Year Five Photobook

Here is my latest adventure in scrapbooking....

Click here to view this photo book larger

Shutterfly photo books offer a variety of layouts and cover options to choose from.

silly hike

One of Lily and my favorite things to do together is hiking up Silly Mountain. Because life has been so dog-gone busy we've missed the best hiking months this year.






Determined to not let all the season disappear without enjoying the fact that we have a trail head a mile from our house we (well technically I not we, as Lily's schedule is always open for hiking) made time this past week for three jaunts up our favorite Silly Mountain.

On the way up the hill we found this hiker's trail marker with and added thought. I looked to see if there might be more signs along the trail but didn't discover any more.

I love the trail names on Silly Mountain. Here we are at the intersections of Coyote Loop Trail and Jackrabbit Trail.

 

I've not yet perfected the art of selfies but have been trying to include the human element in my photos and the size of my hiking group made the selfies necessary.

The March weather encourages late afternoon hiking when the sun is fading. The bonus is the wonderful colors the scape takes on as the sun sinks in the west. The picture below is a view of Gold Canyon, the community that is visible from the far side of Silly.

Good Night Brittle Brush Flowers,
Good Night Saguaro Cactus,
Good Night Superstition Mountain.

a visit to spring

Seasonal changes in the valley are so subtle they go unnoticed (well, the sneezing is a good clue) so it was nice yesterday when we climbed out of the car after a two and a half hour drive up the mountain to experience those first buds of spring. 

I almost took my shoes off to experience the grass between my toes but thought better of the idea when I noticed how many dogs were also enjoy the green grass around the court house.

parasol

Natale showed up for school with a bright pink, fringed, paper parasol this week (it doesn't take much to inspire me into a photo shoot session). 

After I took her picture Natale asked if she could take my picture. I handed over the camera and encouraged her to take several shots while coaxing Lily to give me some love. 

I think they both did a good job.

blooming artists

Natale's friend Donna has been coming 2 or 3 times a month to attend drawing class with Natale. The class is a highlight for both girls and Donna has been heard to say that coming to my house is better than Peter Piper Pizza (think Chuck E. Cheese). We graduated to the lessons on still life recently. Each girl has a sketch book that they draw in but we have used large sheets of paper recently to help Donna with her tendency to micro-drawings. Although the girls have grown tremendously using the Drawing with Children strategy it's Donna's mother, doing the lessons alongside the girls that has been the surprise bloom (I didn't think to take her photo with her most recent drawing).

birthday splash

 On my birthday Jay didn't have any work. He took me, Mama Donna and Victoria to Oregano's for lunch. The guacolome with cheesy pizza bread was the highlight of the meal....except for the free birthday half-baked cookie with ice cream desert. Yum.

Afterward we walked to the splash pad and I got to play in the water without sharing it with the little ones that frequent the pad during the summer months.

happy birthday to me

As a birthday gift to myself I booked a ticket to Colorado to see my Aunt and Uncle. I flew into Denver on Thursday afternoon. Friday morning we went adventuring together driving from their home in Littleton north into the mountains. We made a stop at the Red Rocks where we ate buffalo burger's and practices taking selfies with Jay's retired iphone turned camera.

We also made a stop at a nature center where this adorable bear posed for a picture with me.

On Sunday the whole crew descended and we celebrated Steve and my birthday with a lunch buffet meal in the dining room at Wind Crest. After food and funny cards we settled in the apartment for several round of Empire Monopoly.

Me and my cuz.
Of course there was the traditional retelling of the summer Brenda and I spent on top of the closet in the Nold Road house.

I enjoyed getting to know Steve's son John. What a nice young man.

Aunt Merla wore her matching wig for this photo.

Monday morning came too quickly and we had to say goodbye ....