Going outside in regular clothes...

As a family, we've been aching to get outside to do some more active activities. While the rest of the country have been enjoying summers full of outdoor picnics and hiking, we've been keeping cool with indoor activities with plenty of A/C or else lots of swimming and squirt parks - I don't complain because we've definitely had a fun summer, but Arizona is a little backwards as we can't really do hiking and picnics (unless we travel north a few hours) until "winter-time" comes. But today we'd had enough, and since it was a little "cooler" today with temps dropping to the high 90's (a dream compared to 115!), we thought we'd venture outside without swimsuits. :)

We tried to get out the door early on Saturday morning to go on a little nearby hike... and ended up ready to go at 9:45 - for a Saturday, that was pretty good for us. We were trying to beat the heat somewhat... the breeziness kept it tolerable. Emma had brought her backpack in hopes of finding "treasures" like flowers or interesting rocks.







Jake has started a new thing where he often says "ya" to any question you ask him... so while hiking, we played this game... "Jake, do you see a rhinoceros?" - "ya!"... or "Jake, is your bum made of marshmallows?" - "ya!". love it.





Becca and Daddy racing back to the park









After our little hike and park time, we dragged our sweaty selves to the pet store. We decided to get a fish! Most of you probably don't think this is a big deal, but surprise to say, this is our very FIRST PET! Yeah, well, we're not really pet people, so this is as good as I can do for the kids at this point. We weren't planning on it, but that morning Emma was reading for her daddy, Fancy Nancy and the 100th day of school. (Note: the Fancy Nancy Early Reader books are really GREAT - each book is sprinkled with some great vocabulary. We were impressed that Emma could tell us the definitions for words like 'dilemma', 'imaginative' and 'transparent'... and maybe even more impressive that Emma was quick to note that her name is in the word 'dilemma'). Ben doesn't hear Emma read very often - She usually does her reading while he's at work (I have Emma read one or two books to me each day after school). Ben was so impressed with her reading skills that he thought we should get her a fun prize - a fish! She was excited! We tried to get her a fish a year ago, but when Ben took her to the pet store, she got way bummed about a fish when she saw the birds and puppies... for those looked like way better pets! Emma must have given in to the thought of a fish, since time has past and she realizes getting a dog is pretty far fetched at this point. I love that we've somehow convinced her that a beta fish is exciting!





Emma named the fish "Goldy". A little odd, considering the fish is blue. But Goldy was the name of Fancy Nancy's fish, so how can we argue? We got Goldy a plant and a little submarine to keep him company. He likes to hide in the plant all the time... we think he greatly fears the submarine.

So, after dinner, we went out to play some tennis... you know, to go along with our "active" day. It was fun! We find it works pretty well to go play tennis with the kids in tow, especially if we don't have to share the court with anyone - 'cause then the kids can run around, collecting balls, and playing with their rackets, while Ben and I play some games. Ben also spent some time helping Emma practice - she was able to return the ball over the net a few times... I think she'd definitely enjoy tennis lessons.



Emma took this action shot of me serving the ball... I think my form is less than impressive, but the sunset is nice!













Here's to cooler weather!