Bowen House

We found a neat 2 mile hike to do with our pals the Seveys. It goes through some nice saguaro-filled washes up to the remains of the Bowen House, which was built by homesteaders in the 1930's. The roof is gone now, but the foundation and walls look like they will be around for a long time. 

CAN'T STOP ME, METAL BAR!

Annie did not cooperate with our plan to have her fall asleep in the carrier while we hiked. She screamed the last several minutes before we got to the house. Luckily, she was mighty refreshed after our shady lunch bre

Zoom in on Elliot's face in this one

Look at that view through their front door! Also at the cute sandwich parader :)

The views were great... but I still wouldn't want to live here before AC.

We're working on increasing his endurance

Annabelle rockin' the walkin'

Gilbert Ray Camping & Old Tucson

We have gotten pretty good at inviting ourselves on other people's vacations. When the Coe's mentioned that they were going camping, we persuaded to let us tag along. Elliot was pumped to combine his love of camping with his best friend Wyatt! And we were excited for a lantern lit round of Citadels. 

A couple of pals sneaking some Fritos

Who knew that gravel could be so much fun?

It got chilly at night (around 40). We greatly enjoyed breakfast in the Coe's heated camper. I also enjoyed an excuse to get Elliot to wear his adorkable hat.

Annabelle did great! She slept for 12 hours straight, which is her personal record! 

Next we checked out nearby Old Tucson. It opened as a film studio in the 1930s. Tons of western films and TV shows were filmed there, including Little House on the Prairie. They still film the occasional movie there, but it is mostly a museum/amusement park nowadays. 

Elliot was obsessed with this ride. There were no lines, so we went on it 6 times. 

Merry go round was a hit too

Apparently this is the most filmed train of all time. He's quite the locomotive super star. 

Big Changes for Elliot

As a new 3 year old, Elliot graduated nursery and moved to Sunbeams in church. He is the youngest in his class, and I was sad that he got almost a year less of fun toy time than the kids with birthdays early in the year. Despite my worries, he made the switch without any problems.

Posing with a banana phone his first day of Sunbeams. He gave himself a black eye by falling off his chair at dinner. He has not learned his lesson and still falls off his chair multiple times a week. 

 Even more exciting news is that this kiddo is now officially potty trained! He has been accident free for over a week now, and I am so incredibly proud of him! We had a really rough patch for a while, but then something clicked.

The celebratory ice cream from filling out his sticker chart. He couldn't keep his eyes off that cup

We like this pose lately

I caught Elliot with his head on Alice's shoulder while she read him a book, but they jumped apart before I could take a picture. Elliot has been extra snuggly lately. It is delightful.

He has memorized the spelling of a few words. I love finding my name spelled out on the fridge. 

One of the many random crafts from the library. Elliot gets super hyped about crafts that involve glue and scissors. 

The best thing about Elliot is that he genuinely loves helping people. Especially his baby sister. 

January

January in Arizona is simply lovely. It is a little cold in the mornings, but really pleasant most of the day. All of the non-indigenous trees finally drop there leaves as well. To make things even better, we don't have any of these trees in our yard, so we don't have to rake them! We found a few places around the neighborhood where we can get the essential childhood experience of leaf piles without the manual labor part.

Wyatt and Elliot ditched the clubhouse playground for the leaf pile

Leaf break during our weekly Sunday walk

We grew some very delicious carrots at the community garden

Elliot was super excited about Annabelle's first swing experience

Annabelle was less excited but endured it fairly well (she mostly didn't like the sun in her face)

Also in January is my Birthday! I've made it to 27 in one piece! 

Aaron and I enjoyed a sushi dinner served on this cool bridge

Followed by cheesecake with friends