April 14, 2014

Swim

Back to swim. This picture sums up Nicco's feelings about it. He wants a break. Too bad. It's so good for him, and whether he wants to admit it or not, he's good at it. Besides...it's the best sport for AZ. There's no better place than a pool when it's 110*!

April 12, 2014

Air Force Base Open House
Our friends invited us to tag along with them to the Air Show/Open House at the nearby Air Force Base. The Thunderbirds would be flying! Fun! Exciting! We had a bit of a late start and were sure we would miss the Customs and Border Patrol demo that the twins' daddy was participating in. He swore it was no big deal, and not to rush. But then he seemed disappointed when we weren't there on time.


But, as it turned out, the show was running a bit behind schedule and we heard them announce the CPB just as we got to the scene. We watched the girls' dad catch a bad guy.

We saw an extraction demo, for the soldiers who are caught in enemy territory, 

We saw the Thunderbirds up close and were excited for their show! The main event, it would be.

The kiddos passed time climbing in and around a variety of military helicopters and planes, and Nicco took a picture of a Dodge Challenger to show his own Dad.

After a $5 hot dog and an hour or two of walking around in the dust and wind, the kids were tired and anxious to see the hero of the CPB. And, there he is! (P.S. that is the weirdest angle of Nicco's neck. I swear his hair does NOT really look like that. Bizarre.)

More military utility vehicles...

We headed back to the truck to watch the Thunderbird show. We planned to sit in the bed of the truck then be the first ones to leave...no crowds or traffic to fight on the way out!

But look at all the dust. We could barely breathe! And it was so windy. Too windy for the planes to do their thing. The main event was cancelled. Boo! At least we were already in the car when we got the word. We headed on home to catch the beautiful dusty sunset.

Another great day. We have so many great days! And great people to share them with.

April 11, 2014

Fire in the Sky

Amazing. For real.

April 11, 2014

Do you see what Frankie sees?

April 7, 2014

De Grazia
We wanted to pack in some fun while our friends were in town. Friday evening was one of sunsets and patio chatting, Sunday was booked with the bike event, Saturday had the potential to be The Busiest Day Ever. Sandy wanted to go to the Desert Museum, and so did I. It is the one place I have not visited myself or with any visiting friends and relations. But. Nicco had a soccer game right in the middle of the day. If we wanted to be crazy, I said we could go to the garden park in the morning, N's game and lunch in the afternoon, then out to the desert museum after lunch, and the De Grazia Gallery in the Sun at evening time. We decided not to be crazy. Some of us are too lazy to be crazy. It was a casual get up and go on Saturday, Mark and Sandy went to the Desert Museum while I went to Nicco's game, and we had another casual evening of patio chatting while the sun went down on the Catalinas.


Because Mark and Sandy are casual get up and goers, Patrice decided to take Mark to the pistol club and I took Sandy to the Gallery. It was a good idea. Ted De Grazia wanted to live the quiet artist's life in isolation and peace and when he built his gallery, home, and chapel, there were no roads or people around for miles. The chapel was built to serve the local Indians in their weddings and worship and is still used.

I like his soft and simple style.

I could live here, I think.

And, the desert is blooming. So beautiful. Mark decided it was nice after all.

We got back to the house at the same time as the boys, so we helped our guests gather up and sent them on their way. It was lovely to have them visit. Hopefully they'll come again soon. But they probably won't. It's hot now. Maybe in the fall!

April 6, 2014

Cyclovia
Mark found a reason to come see us in the desert, and we found a third wheel trailer for Nicco to ride behind his daddy. The reason for our friends' visit was Cyclovia Tucson. There are Cyclovia events all over the world. Basically, the city shuts down a section of the roads to motorized vehicles to allow cyclists, scooters, skaters, walkers, and other non-motorized traffic free reign over that section of town for a day. The streets are for everyone!


There were two festivals going on, one on each end of the 5 mile loop. There were performers and vendors along the way. We had beautiful weather, not too hot, so we enjoyed our little ride.

A drummer on a wagon. Just one of many weirdos.

Nicco and Mark participated in the Newspaper toss challenge. Neither one was successful.

At a water stop, Nicco gave me two thumbs up. He loved the ride. Loved it.

A mariachi band. It wasn't too hot, but I bet they were warmer than they wanted to be.

Ice cream pit stop. It isn't Frost, but it will do in a pinch.

Nicco and Mark, high fiving. Cute. When we finished, Nicco wanted to do it again. But not now. Next April. I still have Melanie's trailer...I should maybe give it back to her someday.

April 4, 2014

Mark and Sandy came to visit this weekend. Nicco loves visitors. He didn't want to do any of his things...piano practice, homework, swim practice...because guests were coming. They arrived just before the daddy. When Patrice got home, Mark realized he forgot his medicine so they made a run to the pharmacy to get a refill. The pharmacy just happened to be close to Frost, our favorite gelato joint. They brought back a treat. Without fail, Nicco's entire face gets covered in chocolate. "It's because the spoon touches my whole mouth," he said.

We are happy to see our friends, and happy to have an excuse to get a frozen treat!

April 5, 2014

Tree House

My boys. In the treehouse. On a pile of pillows. Watching a movie and eating popcorn. That's the life!

April 3, 2014

Second Grade Musical
Every year, each grade does a musical performance for the parents. The kindergarteners do a year end thing, the first graders do the Christmas show, the third graders do a patriotic show, and the others do something relating to a unit of study at some point throughout the year. I asked Nicco's teacher about the second grade performance and she pursed her lips and shook her head and said "IF we do one, it will be around spring break." If? I asked. Yes, she said. If. Because with the new common core curriculum in place, there is no room for fluff. I understand cutting sports, arts, and music if there is no money. I strongly believe that the school's focus should be on academics first. If people value sports, art, and music, they will find a way to integrate that into their family through camps, lessons, museum trips, and musical/theater experiences. However, changing the curriculum did not remove the music and arts from the school. Just the performances. That's not okay. Apparently, enough of the parents, teachers, and school board types agreed with Mrs. Marcy's position and all grades got to do a performance after all. I applaud her efforts to make sure it happened.


The second graders performed "Oh What a Day!"
It was a terrible, horrible, no good very bad day. They got up on the wrong side of the bed, the brother used all the milk on his cereal, pants were inside out, favorite shirt was lost, what else could go wrong?



Pop Quiz!

Kick ball--Please don't let me be the last one picked!

Hiccups!

Brain freeze!





Nicco got to give the flowers to Mrs. Marcy! :)

The moral of the story was that even when everything goes wrong and we have difficult days, we can learn from the bad and get better each day. Being strong when times are tough helps us become who we are meant to be. When it was over Nicco asked me if I cried at the end. Maybe, I said. He pointed and laughed at me and said, "You did! I know it!" Now, how would he know such a thing?