Butterflies

One of the things we did while in Tucson was go to the Tucson Botanical Gardens. They had a butterfly exhibit going on that was pretty amazing. We got to go into this huge room that was filled with tropical butterflies. That meant that one--the room was extremely hot and humid and two--everyone had to be extremely careful going in and out of the room to make sure none of the butterflies escaped. There were so many of them flying around that it wasn't uncommon to see one land on you. Or in my case, two mating butterflies landed on my hip! Someone who worked there brushed them off for me because apparently they usually mate for around two hours!

Butterflies love citris fruits! What do you expect from tropical butterflies? Of course, I'm sure any butterfly would like them.

The butterflies were beautiful and unusual.

Skye seemed to enjoy them, but when she discovered this little pond with fish, she was more interested in them than the butterflies. We had to keep an eye on her to make sure she didn't get in with the fish!

Surrounded by Cactus

Here are some pictures while hiking in the cactus forest. Some people think the desert is ugly and there are parts that are pretty plain, but this area is not one of them. It was so beautiful there. Lance and I are amazed by all of the different kinds of cactus. We had a great time being out in this beautiful nature. I thought this saguaro cactus was cool looking.
Be careful around the jumping cactus. It might look soft and fuzzy, but you may get poked! Lance is pushing Skye in the stroller in the background.

A view of the trail we were on. Look at all the cactus!

Look at that monster! There are so many different kinds of cactus and they come in a variety of colors like this purple cholla.

More saguaros.

Skye had fun wandering among the cactus. Don't worry, we have taught her that they are pokey and that they make you go "ow."

A family picture.

The fruit of the cholla.

Tucson Vacation

Last weekend we took a trip to Tucson since Lance had President's Day off. We stayed at the Hilton...it was alright. Skye had fun climbing around their sign.

On Sunday, we went to the cactus forest at Saguaro National Park. Lance likes this picture because he said both Skye and I look worried in it which reflected the situation. Skye was sleepy and cranky and I wondered if we'd really be able to go on the hike and enjoy our time out in this beautiful place.

Luckily, Skye fell asleep and I was able to put her down in the stroller for awhile.

However, we learned that we needed a different kind of stroller for the rough terrain we were on! If we ever go again, I'm buying a new one.

After Skye woke up, she wanted to walk around with her jammie (that's what she calls blankets) around her.

Or anytime she had her hat on, she'd pull it down over her eyes and walk around. Not the best thing to do when you're in a place called the cactus forest! What a silly girl.

She ended up having a lot of fun on the hike and after. Lance wanted to do some yoga out in the glorious Sonoran Desert. But he still found a way to play with Skye.

Skye's imagination is starting to grow. While shoveling and playing in the dirt, she pretended like she was making cookies!

Too much fun!

Our Happy Valentine's

Thanks to my amazing and fabulous visiting teacher, Tia, Lance and I were able to celebrate a wonderful, romantic Valentine's together the night before Valentine's. Tia offered to watch Skye that night so we could go on a date. We started the evening off with a couples massage which was very relaxing. Then we went out to eat at this really nice Italian restaurant called Tomaso's. I was going to take the camera to get some pictures, but I forgot. We took a few with Lance's cell phone, but the restaurant was so dark, only this one turned out mildly good. It is looking into the restuarant from where we were sitting. We wanted to go to Tomaso's to sit out on the beautiful patio that has a statue and fountain and fire, but it was too cold. Can you believe it? It was too cold! So we had to eat inside. But the food was fabulous anyway! I had the Alaskan halibut in pesto sauce (oh so delicious) while Lance had seared Ahi Tuna. Then we shared a very yummy, very chocolate dessert. It was one of the best dates we've been on in a long time! Then Lance bought me a turqoise ring and bracelet in Tucson (more on that to come later) as a Valentine's present. I love turqoise! What a great husband and what a great Valentine's!

Isn't it interesting to wonder what your kids will be like when they get older based on what they are like when they are little? Skye is definitely a girl--she's emotional, she's dramatic, she loves girly things like shoes, purses, and talking on the phone. But sometimes I wonder if she'll end up as a tomboy because she also likes things like football, basketball, climbing, trucks, and tools. She gets super excited any time Lance gets his tools out to work on something and wants to join in. The other night he was working on his bike and of course Skye had to get involved.

Last night, he was putting his tools in the new tool box I got him for Valentine's Day and Skye wanted her car brought in so she could use the tools to work on her car.

Any bets on which way she'll go? Total girl or tomboy? Or do they just change so much the more they grow that you can't tell anything about them at this age other than that they like to imitate and have fun?

6th Picture

Jessica tagged me and this is how it goes:

1. Go to my documents/pictures.
2. Go to my 6th file folder.
3. Go to my 6th picture.
4. Blog about it.

Well, I take so dang many pictures that we put them on a separate hard drive so as not to take up so much space on the computer. So I went to a folder on the hard drive that has pictures, went to the 6th file down, and this is the 6th picture. This is Lance's friend, George, out at Stansbury Island many years ago.

Since none of you know George, I thought I'd add a couple of pictures of Lance, too. He's the one with his arms folded. For some reason, I just love this picture of Lance. I think he looks so hot and sexy (you have to zoom in on him)! I hope no one minds me talking about my husband that way!And here he is climbing with those strong, sexy arms!

Things Skye Likes

Talking on the phone. (She was talking to Cookie in this picture.) Riding Copper, her rocking horse.
Balloons...

especially balloons that look like horses.

Wearing Daddy's hat.

Skye loves to play and hang out with Daddy after he gets home from work.

Superstitions and Legends

On Saturday, we went out to the Superstition Mountains to do some climbing. Here's another yucca plant (see previous post) with Lance standing next to it to get a little better perspective on how tall they are. We had a fun time out in the desert sunshine with the desert plants. Skye was even tremendously good. She sat and played while Lance and I climbed without making any kind of a fuss. Maybe next time we can search for the lost Dutchman's gold mine. The legend is that an immigrant discovered some great gold mine in the Superstition Mountains, but kept the location secret until on his deathbed. But even then, there was no exact location given--just hints as to where it might be. Interesting, huh?

We Live in the Desert

There are strange things about the desert. I've heard or read about them. One of the things is size--it seems that in order to adapt to the harsh conditions of the desert, things are either very small or very big. Nope, the picture below is not a tree. It is a yucca plant--a thrity or so foot tall yucca plant. Have you ever seen something like that? I hadn't until I moved here. It's really crazy! Another strange thing are the trees. It was strange how they didn't even start changing color until December. They started losing their leaves in January. Now, they are budding! There are trees (pictured below) that have a few dead leaves hanging on (that only change color a month or two ago) that also have new buds on them already! After coming here from having lived in Utah my whole life, it is indeed a strange sight to see.