Look who's back! We just returned (today) from a week's vacation in Scottsdale, AZ. We've gone to this particular timeshare resort for the past several years, because it's very family-oriented and the girls have such a great time here. This was the first time we went in July and boy, was it hot! I think it was at least 108 degrees EVERY DAY.
So, every day (except one, when we heard it would be 111 degrees) was spent at the pool. Mika and Marika have very dark tans and even DaddyDude is darker than me. Why, you ask? I spent most of the time hiding under the shade of the cabana, dipping into the water every once in a great while. If I wasn't under the cabana, I was working out in the gym (no way was I exercising outside!).
Ah, here's that lovely cabana! It cost an arm and a leg to rent each day but it was worth it! Relatively speaking, too, it could have been worse - rentals at the hotel next door were almost double, so it almost felt like we were getting a bargain. Honestly, though - I don't know how anybody could tolerate a day at the pool, without some reliable shade. The girls did get sunburned still, despite repeated sunscreen application - more than once, somebody would start bawling about how their cheeks hurt. "Put more sunscreen on," we would say and then they would just wail some more, because touching their cheeks was painful.
A couple of times, the family participated in the cannonball contest. I'm pleased to report that Mika won on one day, while Marika won on another. I think they won based on form, because the bigger boys were certainly able to make a bigger splash! They won free Otter pops and Marika even got a tiny little plastic trophy, which she wanted to proudly display on her dresser back home...
On the last day, however, Mika had had enough. She actually developed an outer ear infection Wednesday night ("Swimmer's Ear") and refused to go into the water for most of the last day. Thursday night, she developed a fever, so she's not a very happy camper right now... but for the rest of us - it was a lovely vacation but it's nice to be back home, too. The local highs are near 100 but relatively to Arizona, it doesn't feel hot at all (to me!)...
Life had been pretty hectic before our vacation departure. Mika's All Stars softball season wound down right before we left (she missed the last two tournament games). What a season! Their (7U) team (composed of 7-8 year olds) were forced to play older (8U) teams (8-9 year olds) because no other teams their age signed up! For the older girls, they are used to kid-pitch and learning how to be selective about hitting. The learning curve was steep for our girls but during their last round of tournament games, they actually BEAT (crushed 'em!) two 8U teams! It was terribly exciting! What a great season for the girls!
Here's Mika batting... as I try to take a picture through gaps in the fence... she has skinny little stick arms, but she can hit the ball!
And in other news... my friend Holly joined the girls and I as we trekked over to our first Prima Warehouse sale. We got a little... lost... so it took 1.5 hours to get there (instead of the 45 min it took to return!). That turned out to be a good thing, because the sale was OUTDOORS and temperatures were near 100 degrees. The girls were great little helpers and were exceptionally patient.
Here I am in line, wilting away. Checking out took about 45 min or so - it felt like forever, in the blazing sun, but at least everybody around me was very kind and friendly.
Okay, here's my haul. Items ranged anywhere from $0.50 per sheet of paper (I skipped those) to $1 for a packet of embellishments or stamps (or digital scrapbooking DVD), $2 for jars/boxes of flowers or box of stationery, $5 for that big paint bucket of huge flowers and $10 for that rack of flowers (flowers included!!!). When I finally got to checkout, it seemed like the cashiers further discounted things... I had been expecting to pay over $55 but ended up spending just $36. Retail value of everything probably would have been close to $120. The "e" bag and brads in the upper right corner were freebies and the big package of stamps (bottom left) must have been a Doorbuster, because they were only $1.Holly heard from some other women there, that the same items had been presented at the previous warehouse sale (some 2 months earlier) so we decided that we would be willing to go to another warehouse sale but: (1) not for several more months and (2) it better be cooler!
Next on our list? Going to a Sizzix warehouse sale! :)
Other than that, I've been trying to make sure the girls are reading a lot (they are involved in the reading programs at two local libraries) but having plenty of time for fun. Our school PTA sold season passes to the local water park and we've been getting our money's worth by going several times a week for a couple of hours a day. Here's Ms. Mika doing their aquatic obstacle course... crossing a long rope (about 40-feet long) without falling into the water.
This park is also know for their water slides - the girls usually like to go together, which makes me feel better, too.
There's also a huge wading pool area for little kids. The water is cold, which is great!
The girls can also play mini golf with their passes. They had a lot of fun... until I made DaddyDude come and teach the girls proper "putt putt rules".
And last but not least, the girls also can do the "bumper boats". I was surprised that even Marika had no difficulty driving a boat all by herself and squiring water at people. :)
And I'll leave you now, with a picture of the neighborhood gang on July 4th. It's so nice to have good neighbors and good friends to hang out with!It's been a good summer... it's difficult to believe that school begins in another 2.5 weeks... :)
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