Camping and Community

     We are heading North to Red Rock Country for some camping in the morning. Since this is what happened on our last trip:

we decided we'd get a new tent. After much deliberation, we decided on this tent. This was not Albert's first choice, but I won the case with "I want to fit a ton of family and friends in it." Plus, his first choice was not in stock anywhere in the city which means we'd have to camp in the holey tent one more time. It looks easy enough to set up on my own, has great ventilation for those hot summer nights, a room divider, tub floor that's welded, steel poles, and a hinged door for easy in and out. Definitely can't hike into the hills with this beast, but great for car camping, which is all we do anyway because I'm kind of a wimp. I'll give you the full scoop when it sees it's first downpour of rain. 

     We're packing swimsuits for swimming in the creek, fishing poles, digging toys, and lots of easy food. I'm beyond excited, except for one thing... setting up camp for just one night. Our packing is slowly becoming streamlined. We buy basically the same camp food and pack the same utensils and gear. The kids' "homework" was the meal planning and packing their own clothes, both of which they did great! Eventually I'd like to have everything we need in a couple of totes so we can just throw it in the Tahoe and go. 

     Being able to camp in the middle of September without a heated mattress pad is definitely a perk to living in Arizona. This state is truly beautiful with so much to explore. There are so many mountains and canyons and rims and plateaus and lakes and streams that sometimes I forget that we're actually in the desert. The desert can be bland and ugly, but the desert in our parts is beautiful! We have whole mountains filled with our signature Saguaro Cactus and many, many other variety of yellow and green cacti. The desert trees don't really compare to Minnesota's broad leaf trees, but they're interesting enough and provide shade and homes to birds. Our storms are magnificent, and I won't even torture you with the details of our sunsets. They are pull-over-and-cry-in-your-car worthy. 

     The only thing missing is a community, but that comes with time. We (I) lucked out in this move, SBS provided me an instant friend who moved to Scottsdale just to be my friend:) Kidding, of course, but Rebecca, her handsome boy Nolan, and hilarious dogs have filled our hearts with much needed companionship during this transition.  My sister-in-love and amazing nephew moved back to Tucson (where we all grew up, just 2 hours south of us) when my brother was deployed last month and having her nearby is so comforting to us. The Wie Family, also a resident family with 3 kids and ones we have known since before any of us were even married, have provided much laughter and camaraderie. Our friends and family who are still in the desert and we've kept in touch with have been such a blessing to us. The random visits have filled our temporary home with memories that will bring us many smiles when we revisit them. I'm also happy to share that I think we found a church home. Bella described her morning as "the first real successful Sunday since we got here." God provides. 

     I hope you all have a great, encouraged filled week. Much love, reader.

     

Fishing, and Other Randomness

    

From Labor day weekend: Albert and his bff since JH about to help Jacob fly.

Because I love random pictures, I will be posting many older photos that come up in my photo app. I was testing out a moby I made on a very hesitant toddler. I wonder if she'd let me put her in one now?

Ellie chose a Spiderman pole. It failed miserably so we had to return it and get a plain, non-superhero one. Bummer.

Reeled in one of Dad's fish. He is one determined little man.

Caught some algae which she likened to the algae kombucha I drank earlier in the week. Their sense of humor is coming along nicely, thanks to their inappropriate parents. Notice she's wearing a hoodie?? Praise God for a nice rainy day.

     This week was spent mostly outdoors. Albert's schedule is a little screwy this month so we took full advantage of his days off. Homeschooling has allowed us complete flexibility of our schedule and this week we are grateful for all the time we've spent together.
    
     The kids are doing an impromptu, interest-led unit study on fish, and I was honestly getting sick of being walled in, so we picked up some fishing rods and went fishing. Twice. For hours at a time. On Monday it rained the entire 3.5 hours we were there and we experienced a huge benefit of living in Scottsdale... amazing parks. This park had trees and ramadas to protect from the elements (mostly sun, but on the rare occasion, rain), amazingly clean bathrooms, and REAL GREEN grass. I should stop complaining about Scottsdale being so "uppity" because I benefit from the "uppity-ness" nearly everyday. More on that later.

     Although they didn't catch anything on either of the days, they managed to stay super enthusiastic about fishing. None of them got bored. I grew up fishing and I remember being bored a lot- waiting is a fine art. None of them needed reprimanding, only guiding. I didn't get a single complaint the entire time. They all worked together beautifully. It was like I was in a novel written about a woman and her perfect life as a mom. This kind of family harmony is something I strive for, so if it means we go fishing once a week, then fishing we go. Camping also gets the same results except it's harder to camp without a husband.

    
      A few other highlights from this week:

1) I finally bit the bullet and got my haircut. I barely paid for my awesome haircuts in MN. Tim and Cindy (my stylist) are great friends of ours and we spent many weekends getting together for dinner and cards and haircuts. Cindy hooked me up... we cut my hair sometimes twice in a month. This allowed for some super short cuts- ones that need trimming often. Her and I came up with a plan before we moved out to AZ... a cut that would grow out nicely (tear). My faux hawk days are over for now.

2) Ellie is completely potty trained. I hesitate even writing this because I'm afraid I'll wake up tomorrow with an accident on my hands. We haven't used a diaper at night in over 2 weeks and she seems to have it down. Using the public restrooms for "stinky" is another issue, but hey, I know a lot of grown women who won't even do that anywhere other than their homes.

3) We got some pets! A goldfish that I've already managed to kill, and a snail. We'd love a dog, but it's just not practical right now.

4) We finally figured out our healthcare stuff. In Roch we went to Mayo for everything. The only out-of-network stuff we did was dental. Everyone we knew had the same, or similar, healthcare so we had lots of resources. Our insurance is much different from what we've used in the past so figuring it all out was boring and very grown up, so naturally I had my husband do it. He's a good man.
     

Top 5

Top 5 September 4th, 2013

1) We had a whole house full of people this weekend. We've been eager to fill this house with memories so that it will feel more like home and this weekend was nothing short of memorable. Albert's best friend from HS, Chad, and his gorgeous wife Nicole (whom we've known for over a decade) came up for a sleepover. We laughed so hard that our faces hurt. Everything was funny or fun or entertaining or deep or wonderful during their visit. I love, love to see my husband with Chad. He was so caught up in love and laughter that I thought for sure we were going to have to administer some CPR at one point. Their stories blow my mind. Another long friend of theirs stopped in for just a short visit with his two boys. In a matter of minutes we were in the middle of a full blown nerf war and it was great. Our step bro and his wife visited us from Austin, TX. It was the first time we met his beautiful wife and I'm so happy to share that they will be expecting their first child. They will be wonderful parents. Our parents also joined in on the fun. The kids love their grandparents like you would not believe and have missed them very much. Their visit was short but so sweet. 

2) Kombucha. Our friends are some of the most health conscience people I know and they drink this stuff. I've only ever heard about it on Kid History: Healthy Food, but here I am drinking this Apple Cider Vinegary tasting bacteria to help replace the bad bacteria. I'm willing to try just about anything once. Next is chia. 

3) Scottsdale Splash Pads. If you don't know what they are just imagine the kiddy pool fountains that shoot up out of the ground minus the pool part. The ones we've visited are in shopping plazas and you'll find kids in swimsuits splashing around while moms and dads eat their takeout meals and relax.

4) Albert started a new rotation this week. He works 16 of the next 28 days in the ED. Should be a decent rotation with good hours. We love having that man around.

5) I'm reaching for a 5th. I thought this would be really easy. Maybe I should have a pad of paper around so I can write my highlights as they happen and then pick my favorite 5. Oh, I know. I started a gratitude journal. It's a 5 year journal so as the years progress I can look back to previous years and see what I wrote on the same day. I got it on clearance at Barnes and Noble and it fit perfectly with Ann Voskamp's 1,000 Gifts book that I started reading. 

Nighty Night.

Once Upon A Time The Gutierri Moved From Mayo Rochester To Mayo Scottsdale.

Sometimes we do crazy things for love. Sometimes we move from our home of 20 years to the frigid Midwest so that our husbands can learn to be doctors. And then sometimes we move from our home of 8 years, the place where we raised babies with our friends and learned how to be homemakers and learned about our BFF Jesus, to move back to the desert because that is where your husband's heart is. And sometimes love will make you take 4 days to drive from MN to AZ instead of 2 because your wife likes to take her sweet time. And sometimes it will make you strong enough to work a difficult 12 hours and then come home to cuddle and listen and read and clean. Love is crazy.

My brother Kevin flew from Seattle to MN to help us drive our two vehicles to AZ. It was a ton of fun to have him with us. Ellie was completely obsessed with him from the get go. She kept him up most the night trying to wrestle him, hug him, tickle him. We're pretty sure she took to him so quickly because he looks so much like me and has a very similar personality (read: goofy). I was terribly sad to be leaving MN, but Kevin is a natural comedian and a was a very welcomed distraction. Albert and I were even afforded a mid road trip date in Colorado Springs after a long day of driving. The kids and Kevin stayed back at the hotel while Albert and I feasted on the most delicious Korean BBQ.

That's us up front. Our HE>I bumper sticker kept Kevin's brain busy for a little while. We're just about to hit the Rockies... my favorite part of the drive.

For the record: I DID NOT know he was snapping photos while driving 70mph with my child in the backseat while driving our vehicle. Oh Brother.

We stopped in Colorado Springs for some fun: Focus on the Family's Whit's End. The kiddos love Adventures in Odyssey and Chronicles of Narnia.

Playing Producers

Aslan and the Lamp Post. These kids are out growing our laps! I honestly don't think that's possible.

The funnest part of our trip, by far. Whit's End is completely free of charge and a great place to just roam around and explore.

 Heard about Tim's Place on Facebook and just had to stop for some free hugs. Luckily, it was right on our way to AZ. Tim stops by all the tables to check up on his guests and if you're lucky he'll show you his cup stacking skills.

One of the friendliest people alive. He had shirts and hats for all occasions. Notice he matched Bella in the first photo, then went and changed to match my brother. Everyone leaves this place with a smile.

A quick stop to stretch our legs

YES! We found a Starbucks!

Jacob looks miserable, but I promise he loves a good squeeze.

A look into the future... She's 30 stuck in a 9 year old's body.

The Gnome we bought for our neighbors as a going away gift and then immediately confiscated so that he can join us on our summer adventures. He's about to make his journey back home to MN.

Ellie has done the 1800 mile road trip 5 times now. This was by far the smoothest trip. Partly because she's getting older and partly because we had 3 adults and 2 vehicles. Albert did long stretches of just him and the kids so that Kevin and I could drive in silence or catch up on each others lives. My husband is a saint... must be nice to be born with kindness and patience and good looks and brains.

Messing around with Light Room. I'd really love to know how to use it, but really hate the learning part of it. This sweet girl has my heart.

We are on the outskirts of Denver, but this town will soon be bustling with people. There are houses going up all over the place around here. Of course, you must start with a coffee shop. And a Target.