First Swim

Well....it's the end of April...and I am no longer able to convince my children that it is still too cool to swim. So I gave in this evening and told them "Sure you can go swimming." And while they are running off to find their suits I am thinking that ever so quickly I am going to look like the way, way wise mommy who did, after all, try to tell them for weeks now that it's still too cool to swim. Well...they came back in record time...all ready to dive right in. However...reality hit...and it took a good 10 or 15 minutes for them to even ease into the water. That's when I started the countdown...and sure enough...just under 20 minutes later they were frozen little popsicle kiddos and were begging for warm towels and showers. It was lovely to see them convinced that maybe....just maybe the water really is just a tad too cool still for swimming! Anyway...it was fun to watch them fight the shivers and try to conquer their need to swim right now! I think they will be content a week or two now before swiimming again....maybe?!

Fishing Pictures

In these pictures we have Miss Clara taking her try at fishing....followed by her skillful gutting of her great catch.


Next you find Maxwell's reaction to the fish cleaning process....no future fish cleaner in that one!


And finally, Max and Ben wield the rod in hopes of landing "the BIG one"!

The Greatest Day of Clara's Life

Part of our camping trip this weekend involved going fishing with the kids. They all get so excited over the idea of catching our dinner! So we gathered all of our gear and our worms and made the trek down to the lake. We fianlly found a little nook that Chris thought would be a "good" spot....whatever that might be! And worms were hooked (much to Clara's disgust) and lines were cast out. While Chris was overseeing the fishing and watching and waiting for those little red and white bobbers to take the plunge, I wandered around looking for anything interesting to snap a few pictures of. Believe me...there wasn't much! I did find some really cool looking, totally pricklyfied little bloom thingies....but that was about it! Anyway....all of a sudden I hear Chris shouting for Clara to "reel it in, reel it in....you've got one!" There was a flurry of excitement as Clara reeled in what truly was a catch! A nice little brook trout. Well....let me tell you...the wild excitement on the banks of that lake...over that little fish could nearly be heard back to Tucson. There were all sorts of high fives and "woo hoos" and victory dances! Not to mention that it really raised the stakes of competition for her two older brothers who had caught nothing at the time. So...the fishing set out in earnest! In the meantime...I am trying to get a picture of Clara with her fish...who is SO FREAKED out by it's flapping and flopping that she won't come anywhere near it! It was hysterical to watch her expressions and reaction. Her moment of glory turned to pure fear and hysteria when we tried to get her close to her catch! All the while, she is saying that this is the best day of her life...ever...at every moment though, keeping a wary eye on that catch of hers! After that...there was much effort...but no other successful catches. And then a storm was coming up and the winds were picking up and we decided we had better had back to camp, since it was a good little walk away! Once we got back to camp, Clara got to help her daddy clean her fish. At this point, the fish is dead...and now she is fine with it. She jumped right in there with knife in hand (also in Daddy's hand for help) and gutted that fish like a pro. She reached right in and pulled out all the guts. I found that to be rather interesting since she was so grossed out by the whole worm thing down by the lake! But she really dug in there and cleaned him all out...she was really in to the whole experience. On another note....Max was sitting off to the side watching the whole thing and was so NOT into the whole fish gut thing! His face said it all....we need not worry about Max growing up to be a professional fish cleaner! I'm thinking that our boy might be a bit delicate for that type of dirty work! Anyway....fishy got all cleaned and gutted...rinsed and wrapped. We brought him home with us and Clara excitedly spiced him up and got him ready for grilling last night. She was SO excited about her fish dinner....until it was ready to eat...at which point she turned up her nose and just said "No, thank you". Oh well...Chris and Ben seemed to enjoy her trout just fine as she watched warily from the end of the table. It was a lovely ending to the "best day of Clara's life....ever!"

Camping Adventures-#1

Yesterday, our family headed out for a camping excursion in our brand new pop-up camper; destination....Parker Canyon Lake. It was highly recommended to us by the guy at the RV place who seems to know about every little camping nook and cranny in Arizona. So...off we went! It is about 2 hours and 15 minutes from Tucson...due East. It was easy enough to get to...but I have to admit...pretty disappointing after all of the awesome places we have camped over the past two years. It wasn't an Agua Caliente...not nearly that bad! But it wasn't at all what we are used to finding in the great outdoors of Arizona. We have really gotten to see some truly gorgeous areas of Arizona through camping. I mean...take your breath away, marvel at God's goodness kind of places. But Parker Canyon Lake is not one of those. There was no hiking...of any kind...and my family really enjoys a nice easy hike. And there were no huge, majestic pine trees of any sort. Just low, sort of scrub trees. The mesquite trees in my own front yard are WAY prettier than what we saw there! Lots of dry looking grass stuff everywhere. There was a fairly large, impressive...and from what I understand, clean lake there...but that is about it. And the lake wasn't exactly in our campground...but rather across the street from it...a good little walk. But enough on the negatives!

It was awesome in that it was the maiden voyage for our little Sea Pine camper...which we decided pretty much right away, is WAY better than our tent and infinitely more comfortable...not that we have ever really been uncomfortable in our tent...just chilly! It was awesome in that it was a MUCH needed getaway from a really busy and overscheduled life here in Tucson. It was awesome in that there was NO cell phone coverage there...and there was no Playstation or t.v. of any kind! It was awesome in that Clara caught her very first fish there! (The best day of her life...ever!) And it was awesome in that we got to be together as a family...warm...in the great outdoors! It was just nice to be there and to be there together! It was a lovely time...even though the wind reached a really crazy pitch place on Saturday afternoon. There was some thunder in the distance...but the wind...YIKES!!! Let's just say...it totally got our attention. At that point...we were SOMEWHAT bored of Parker Canyon....but when the wind hit that craZy mark....we readily packed it up and headed home for Tucson! So glad to be home again...despite the fact that we had to cut our very first excursion short! Next time...we are SO there for the whole weekend!

Heading Out!

Today we picked up our brand spanking new pop up camper! A 2007 Fleetwood Sea Pine model pop up. Sounds pretty fancy...but it's pretty doggone basic! It's got a couple of beds...a table...a little cook stove that is amazingly similar to my little Coleman camp stove...a tiny little sink....oh...and heat. That's it. No A/C...we don't need any of that nonsense...but heat can never be too highly valued! Oh...and no potty! But our little tent potty fits in the storage place just perfectly...so hooray! We are off on our maiden voyage tomorrow! We spent the afternoon at the RV place learning all the ins and outs of the "adventuremobile"...and the rest of the evening loading up all the goodies we need inside of it. We are SO excited. We love to camp and get away and just enjoy all of God's nature and beauty. It is always a good time for our family and we come back rested and rejuvenated and ready to face the world again...which is a good thing as we are just feeling a bit overwhelmed by the world right now. I can't ever remember stress levels running so high as they do right now. We are SO overscheduled...with no end in sight and no way to really drop anything. Believe me...if we could...we would Thus is the speed of life! Anyway...tomorrow we are off to camping land...hooray. So tonight I will be stepping up my snake prayer for sure! Along with my bear and my skunk prayer! Those go something like this..."Lord...this is a whole great big world you made here. Please let the bears and snakes and skunks have the run of it for the weekend...except for the little tiny part of the world that I will be in with my family. Please make that little corner snake, bear and skunk free.....amen." It might sound simple and maybe even ridiculous....but God is good and I know He won't let me down!

So...here's a HILARIOUS note! As I am sitting here at my desk blogging this...Chris is sitting an arm's throw away from me working on his work...and he says to me..."Are you wearing perfume? It's very sexy smelling." I am nearly falling off my chair laughing as I have to tell him it's the new air freshener airwick thing that I bought after being so inspired by the lovely smells of my friend Mandy's house! Ha ha! Too funny! Who needs perfume when you can just put a little squirt of Airwick behind your ears and on your wrist! I had to tell him not to be getting any ideas from that air freshener! I'm tired tonight and I'm heading to bed...to sleep! I might have to rethink that particular air freshener scent in the future! It could be problematic for me otherwise!

Anyway....we are all updated here..at least for now! More to come on Sunday when we return...hopefully with a few pictures to capture the moments of our weekend!

The Battle of the Boots...

continues in the Roberts house. Despite the fact that temperatures are just dreamy and shorts are defintitely "in" now...along with flip flops and all that fun stuff..my daughter insists on putting on these boots every time I tell her to go get her shoes. Now I have bought her several very lovely pairs of shoes for this new season of warmth and fashion. We have flip flops in every color...flip flops with stripes and some with sequins...some flat ones and some with a bit of heighth to them. I'm telling you...we've got shoes. We also have lovely white sandals and a mighty fine pair of tennis shoes. Not to mention the white Mary Janes and the red Dorothy shoes...minus the glitter this year! There is a very wide variety of VERY appropriate footwear available to this child on this very day. HOWEVER...when I send her off to collect said shoes...she ALWAYS comes back with these. I've tried telling her nicely that they don't really "go" with the whole shorts look. I've tried insisting on my own fashion ways. I've tried just about everything...to no avail. The child just insists on these boots. I imagine if she needs shoes out by the pool this summer we'll find her in a bikini...and her boots. Clara is very, very eager to please these days. As long as it does not involve her fashion or her hair. She wants to wear her boots...with everything...and do absolutely NOTHING with her hair. Apparently, she strongly holds to the idea that the "orphan child look" is in. So...a little bit of a struggle. Today, however, I simply did not engage in the battle. I have had a migraine the size of Texas and just really did not have what it was going to take to get this girl out of those boots. And believe me...it was going to take a lot! She quickly realized I was not going to force, bribe or beg her out of them this morning...and she skipped right on out the door to school with the BIGGEST smile on her face. Some days you just realize that battle with a certain stubborn, hard headed four year old will just be uglier than you can deal with! So...boots today on my baby. I've been telling myself that one day I will look back on this and laugh. So I made sure to blog it here...complete with picture...so that one day I can look back...and laugh over the boots that just won't go away! I am thankful for this independent child of mine. I am thankful for her enthusiasm and sense of fashion. I am thankful for her sweet smile and that she felt a real sense of accomplishment as she headed out the door and into the world in her favorite boots. I am thankful that God saw fit to help me keep quiet and to just let my little girl be herself today...in all her fashion glory. Life is good in the desert. Boots and all!

It's that time of year again...

Yes...that's right. It's rattlesnake season again. I saw my first one on the road the other day. We were heading down the hill to Jackie's house for dinner, and there it was....huge...right smack in the middle of the road. A reminder that our delightful spring weather is equally delightful to the rattlers here. I have few "major" fears in life...not too much "rattles" me, so to speak (pardon the pun), but rattlesnakes are right up there on the top of my list! So are alligators and sharks....I can't even really give you an order as to which is scariest...I fear them all unreasonably much! So I start to tread cautiously and fearfully this time of year. And I work to make my sure my children have a healthy respect for the creatures that God saw fit to place here as desert dwellers. I chant constantly as they open doors to "look down before you step out" as so many folks find them curled up in the morning sun on their front porch. My front porch just happens to get a nice healthy dose of morning sun! I remind them NOT to reach under bushes and to not stick their feet in places they cannot clearly see. I urge them to keep to the sidewalks where a snake sunning itself would be more obvious. We have been in Arizona now for two years and 4 months and I have yet to see a snake (of ANY kind) in our yard or in my walking path anywhere. I like to think it's because I so consistently say the "snake prayer"....that God will just place a hedge of protection around our family as we move about in the desert and clear all ominous wildlife from our paths. I pray that the Lord will just place a barrier between our property and all belly crawlers...good or bad! I am okay with lots of other wildlife. I am okay with Gila monsters and tarantulas....even scorpions will get a thumbs up before the rattlers will! (But I don't want to find any of those in my house either!) Not too long ago, when we got our first wave of warm up weather, on the front page of the newspaper was a picture of a rattlesnake curled up in a cinderblock. I have to tell you...that that just freaked me out. And every year, even though I KNOW it's warming up and it's "the season"...it still always freaks me out to see pictures of them in the newspaper. It's like it isn't really snake season if noone sees one. But then BAM.... there's one on the front page of the Daily Star...and you know that if someone took that picture of that one...there are millions more...just lurking about. I have no idea what I will do when I finally encounter a real live one...out in the wild. I am just not able to appreciate this particular creature of God's design. When I see one on the road...I usually a) try to run over it and then b) make a U-turn, pull up along side Mr. Snake...and just try to determine that he has been properly...you know....squished. Sometimes it takes two drive overs to have absolute peace about the situation. Now I know there are many many snake lovers in this world who would be appalled by this writing....and I have to say that I am okay with that. Snakes are one of the few things in this world that make me feel as though this planet is simply not big enough for us to coexist. Soon enough though....the desert will heat up to sizzle and pop temperatures...and for a time, we will be safe from the snake threat...at least a little bit...because they will just be headed for the DEEP shade. I wasn't so worried about the summer heat of the desert when we were moving here. My only fear and worry was the snakes. Still pretty much the same. Love Arizona...but could lose the snakes! I don't think there will be any in heaven.

Cool Pictures from the Zoo

So, Chris and Clara and I recently spent an awesome day at the Tucson Reid Park Zoo. The weather was just perfect and it was an unusual visit,in that we got to see nearly every single animal alert and active in it's habitat. I played around with some of the pictures that I took and just had a blast with them. Here are some of the results!

Giving Back

My photography is going quite well. I am amazed at God's blessings on that whole thing. I never really imagined in a million years that I would be successful at it. But it has all turned out so well. I enjoy it as I have never enjoyed anything before. It works perfectly with my schedule and still lets me do my mom duties too! I think the best part of it, is that I have found a way to give something back to the world. We don't have lots of money...and to this point I've not had any real talent so to speak of. But now....I DO have a talent, and one that I am so fortunate to be able to share. I have volunteered my services with Now I Lay Me Down to Sleep, which is an organization that does bereavement photograpy for early infant loss. It is an amazing way to serve and I have been so blessed by each family whose precious baby I have had the priviledge to photograph. I thought that it would be too much for me....too hard to handle emotionally. But God has really protected my heart in that area...and while I do feel so sad for these families and their losses....I am not affected like so many others are. I am able to do the shoots and get these families a beautiful momento of their angels....with my own heart still intact. It bothered me immensely and I struggled mightily with that for a time....but I have come to the conclusion that it's just a gift....just an ability that God gave me so that I can serve these families. The other organization that I am volunteering with is the American Children's Photography Charity Guild. They do free portrait sessions for families with children with terminal diseases. There is something so amazingly awesome for your soul when you are able to give a gift. Especially the gift of a tangible memory of someone so precious to these people. I love photography to pieces...but my heart soars when I am able to serve these families and know that there is nothing involved as payment....many times not even a thank you. It does a spirit good to know you gave with nothing in return...just because you could.

Free Time

So....I have been so negligent about updating this blog. It isn't that I haven't thought about it often. It's just that...honestly....I couldn't figure out how to sign into the darned thing! Since it all changed over it has been a real pain! But I determined to figure it out this morning....and so I did! Life is good here in the desert. NO major calamities at this time. Ben is struggling mightily with his allergies...needing both his inhaler AND his antihistamine eyedrops. On top of that, he has been throwing up all night (not too fun), but for the most part is in a good place. Clara, also, is fighting the allergy battle. She also is fighting mommy on using her inhaler and allergy meds. Always fun going head to head with the stubborn four year old! And Max is just Max. Healthy as always!

Last night we got to have dinner with our newest neighbors, the Newmans. They are in our Sunday School class and it was just the nicest time! The food was WAY yummy! And I love that Mandy is just a down to earth, simple, no frills kind of entertainer! That SO jives with the way I like to do things. I just get so stressed out getting caught up in all the plethra of details that can go along with hosting a meal....my heart always longs for the simplicity of our own "family" dinners. I felt so at home at Mandy's with the paper plates and plastic cups. Mandy had no way of knowing that plastic cups are my absolute preference! So it turned out to just be a really fun evening and we enjoyed their company so much. Mandy has the BEST baby....I am amazed at just how good she is. I dont' think I've ever come across such a mild, even tempered, sweet, awesome baby. She never cries, just goes to sleep on her own, and in an instant...and is...well...just amazing. I marvel at the job Mandy has done with her! So...enough of my jealous baby ramblings!

Picture business is good....it's busy...but great. I love being able to do that and to have that outlet! My friends have all been SO patient and SO supportive and so amazing. It has been a good thing.

Not too much else happening and my clock here is ticking for me to get ready and get out the door to the gym. I will update SO much more later....especially now that I have figured out how the heck to log on to this crazy thing! More to come!