We Love the Mountains

A favorite thing to do during hot Phoenix summers is to escape the heat and head up to Arizona's high country. We had been looking forward to taking a trip to the mountains for a long time! We had such a great time. We went to Pine and stayed with Josh's grandparents. (unfortunately I didn't get any decent pictures of them!)

I was able to borrow a baby backpack carrier (thanks Marie!!!) so we were able to do some hiking with Owen. We love hiking! We did two hikes on Strawberry Mountain in Pine...a short hike on Friday and a little longer hike on Saturday morning. Friday afternoon Josh's parents and aunt Christ joined up with us. After lunch we drove to the top of the Rim and walked around Pivot Rock Canyon. Josh and I have camped there before, and we think it's such a pretty spot! We didn't really hike because Owen had a blast just playing in the dirt and rocks and sticks! Needless to say, he got pretty dirty.

Owen taking me exploring. He held my finger and led me all around. He was so interested in everything.

We found a few little critters on our hikes. A baby horned toad...

....and a little garter snake (no, that's not me holding it).

Nice bonding moments with grampa. They both look like they're deep in thought.

We had four dogs along with us, and we tried to get a pictures of all of them together with Owen, but it was nearly impossible! Owen sure loved having all the dogs to play with though!

Crafts

I've been in a little bit of a crafty mood recently, and these are my lastest creations.

This is my first mod podge project. It was fairly easy since it involves simply covering wooden letters with paper. The most time consuming part was cutting out the paper and sanding it down on the edges. I also couldn't help but get clumps of mod podge stuck in the corners, not sure how to avoid that. I plan to hang them in Owen's bedroom in Chicago, but I still haven't decided exactly how to hang them...maybe hang them with ribbon (but is that too girly??) or perhaps mount them to larger square or circle pieces of wood.

Thanks to a tutorial my friend Tifani posted on her blog a while back, I made this adorable sock monkey for Owen. I had intended to give it to him for his birthday, but that somehow didn't manage to happen. It really was pretty easy and I hope Owen can enjoy it for years to come!

The next project I'm planning is a quiet book, you know the cute felt kind with buttons and zippers and pockets and snaps that Owen can play with in church or other places I want him to be quiet. If anyone knows of a great tutorial, please let me know!

Summoned

Today I received that dreaded letter in the mail.

I got a Jury Summons, my very first one.

I've been registered to vote for nearly 10 year now, so I think I did pretty good avoiding jury duty for 10 years!

I've always wondered when I would get my first summons, and I've often thought how I would be able to get out of it. I know it's my civil duty and all, but everyone knows jury duty is not really fun nor is it ever convenient.

Luckily for me, they summoned me to the Phoenix court (who knows why) and I am a resident of Chicago, so I don't qualify.

Whew!

Children's Museum of Phoenix

Yesterday my mom and I took Owen to check out the Children's Museum of Phoenix using the culture passes we were lucky to get, and we had so much fun!! It's pretty new, a year maybe, and it's pretty much the only place of its kind in all of Phoenix. Everything inside is designed for young kids, and kids can get their hands on anything and everything and explore to their hearts desire. Owen was one of the smaller kids in a lot of the areas, but he kept up just like he was a big kid. We easily spent 2 1/2 hours there and probably could have spent even longer if it hadn't been for nap time. If we lived here I would definitely consider buying an annual pass.

The loved the noodle forest and ran right into all the noodles without fear!

Playing cashier

Painting the stones with water

He's thinking, "Mom, don't make me stop for a picture. I want to keep playing!"

I Love Bob

I have fallen in love with BOB.

Who? This beauty, the Bob Revolution:

This, in my opinion, is the best stroller ever!!! I recommend it to anyone wanting a jogging stroller. I had been in the market for a jogging stroller and this one met and surpassed all my expectations. I can't say enough good things about it. It's durable, so easy to use, easily maneuvers around tight corners, and the ride is incredibly smooth. And I can seriously steer it with just one finger!! There's no way I could do that with my other regular strollers. It's a dream to jog with and it doesn't feel like I exert any extra energy, and my times aren't any slower. It also handled a trail at South Mountain with no problem. Owen even loves the ride and often falls asleep along the way. I am so very happy I can still stay active now even with a baby!

Labor Day BBQ

For Labor Day we had a fun bbq with the Legler side of the family. It seems like it had been quite a while since we'd all gotten together, and Owen was able to meet some of his second cousins. I didn't take many pictures since I was busy chatting and chasing Owen. It's always a big crowd when we get together and it's always a lot of fun with lots of good food!! We wish we could do it more.

Five of the cousins:

Jessica, Connor, Garrett, Owen, and baby Emma in the background.

Who Knows Where We'll Live

Josh submitted his residency application yesterday! That means that come next June we'll be calling one of the following locations home:

Albuquerque, NM

Atlanta, GA

Chapel Hill, NC

Charlotte, NC

Chicago, IL

Columbus, OH

Dallas, TX

El Paso, TX

Indianapolis, IN

Las Vegas, NV

Loma Linda, CA

Minneapolis, MN

Orlando, FL

Phoenix, AZ

Sacramento, CA

Salt Lake City, UT

Temple, TX

Tucson, AZ

Winston-Salem, NC

Worcestor, MA

Where or where will we move to next???

Too bad we won't find out until March.

Owen Love His Toys

Owen has been having fun playing with all his toys, especially the toys he didn't have in Chicago. It's so fun to watch him play and get so excited.

He loves his quad and is really good at getting on it backwards.

He loves his new wooden blocks train set he got from grandma J, and he's really good at putting the pieces on.

His favorite toy this past week: Aunt Katy and Uncle Bill's dog, Ally. They went out of town so we helped watch her. Owen has always loved dogs, but he was in heaven being able to be so close to one all day long! By the last day or two he had mustered up enough courage to go right up to her and grab her fur or her ears or her tail. And she's such a mellow dog that she didn't seem to mind one bit. Thanks Bill and Katy for letting us play with Ally!

Our Little Piano Player

Owen has discovered the piano and he frequently enjoys pounding, I mean playing, the piano. I know my dad is proud.

Keeping it Cool

We've been trying to find ways to have fun outside while keeping somewhat cool in the scorching Arizona sun. We checked out the splash pad at the Tempe Marketplace outdoor mall. It was a fun spot with lots of kids and plenty of water, but Owen wasn't too excited about it. They only had water that shot straight up and he was pretty nervous around it.


Once Owen was done with the splash pad, we drove down the street to the Tempe Beach Park at Tempe Town Lake. They had a lot more water activities that Owen was able to enjoy. It sure was a hot day, but it was nice we could cool off a little!