Oh Boy Oh Boy! Snow!

Just a couple of pics of Isaac that I thought came out especially well. The hat he is wearing used to be Paul's when he was a kid, and Isaac loves to wear it. Taking Isaac into the wilderness is so much fun because he is amazed by every little thing. Rocks are fascinating, as are look-out points, trees and anything else he happens upon.
While on the way up the mountain and the air started to smell like pine trees, I thought my heart would break for the joy of that smell. I hope one day Isaac will feel that same way about nature.

My Man in the Mountains

Look closely and you'll see Paul in his element. Not much to say about this picture. I thought the trees, light, shadows, snow and my husband all looked great!

Happy Hiking Dog

Shelty grew up hiking with Paul and I. As of late we haven't made much time for hiking. But whenever we get her out on the trail she is the HAPPIEST dog on Earth. She has perfect trail etiquette, she even does her business off trail! Though she is over 10 years old, she is like a puppy on the trail, it makes me thrilled to see her hopping around the trail and keeping track of her pack.
Shelty has always loved to swim, and she has always loved the snow as well. She will tear around in the snow until there's not a single patch left untouched. Just like in the sand, Shelty likes to get a good back scratch and fur cleaning by rolling around in the snow. What a good girl!

Hiking Mt. Lemmon: Snowball Fight

While on the mountain, Paul, Isaac and Brian had a snowball fight, with what was left of the icy, leftover snow from a few weeks ago. Isaac had a blast and didn't even mind getting cold and wet in his street clothes (imagine that, we don't have snow clothes here in Tucson). I stayed out of the fight by being the camerawoman, though Isaac did get me once on the stomach where it caught on the jacket tied around my waist and burrowed in.



I really wish we got to snowy places more often, even if it was Mt. Lemmon on those rare occasions when it snows. Somehow we talk about doing it every year and never happens. I guess it's one of those things I imagine will happen more when Paul isn't so busy with school...

Hiking Mt. Lemmon: Max's First Hike

It's a pathetic thing to have to admit, but Max has never been on a hike. This past weekend Paul's brother Brian came for a visit and we made the short trek up Mt. Lemmon for a hike. I wasn't sure how Max would be on trail. Shelty has always been a perfect trail dog and I had my doubts that Max could live up to her history. However, I was truly impressed that he stayed close, came when he was called and was even polite to folks we met along the way. For those of you who don't know Max, he is hyper protective of me and so we weren't sure what he'd do when we met people along the way; he can be quite crazy/obessive/bark happy. But he held it together pretty well. Yay Max!

Our Tree Decides it's Fall

In our backyard we have a huge and beautiful Chinese Pistachio tree. Every year around now, it has finally been cold enough long enough that the tree thinks it's fall. In a couple weeks it'll probably be sprouting new leaves for spring. Isaac had a great time playing in the leaves and throwing them up in the are around him. This is a rarity here in the southwest so I snapped a few pictures. By now the rain has glued them to our flagstone patio, I'm sure that'll be super fun to try to clean up...it is every year.

Isaac and His Best Buds!

One of the teachers at Isaac's school snapped this photo. I liked it so much I asked for a copy. So I present to you Isaac, Sam and Sam! These three are pretty much inseparable this year and I adore both boys so I couldn't be happier! Just to make the picture even more a sign of the times, they are playing with Legos, the biggest thing to capture Isaac's fancy as of late. Thanks for checking in and reading my blog!

Go Obama!

Like the rest of the nation, it seems, Isaac is totally stoked about Obama being our new President. At his school they took time out of their school day to watch the inauguration, I was super happy to hear that! Isaac came home and was so excited he drew this picture to show his enthusiasm and support. I was never really into politics so having him be so aware, interested and excited is thrilling for me. So, "GO, Obama, go!" we can't wait to see what you'll do!

Frost in Tuscon

Believe it or not, it actually gets chilly here in Tucson occasionally. Last week the Catalina mountains and outlying areas got snow. We got lots of rain in town and woke up to a totally frosty yard. Of course I didn't think of taking pictures until after I was walking the dogs and when I got home there was only a little left. But I got a few pictures to share. The first two are on the oak tree we planted in the backyard when Isaac was born. The tree apparently thinks that it's fall...But the frost was beautiful.















The next couple of pictures show other plants with frost. The small blue flower is Electric Blue Sage which apparently thinks that it's spring. For those of us here in the Southwest, frost is a special thing, so please bear with us as we get all excited about something many of you see as no biggy. If it makes you feel better, it's back into the 70's again here.