Valentine's Day

Valentine's this year was more about Skye than it was about us. But sometimes the joy of seeing the surprise and happiness on your kid's face is the best thing of all. Lance got Skye this huge cupcake. She started off by sticking her finger in the frosting and eating it.

Then she stuck her fork in the frosting and started eating it! We all shared it and it was actually quite delicious!

She also got a package from my mom and dad.

This is Kiwi, the frog!

Another treat was seeing this hot air balloon. Skye spotted it out our front window in the afternoon.

My Valentine's present to Skye was two more ponies to add to her collection. She loves My Little Pony! I don't think she'll be satisfied until she's got all seven of them!

Skye Climbs Her First Peak

Here she is on the top of First Peak in South Mountain State Park. She climbed it the entire way. All along the journey she kept saying "are there yet?"

She prepared for the long hike with her game face on. No one could ruin her focus.

All of the rocky parts of the trail were her favorite. It was actually the flat parts that were the hardest for her to swallow.

Of course, there were some things to try to photograph along the way. The green leaved ocotillo is a favorite subject in the springtime.

My Climbers

Here's my little climber...
She loves climbing anything and everything, including Daddy!

She had a lot of fun climbing at the arboretum.

And she went up very high!

Lance couldn't be outdone by his two-year-old, and since good rock to climb on doesn't abound much in Phoenix...

he had to climb a tree, too!

My big climber is triumphant!

Springtime Means Picture Time

Last week, my sister-in-law came down from Utah to visit. Lance's mom and step-dad were also in town so we took them to the Boyce Thompson Arboretum for a fun day in the spring air. Things are already blooming and it was the most perfect day!

Some of the time, Skye had fun (here with Cori, Lance's sister)...

and some of the time, she didn't have fun.

You can definitely tell when she is happy and when she's not!

There was a "lake." It was really more like a pond, but it was still beautiful.

Pretty happy here.

Someone actually lives in this European style home. It was pretty magnificent.

An interesting looking saguaro.

Of course, Skye had lots of fun chasing Daddy around on the bridge.

We saw a ton of cardinals while there! I guess that's why Arizona's football team is called the cardinals!

Lance thought this was a good picture I took!

These succulent plants were just starting to bloom and were many different colors.

Cacti aren't the only plants with spines. Many plants here have poky measures to protect themselves!

I love springtime. It means I can take a lot of pictures of pretty things!