September in the City
This month, we've been busy exploring Tucson. Here are some pictures of us visiting various sites around town, including the Botanical Gardens, the Old Tucson Studios with Grandma and Grandpa O, and the Zoo. Enjoy the pictures!
Betsy's Visit
Betsy visited us last week. She and Sean were brave and tried the Sonoran dog (which I'm sure Sean will post about later). Finn was under the weather most of the weekend, but we did make it to Mount Lemmon, where it's about 30 degrees cooler than Tucson. Here are some pictures of us during her visit, as well as a few pictures from our 2nd visit to the zoo.
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The Zoo
Last Sunday, I took the kids to the zoo while Sean stayed home to do
some work. It's not a particularly big zoo, but it was free that day
and we can walk or bike to it from our house (though, I gas guzzled as
I didn't do either). Gillian had the opportunity to feed a giraffe, as
well as enjoy a grilled cheese at the end of the day. Finn...well,
Finn enjoyed the water play area at the zoo and a nap. And misbehaving
whenever I took him out of the stroller (which, thankfully, was only a
couple of times). Anyway, here are a few pictures from our brief trip.
The kids love the Olympics
Finn and especially Gillian have been drawn to the TV and the Olympic games. Gillian enjoyed all of the swimming, and cheered for Michael Phelps. Although, she likes to say she cheers for everyone, whether they are from the USA or not. Last Sunday, we turned on the Olympics in the afternoon for the kids to watch. Unfortunately, there wasn't anything on any of the channels except women's beach volleyball on Telemundo. Gillian and Finn sat on the coffee table and watched the game, not understanding a word of the commentary. Gillian then deciphered all of the action for Finn, as she had watched a match of beach volleyball last week. For example:
Gillian: See? She hits it. Then she throws it. Then she hits it.
Finn: Ah, ah, ah.
Gillian: They do it all over again. It's beach volleyball. See, they're very good women volleyball players.
Finn: Ah, ah, ah.
Gillian: See? They have to drink water because they're jumping so high.
Finn: Ah, ah, ah.
That's pretty much how it went.
The Tourists, Part Two
Last weekend, we visited the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum. It was a rough morning, so we didn't get there until 10 am. When you are going to the desert, it is best to arrive early in the morning (say at 7:30 am, when the museum opens). We were only there about 2 1/2 hours, and there was much more to see. The museum is in the west park of the Saguaro National Park. You have to drive up through the mountains to get there. It's a beautiful, if not a little frightening, drive. Here are some pictures from our time there. Next time, I hope it's not so hot!
Sean's Birthday
Since we had only been in Tucson 2 weeks, it wasn't a lot of time to plan a huge birthday celebration. We did go to a nice Mexican restaurant near our house and a dessert shop. Of course, Finn was fussy the entire time. Sean had to take him out of the restaurant near the end of dinner because he refused to settle down. Gillian made Sean a nice birthday card with flowers but couldn't remember how to spell "Daddy" or "Sean." So she wrote the card to a name she did know how to spell: Ava. Oh, the joys of children on your birthday.
The tourists, part one
Last weekend we went on a family trip to Sabino Canyon. We knew there was a tram and some picnic areas, but not much else. We were very surprised to find out how high the mountains were and how beautiful. We dressed for some hiking, not for swimming (although some would question the appropriateness of Gillian's dress for that activity, too). We all ended up getting in the water and rather wet. But it was a lot of fun! Here are some pictures of us in the park.
Signs of Arizona
In the last week, I've seen two unusual signs:
I'm not sure what had to occur to necessitate each of these signs. . . .However, I do like that the coyote is being fed a cookie.
new school
Today, Gillian has another first day of kindergarten. She was on a waiting list for a charter school closer to our home. Yesterday, I got a call from the school. The school is part of the “free school” movement. It's VERY different from her last school (which was also a nice school). Her new school has been around for about 40 years and scores higher than her previous school. Gillian is excited by the fact that the school has lots of books, new friends, a goat, chickens, and a couple of dogs. -S
