefore soon found it necessary for the peace of the family to split up with Ryan, the babies, and Braden going on ahead.

When I arrived home with Emmry, Ryan and I discovered that Braden had not been with either of us. It was late and very dark and with Braden still unfamiliar with the area, we were worried. After twenty minutes of looking on our own, we called the community patrol who instructed us to also contact the police. Ryan always has to play the cool one in these situations as I am much better at the role of frantic parent.

Thankfully prayers are answered. As I drove around I plead for help, and somewhere out there in the dark Braden did the same. From this prayer I felt truly inspired to go to the neighbors for help. Our neighbor found Braden within ten minutes. He had been circling the same trail for an hour which crossed the street only once. We feel truly blessed that their paths crossed. When Braden saw the headlights coming he said he felt he should wait and see if the car would stop. And using his words, "It did."

And what does a nine-year-old boy say to his frantic Mom after being lost in the dark for an hour? "Mom, I would have found my way home by morning."

How grateful we are for a loving Heavenly Father who answers our prayers.

Ode to a Phoenix Summer

During the past few weeks we have been enjoying our 108 degree weather to its fullest. Most people in Phoenix tend to stay indoors. We can vouch for the fact that the parks are virtually empty and the movie theaters full. The few that venture outdoors not headed for a pool are definately not locals.

Last weekend Braden participated in his first biatholon. Thankfully the locals have experienced a few Phoenix summers and chose to hold the event in the 7 a.m. 85 degree weather. Eleven and unders were required to swim 200 meters of any stoke and run 1/2 mile. Braden, being very literal in everything he does, took that to heart and chose to swim a little of each stroke including a 25 meter butterfly! His 5th place was quite an accomplishment, and though it won him a ribbon, it did not earn him the morning off from his yard work.

This week we were able to enjoy our heat to its fullest as Braden's friend Brendan from Ohio came to stay with us. I was thrilled that he would help occupy Braden's time, though his visit did present one problem: boys like to be outside. No dress ups, doll houses, or making up "stories" in the comfort of an airconditioned house. No, instead we found ourselves sweating while biking, miniature golfing, riding go-carts and motoring around on boats in the 100 plus afternoons. One of the boys' most interesting idas of the week was an insistence to build a roller coaster. They began by doing some research on-line and then came asking for materials. When they couldn't find any around the house, they refused to give up. They are very resourceful and have been taught well by our public education system to be creative, reuse, and recycle. So they found the legs to the trampoline that is not set up and a bit of duct tape (of which I have plenty) to build their track. The coaster came with a bonus water feature, as it landed the rider directly into the swim pool. Unfortunately our backyard is a bit small and there were far too few trampoline pieces, otherwise I'm sure it would have been quite the ride. The two of them have grand plans to build a roller coaster theme park when they are older. They've already named it the Rocky Road Roller Coasters and even gave it a slogan: Ready to fly? Their most expansive project will be a coaster that can be used for state to state travel. Any takers?

Today Brendan's Dad took the two boys up to the Salt River to go tubing. He said they received quite an education from the abundant number college kids on the river but otherwise enjoyed their four hours of fun. I think one of Braden's favorite parts must have been that they were allowed to pee in the river because he must have told me a half dozen times that he took advantage of it at least ten times.

Tonight we were out "enjoying" the heat with a backyard, poolside barbeque. Looking over at the babies I have decided that they have had the right idea all along. Clothes in the middle of a Phoenix summer are entirely overrated!

Baths

Whenever a child takes three baths in one day, you know you've had one humdinger of a day. But it didn't start out that way. This morning I was feeling pretty good. With the babies' diapers and pajamas duct taped on, their poop was stowed nicely away where it should be when they woke up. I really thought I had them this time and I was feeling pretty proud of myself. Unfortunately, it did not last long. On the way home from shopping this afternoon Hadley dumped a cup of pink lemonade all over herself while Chloe was angelically sleeping. This required Hadley to have a quick sponge bath, while Chloe had to be layed in bed without her "belt." With a snapped onesie and pants, I thought I was safe. I was very wrong. Two hours later Chloe was in the bath and her clothes, sheets and blankets in the wash... again.

Bath number two was in process, unbeknownst to me, right as I was gathering the kids for Braden's 6:00 swim meet. While I was packing dinner to take with us, Hadley and Chloe had taken off their clothes, climbed into the master bathtub, and turned the water on. Hadley's diaper was off, but Chloe's duct tape was holding on strong to its water filled contents. The girls were having a wonderful time and I'm sure would award it the best of the day.

(Braden swam an individual medley race, 100 meters, and took third place. Way to go!)

Bath number three was a post-dinner bath with dad in charge. Mom had had it.

Poop

Today while the babies were napping I went upstairs only to find a very familiar smell permeating through the hall. I decided I could not be sure, and descended the stairs hoping against odds that I was wrong. Not too much later I again was upstairs and this time I could no longer deny it. There was poop somewhere up there. Looking from Braden, to Emme, to their friends, I knew I would be lucky if the culprit lied there. Of coarse I found it did not, and dreaded the alternative.

I thought I had outsmarted Hadley and Chloe with the duct tape, but I've learned kids cannot be outsmarted. And so is the case with my darling little 23-month-olds that everyone tells me are so cute everywhere we go. Well, they don't look so cute covered from head to toe in poop. Yes, because the girls are unable to get their diapers off, they have chosen to just remove what is inside. Today as I creaked open the door on my napping girls there was no mistaking where the smell came from. It was even more obvious when Braden said, "Oh, disgusting!" My sweet girls were completely covered in poop. It was on their sheets, blankets, toys and stuffed animals. It was on the crib and the walls. This incident made the time Hadley scooped it all up and packaged it in a beaded purse for me seem like a blessing. So what did I do? I turned my back on it and let the girls sleep. A note to myself for the future. Dried poop is much harder to clean up than fresh poop!

The number one question we get from everyone here in Arizona is: Are you getting used to the heat?

The day after we moved in I took the kids out for a walk to our neighborhood park. Braden had instructed us that the first thing we would do when we got to Arizona was find friends, so we were on a mission. We lasted only minutes in the hundred degree weather and failed our mission as no one else was crazy enough to be out. Mercifully, the sprinklers came on, which are a novelty to my kids (no one has sprinklers in Ohio), and we had a wonderful time after all.

On the 4th of July we went to our ward's annual breakfast. Though it began at 8:00 a.m. to beat the heat, by 9:00 when the softball game started it was already pretty toasty. So, I happily chose the martyrs role and sat on the sidelines with the girls. Braden and Ryan stuck it out though, Braden hitting quite the pop fly and Ryan playing for the first time in years.

Every morning we drive down to our pool for Braden to swim with the swim team and Emmry to take lessons. Even at 9:00 a.m. it's already hot and it's all I can do to keep the babies out of the water. Thankfully, the pool has a couple baby dolls they use for the mother and baby class and Hadley and Chloe have become accustomed to dragging them around the pool. Hadley finds it very annoying that the dolls' feet have the pool's name written in magic marker on the bottom. For the first week she was trying to wash them off in the pool. The girls have a difficult time saying good bye to the babies and it has become quite a ritual. We have to kiss the babies, put them "to bed", and often make sure they are bejeweled with the diving rings before they will leave them. The ladies taking water aerobics get a kick out of watching them and are so wonderful to me with their words of encouragement.

With an average of 107 degree weather, we've decided there's nothing better than having a swim pool in your backyard. We have had a wonderful time barbecuing and swimming as a family. The Arizona heat warms the pool up to a toasty 91 degrees, so occasionally we drop ice in it to cool it off. We have only found one drowned lizard at the bottom of it, which Braden of coarse wanted to keep. Thankfully for me, Ryan was home and doing the pool cleaning that day.

Are we used to the heat? I can't say that we are, but we are extremely thankful it is without Ohio's humidity and unpredictable weather. At least we know what the weather will be like tomorrow. It's going to be hot.