Boys and Toads.

We went on an outing with some friends on Saturday and had a really nice ride up in some remote parts of the Arizona outback. Crossed several streams and bumpy sections, and the kids had a great time.


Amazing resilience.


Arianna has really taken to climbing. Trees, rocks, whatever...she likes a climbing challenge.


They loved playing in the creek with their friends Kaleb and Owen.



At some point one of the boys found this toad and Kohl took to it like nothing I've ever seen before. He's usually quite sheepish of things like this, but it was an instant bond.



He absolutely loved holding it and showing it to the other kids....you can see that Arianna (while not scared of it) was a little less impressed by the bumpy beast.



A Boy's first Toad



"But Papa...I love him"

Like I said, never seen him so stricken over something like this before. This pic was after I told him that we'd have to let it go...to get back to his home. He was really sad. But I just couldn't see Irene lovin the idea of a pet toad in the house. He eventually let it go with a promise to stop by the pet shop some day. We'll see.

Mountain Lions, Wild Pigs, Coyotes, Bobcats and Killer Bee

They weren't exactly on the Las Sendas Gated Community Living Brochure. Combine that with the local fauna, where "if it's not pokey or poisonous it's not native", the 120 degree days in the summer, and torrential monsoons; you might start to understand why some people say they'd NEVER live here. Not to mention all the creepy crawlies, scorpions, snakes, yada, yada, yada. But I wouldn't have it any other way...I love how rough and raw it still really is out in the desert. We honestly love it here, especially this time of year. 70s and 80s all day long, even peaked to 90 on Monday. The kids love playing outside, riding bikes, and going to the park. AZ is great, come and visit anytime...except June- August. ;)




This swarm of killer bees that set up residence across the street in a Palo Verde. Luckily the guy who lived there is an Entomologist and let us know it was only a temporary thing. I guess when the old queen moves out, her loyals follow her and gather like this to protect her once she lands. The scouts go off and find a suitable spot to restart the colony and come back and report. It was interesting to see quite a few of them doing the buzz buzz shaking dance. (giving directions)





Fist signs of spring....January BTW ;)





Careful when you stop to smell the flowers.







Saguaro cactus that's probably over 80 years old. (another 80-90 to go)

Peek - A - Boo

Joaquin continues to grow and get more of a personality. Just recently he picked up playing peek-a-boo and get's quite a kick out of it. He's got to be the happiest baby alive. He doesn't complain much, even when he's teething like crazy. I think we're now at 8 chompers in 7 months. OUCH!