"Get the camera, Mommy!"

Makana leaned over to hug her daddy, and I commented to her that she was being so sweet. She then commanded me to get the camera to capture the moment. *Sigh.*

Posing for Daddy

Makana likes her new bed and showed it off to Dave willingly. She decided on her poses. :)

Craft Day 2

Okay, so our craft days look like just play days. Yes, the crafts are excuses to gather the 2 year-olds to have fun. This time we decorated picture frames and made colorful octopuses. :) I could not gather the girls to get a group picture.

Resort Life

We felt privileged to be able to attend a marriage and family conference at a resort right here in Arizona. :) Our "hotel" experiences usually are "camping" experiences, as Dave explained to our congregation. Amongst going to various seminars (Dave and I tag-teaming with Makana to be able to attend), talking with godly people, being encouraged and encouraging others there, we RELAXED--because we WERE NOT in charge! :) What a novel feeling!

Makana loved being able to choose which pool she'd swim in every day. She prefered the pools over the water park on the premesis. Makana grew increasingly courageous in the water throughout the week. Posted are pictures taken on our last day. She especially loved playing basketball with the tubes and jumping into the water in many different ways. :)

Farmland Revisited

Makana looked forward to picking fruits and veggies again. :) She was especially excited about picking the "bob-tomatoes" in the field. We have two little plants in our backyard, but they are not prolific by anyone's standards. She has to wait weeks before another tomato is ripened. Makana did take the time to pose on the watermelon and in front of the big stack of hay bales. :)

It took a while to get anything into our bucket at the orchard because every time we picked a peach, Makana would ask, "May I eat it?"

Happy Birthday, United States! :)

We spent a part of the 4th of July with our Ground Floor friends. It was especially fun for Makana when Daddy took her into the pool in our friends' backyard. We didn't come prepared for the pool, but that never stops fun from happening with Daddy. On the way to watch fireworks that night, Dave stopped at TJ Maxx to get Makana another outfit (great deal!).

Luxury Camping

A couple of weekends ago we sought refuge in the mountains to camp with our dorm friends from two USAF bases. :) "Where are the tents?" you may ask. They were on clearings with retaining walls! We didn't have to smooth out our area for our tent and hope to avoid the inevitable tree trunk that always seems to be there! The ground was as smooth as you get on a mountain in Arizona.

Derek was our expert pyro-man. He not only brought up the firewood (as it is monsoon season, and we weren't sure if we could gather enough dry timber on the mountain), but he also tended to the fire that NEVER went out--even during our 20-minute downpour!

We also had a ramada (shelter) in which to gather, and it had a pump for potable water--imagine that! Now that feature is luxury at a campsite! :)

The campers helped me de-silk the corn, but questioned the idea of leaving the husks on. I told them we'd soak the corn and then put it on the fire, and it should make some yummy eats. In disbelief during dinner, we kept hearing, "Oh, the corn IS good!" Thanks to Martha Stewart and the FoodNetwork, I didn't doubt myself too much but was very validated when at least one of the volunteers recognized the technique. :)

Those jeans just hanging around? They belonged to one of the ladies, for she sat down in the dark in a rain drenched chair that then spilled its contents onto the next level of recliners beneath her. :) Ah--camping!

I am always in shock when people tell me it is their first time camping and/or hiking. I feel privileged to be a part of their first of hopefully many more experiences in the great outdoors that our God has created.

We are once again thrilled that Makana loves the outdoors. When we had to leave on Saturday night, Makana was upset because she wanted to sleep in the tent again. We left our tent for another person to use, as we needed to get back in time for Dave to preach in the morning. Also, because we had a big group hiking the 6-mile loop, Makana had to ride in her backpack most of the way. She kept asking to be let down to hike, but we insisted it was a "special" hike, and we needed to move quickly. That is something that is not Makana's forte when hiking. Thus, she was excited to be let loose at the creek at the end of the hike to throw her rocks and to do a bit of hiking herself. :)

Bribery

Who would have thought that potty training would include 2 $3 puzzles? Makana is not thrilled to be "trained," and her pediatrician encouraged me to do. As a dutiful mother, I am trying to train her to sit on the potty. While other children were enticed by food (candies or other treats), stickers, activities, and even money, none of those things worked with Makana. What does Makana LOVE to do? Her puzzles--BINGO!

She will sit on the potty chair for her one "potty puzzle." Makana also helped to pick out another "prize puzzle," which she dubs as her "surprise puzzle." If she lands any sort of right stuff in the bucket, she earns her "surprise."

BTW--Hope the pic is not scandalous to you.

More Backyard Fun :)

Big Girl's Bed

If you're remotely interested in the story:

We're getting Makana ready to transition to another room and to her twin-size bed. We were debating between getting a toddler and a twin bed. I scoured the sales ads and the classifieds (paper and online) and was actually quite depressed with what I saw. We hunted for a bed together as a family. Anything we liked was out of our price range. Where were the great deals? We even lamented that we weren't in Louisville, where we often found GREAT BARGAINS.

We considered a variety of scenarios but came up with nothing that excited us.

FINALLY, we went to a furniture warehouse (where we had not found anything in the past) and were about to leave but meandered through the clearance room of the clearance warehouse. I noticed a tag for $19.99 and immediately thought I was seeing things; it probably said $199.99. That's how everything was in the past. At a second look, it was $19.99 for a black desk hutch with shelves and a cute design--originally $450. It even had a cork board. It would make a great headboard! :)

Mon: "Dave, Dave!" [That's all that could come out with my excitement.]
Dave: "We're getting it. It doesn't matter if we don't know what we'll use it for. The wood alone would cost us much more."

Dave proceeded to find a sales clerk. While he was checking out, I chased Makana around the room. Something that resembled 2 beds leaned vertically against a wall. They looked broken, but they were less than $50. :) I told Dave and went on to follow Makana. Dave discovered that the beds were actually intact. :) The hutch was already packaged and ready to be picked up in the delivery area, so we couldn't be absolutely sure how the bed might fit with the hutch. We were ready to be flexible with our purchases, but as it turned out, the two pieces of furniture fit nicely together. :)

Makana had actually picked the paint in spray form for a kitchen set I was going to make her, but we decided to use it on her bed instead. Home Depot matched her paint perfectly. :) It still needs a touch-up, but Makana is happy with her big girl's bed. She loves hiding her animals under the bed; "They fit!" :)

2 Year-Old Craft Day

7 2 year-olds were scheduled to be at our home one day, and 6 of them showed up. :) Makana had a ton of fun with her friends Carolina, Jamie, Grace, Iris, and Rachel. Unfortunately, Snow's mommy got sick, so Snow couldn't join in on the fun. I think the girls had more fun just running, climbing, and screaming together.