The Rains Came Down and the Floods Came Up

A few weeks ago, while all of Arizona was sleeping snug in our beds, records were being made. Mesa got about 4 inches of rain in a matter of hours. It was the rainstorm of the century in these parts. There was tons of flooding, but more fun to be had than anything. At the local retention basin, aka - dog park, it was overflowing.

 The neighborhood behind the basin...

{what it normally looks like}

People were swimming in it {Eww - that's a dog park peeps!} and in other areas close by people were jet skiing. Cray cray!

The retention basins where they were jet skiing were also the ones that got so filled up the basketball hoops and ramadas were completely submerged under water. That's a lot of water for this little ol' desert. These storms have sure made for beautiful skies...

&
infestations of mosquitoes. Which is no bueno.
Another rainstorm like that and we might just have ourselves some waterfront property!

All this rain has me humming a childhood favorite primary song:
The Wise Man & The Foolish Man

 The wise man built his house upon the rock,

The wise man built his house upon the rock,

The wise man built his house upon the rock,

And the rains came tumbling down.

The rains came down, and the floods came up,

The rains came down, and the floods came up,

The rains came down, and the floods came up,

And the house on the rock stood still.

 The foolish man built his house upon the sand,

The foolish man built his house upon the sand,

The foolish man built his house upon the sand,

And the rains came tumbling down.

The rains came down, and the floods came up,

The rains came down, and the floods came up,

The rains came down, and the floods came up,

And the house on the sand washed away.

Summertime Continued

In Arizona, the summers last half the year. We've still got a good couple of months left of uncomfortable heat. {However, this August has got to be one of the coolest I've ever experienced, thanks to all the monsoon action.} Which means we still find ways to escape it. Before I left for Denver, we happened to be over at Beth's when her kids were getting ready to go swimming in their new above ground pool. Ollie is always up for a swim & soon they were all bobbing around in the water making whirlpools. 

Ollie thinks his cousins are the coolest kids in town and loves spending time with them. And I love spending time with my sister, so it's a double win.

SHARK!!!

 Drake is still adorable with his new smile. 

The morning after they set up their new pool, the poor guy slipped on the steps climbing out and completed knocked out his front tooth. Whoops! You're still a cutie pie Drakey!

After, to dry off, Oliver enjoyed a nice jump on the trampoline. {Jordan says he looks like a frog when he's stretched out like this. :)  }

 

I think Ollie would seriously move all his hats, shoes & blankies over to their house if he thought that was an option. Beth is due with Petey #5 at the end of October, and I made this especially soft quilt just for her.

In a desperate effort to disperse some of Oliver's endless two-year-old energy, we've been taking him on walks around the block. He moseys along, smelling flowers, licking dirt covered pine cones, and pointing out every "backetball" hoop he sees. He always comes back from these walks with bright red cheeks so our cure is a BIG drink of water and a cool bath/shower.

 Thumbs Up!

Or in other words, "Good effort, Mom & Dad - - but I could still run circles around all ya'll! Like this..."

Ollie, you're trouble, but you make us all laugh.

And the summer marches on!

Vacation for One

I gave myself the weekend off and flew to Denver to hang with my seester!!! Boy, oh, boy, did I have a grand time. I had such a good time and Jordan took such great care of my boy that I think I should do this quarterly. {Sound like a plan, Jordan?!} 

Elyce took me for ice cream {my fave} 

at the cutest little ice cream shop ever. It's a milk can.

I am still drooling over the Honey Almond & Banana Chip flavors I devoured. So tasty!

We walked past this cute house on the way. 

Adorable. Why oh why do they not make houses like this anymore! Cryin' shame!

We did some shopping, walked around a fabric store & saw a movie. Then after dinner on the drive home, we oohed & ahhed at the gorgeous sunset. 

The next day we shopped some more, had a yummy, relaxing lunch {with a gorgeous view}, chatted a few hours away, then met up with Anita {who unfortunately worked that morning & afternoon} and went to the Denver Botanical Gardens. 

There was a special Chihuly exhibit that we wanted to check out. Wowzers!

The weather could not have been more perfect. 

Elyce informed me we walked 8 miles that day {thanks to her fitbit}. So I think we deserved to spoil ourselves with a fabulous meal at Elway's.

 Well hello there homemade ding dong! Don't mind if I do!

Before I caught a flight home the next day, we layed out by the pool, had lunch, and chillaxed. I even took a short nap. It was a perfect trip - thank you ladies for revitalizing this tired mama!

Meanwhile, back at the ranch...Ollie didn't miss me for one minute. He took the car for a spin around the block {not really, obviously}.

He hung out with Beth & Drake

where he danced to 'What Does the Fox Say' - his favorite thing to do over there.

Went swimming with some new friends {Ginny & Stephen were babysitting their nephews & niece and invited my boys over to play}

"Backetball!"

And ate dry cereal with a spoon. Weird. 

I took this the first morning I got back/first time seeing Ollie in a few days.

He seems happier to see me in the video than he actually was. The video doesn't show him repeatedly asking for "Dada" and pushing me away. :(

Shoulda stayed longer! Oh, and next time, Jordan, maybe don't have as much fun so the little guy actually misses me!