Sedona's a Slice of Heaven!

We just returned from another fantastic Sedona camping trip. I feel so fortunate to live less than 2 hours from such an amazingly beautiful place.

I convinced our neighbors, the Waters family to join us for the long weekend; the kids had off school on Monday and Tuesday for Fall Break. This was probably the 6th or 7th time I'd asked them to join us and I was on the verge of giving up. When she said "yes" I was pleasantly surprised; the kids were ecstatic!

The boys and I drove up on Friday night and put the tent up in the dark. Fortunately I'd brought both of our small tents, so we opted for the old tent since we're more familiar with it. After putting it up all summer it was a breeze.

When the Waters' arrived the following day I started helping Mike put up their tent only to discover that they'd forgotten the hardware and tent poles. Ooops. Once again it was a fortunate fact that I'd brought along that extra tent! Nothing like cramming a family of 5 into a small 4 person tent!

Our campsite sat on Oak Creek so the kids spent countless hours playing in the water, catching minnows, jumping from red rock ledges, capturing caterpillars, playing in the mud and rock hopping. It was glorious!

I found myself saying "dirt don't hurt", "just add water" and "just add dirt". These are the keys the real fun with kids!

Weekend's almost over...where did the time go?

I can't believe it's Sunday night and almost 9:30...where did the weekend go?

I picked up our Bountiful Basket yesterday morning at 7am and then came home to cut and clean the produce. I've learned that if I get on that immediately I'm much less likely to let it sit in the produce drawer and rot. So often I buy fruits and veggies with good intentions but then when I decide to eat them it's too late...they're rotting. My basket was loaded with tons of great stuff as usual. I absolutely believe every family should become involved with this incredible co-op. It's such an incredible bargain for the amount of food you get ($16.50 for everything you see in the photo). I actually took some of it to my friend Dani because I knew we wouldn't finish it all. Funny because she said she didn't order hers this week because she had stuff left over from last time.

Dani and I had a great time chatting and working towards finishing some projects. I created a deck of playing cards using our summer vacation photos. The template was just perfect and I know the boys will love playing with those cards. Then I ended up starting another version of my vacation book. This is actually the 3rd book I've started...why can't I just settle on one already? This latest version is very simple but I'm able to include way more pictures. I think it'll end up being a 100 page book which is very cool. It would be a first for me. But, I took thousands of photos so it seems appropriate since it was a 6 week trip too.

Today I took the boys to a birthday party at a friends house. They have a gargantuan swimming pool with an amazing slide that's like 25 feet long. I went down it a few times the last time we were there and ended up scraping my foot, elbow and hip. I guess that's what I get for going down on my stomach like a kid. I don't expect that I'll ever fully grow up! Today I felt a little anti-social as I was tired, had a headache and had a lot on my mind. Some days are just like that.

I have to get out and hopefully buy a different car this week. I somehow need to get over my anxiety about my trade in and hope that I get what I need to pay it off and then can get into something that I'll hang on to for years to come. I do not enjoy the car buying process since I feel like they're all being dishonest with me.

Oh, a quick update on Jack's teacher (the one who said he had ADHD). I asked him for a meeting last week because I felt I needed to clear the air with him. I went to the principal over the incident and I'm sure he got a talking to about his comments (even though he denied saying them). I still wasn't comfortable with Jack's placement in his class and was getting myself worked up over it all. I met with him Friday afternoon for about 45 minutes.

It truly did help to sit down with him on and talk about Jack's progress, issues, etc. One thing I found out is that Jack gets "in trouble" (not what the teacher called it, but what I call it) because he finishes his work so quickly and then bugs the other kids, or gives them answers to the work. He's simply not being challenged enough. He said that he already tested at 98% mastery for reading for 1st grade. I'm not at all surprised. He then mentioned that he'd like to have Jack tested for the gifted program. I told him he was tested last year (it should be in his file) and he came back gifted in visual/spatial. He didn't realize this. I'm thinking that after a month of school he might have had a chance to look at his file, but I know they've got a lot on their plates. But, I did mention that to the principal when I met with her because I knew Jack was bored so she at least could have mentioned it to him too.

There's such a lack of communication in the schools. I often wonder if I should consider having him tested for 2nd grade and just go ahead and move him up. I don't even know if that's possible at this point...probably not. I never wanted to have him be the youngest in the class, but it's just such a hassle each year to try to get them to challenge him. I think he'd adapt just fine if I did this...but we'll see.

I wanted to share this book review from Natural Moms Talk Radio

Nature’s Playground: Activities, Crafts, and Games to Encourage Children to Get Outdoors

The general consensus among parents, teachers and child development experts is that kids nowadays spend too much time indoors in front of the computer or TV. Yet there is so much to learn from exploring nature. And when they have the opportunity and encouragement, kids love to climb trees and generally roam about outside.
What can parents do to inspire their kids to spend more time outside?

The book Nature’s Playground is a book full of activities and ideas to get the children away from modern trappings and out into the exciting world.

It offers lots of fantastic and adventurous activities, games and crafts that provide hours of fun during the different seasons.

From building a den with branches, how to be a nature detective, treasure hunts, sail wooden boats across a pond, bows and arrows, stargazing, mud activities, making bug boxes, collecting and discovering insects as well as safe activity ideas after dark – all of this and more is contained within this book.

Give your kids the greatest gift of their childhood, let them play in the earth’s biggest playground – Nature. The benefits of discovering nature are multifold. It strengthens their development and growth, but it also makes them aware of nature and how to treat it.

Get those muddy boots on and enjoy the great outdoors!

Make a Nature Frame using your Beach Shells!

Make & Do Activity

Nature Frames
Not sure what to do with all the shells your child collected during your beach vacation? Make this crafty frame!

What you do:

Paint a plain wooden picture frame (available at craft stores), using a brush and a small bottle of acrylic paint. Let it dry completely.

Brush Tacky Glue on the front of the frame, and then stick on small natural items such as acorns, pine needles, pebbles, or sea shells. Try to match the decorations to the photo or artwork you'll put in the frame.

Let the frame dry for at least a day before inserting your favorite photo or artwork.

Adapted from Ranger Rick magazine. Craft by Robin Walker. Photo by Susan McElhinney.

Love your TREE!

Almost 4 years ago I developed what my mom calls "a tree fetish". I've always loved trees, but after attending one of the most entertaining live shows I've ever been to I left with a new appreciation for trees.

Eve Ensler's show "The Good Body" was a collection of monologues she performed after traveling all over the world to find out if women outside of the US had such extreme issues with their bodies as we American's do. What is it with women...we all hate something about our bodies? I've always hated my stomach. It's never been flat but instead more rounded with rolls that fluctuate in size throughout the month. Eve hates her stomach too so when she spoke of this I laughed so hard I cried. If she ever came back to Scottsdale I know I could singlehandedly sell out one of her shows just through word of mouth!

My favorite part of the play is when she tells the story of walking with an African woman and asking her if she loved her body. The woman clearly thought it was a weird question, but when she asked it back to Ensler, Eve had an answer all ready, about how she hated her stomach pouch (just like me). After expressing to Eve how each of her body parts had a purpose...strong legs to wrap around a man while making love or to carry her to get water, breasts to give her children life, strong arms to work hard in the fields, etc. Then the woman pointed out two trees on the road and asked Eve to compare them. Was one prettier than the other? Of course they're both beautiful, they're trees... they're different, yes, but... She told Ensler, "I'm a tree. You're a tree. You've got to love your tree."

I had a profound reaction to this idea...that we're all trees, beautiful and unique. I've embraced this idea and even intend to get a tree tattoo on my back soon. I have the design all picked out. Extreme yes...but a good reminder I can live with for the rest of my life.

I took the tree photo above inside Arches National Park this summer. I love this beautiful tree. I turned the photo into a 16 x 20 canvas poster with the following quote: "I willingly confess to so great a partiality for trees as tempts me to respect a man in exact proportion to his respect for them." by James Russell Lowell. I guess that says it all!

10 Favorite Things about Camping at Canyon Point Last Weekend

Ok, I started to do a post about our camping trip and it was way too long to post. I've always known that I'm long winded, so I decided to try lists instead.

Camping at Canyon Point was amazing! There were highs and lows, but overall mostly highs.

Top Ten Things About Our Weekend at Canyon Point!

1. Riding bikes around the campground. I followed Jack as he rode his bike through as many mud puddles as he could find. The muddy trail of droplets extending up his back and into his hair were adorable. It reinforced my desire to get the kids better bikes for their birthday/Christmas gifts this year and to get my own bike tuned up. The kids need gears and lighter weight bikes!


2. Watching and listening to the kids explore the forest behind our campsite. They didn't fight but instead played imaginatively.


3. Playing poker in the rain. Thank goodness I grabbed the plastic poker chips and cards as an afterthought. Thank goodness I also suggested that we bring the covered awning since there was a possibility of rain...that turned to 100% quite a few times during the weekend.


4. Pushing the kids on the hammock only to have the cord break. The kids went flying and Sammy got hit in the head by the wooden part of the hammock. They were so stunned, but before anyone could cry we started laughing hysterically. A couple was walking by at the time and they couldn't help but laugh too. Too bad no one was video taping.


5. Waking up before the sunrise and taking photos in the quiet of the morning.


6. Having flushing toilets and a shower!!!


7. The glorious cool mountain air and break from the Phoenix heat.


8. Cooking steaks and corn on the cob on the grill. Food never tasted so good!


9. Watching the kids whittle with their pocket knives. Grandpa taught them how to do it safely.


10. Watching Daddy play catch with Sammy. This may seem minor, but he rarely does that at home.

A few low points:

1. Friend's dog we're "dogsitting" pooped in my van TWICE! I learned that water and hand sanitizer does a pretty good clean up job...but how disgusting!


2. Why does it always seem to rain when we go camping? We had to pack up a wet tent which meant we had to spread it out at home to dry off. We've got it down to a science since it happens often.


3. We didn't catch any fish since we don't really know what we're doing when it comes to fishing. I'm ready to take lessons soon!


4. Old woman who was working at Aspen Campground wouldn't let me drive through to see the campsites. Why do some people have to be so overly cautious about rediculous things like this? What did she think I was going to do...sneak in a stay there even though we were already paying for Canyon Point? I just wanted to see the site for future camping trips.


5. Having to pay about $15 for supplies to make s'mores since I forgot all our supplies. One sleeve of crackers was $2.00! Insane but necessary...how can we camp without s'mores?


6. Sleeping in a tent with kids who insist on talking in their sleep. Jack said "Patches peed on my sleeping bag! Patches peed on my sleeping bag!" haha...she didn't.


7. Dog's in tent kept moving around and licking themselves...this is a sickening sound in the dead silence.


8. Why does my face break out every time I camp? Ok, it has to be the dirt...but why???


9. Seeing garbage left all over the forest. What's wrong with people?


10. Getting car sick on our drive home. Why didn't I drive like I always do?

Next camping trip...Labor Day Weekend in Sedona at Chavez Crossing. We've never been there so I hope all goes well.

Photos from Canyon Point Campground