I love the RAIN!!

Have you ever smelled rain in the desert?? There is nothing like it! The smell of a summer rainstorm in the desert is unlike any other smell in the world.

It is a wet, musky, almost dusty, fairly indescribible smell. I LOVE IT!! There is nothing like taking a long deep breath of summer monsoon rain air!

This is the time of year in the hot Phoenix summer that you can sit back every evening when the sun is just about to go down, open the windows, take a deep breath and wait for the rain to start falling. I don't understand it completely, but it has something to do with the heat rising from all our concrete and moisture coming up from the Gulf of Mexico.

Whatever the reason, I really enjoy the rain and I hope we have a long monsoon season.

A Modern Day Miracle

I encountered a modern day miracle today. I took my kids to Big Surf today and we left at about 5:30 which in every part of the United States is the beginning of rush hour. Now, let me begin by saying I grew up in Southern California...I grew up driving in traffic. Heck, these days in California there is no rush hour because any hour is rush hour!! I know the perils of trying to change lanes in rush hour traffic. I know that you shouldn't actually put on your blinker because that will cause the person coming up in the lane you want to get into to speed up so you can't get in front of HIM (or her, I am not implying only men are bad drivers). I KNOW that the only way to get into a lane is to stick your nose in front of someone and dare them to hit your minivan with their BMW! I KNOW all of these things...but today, something came over me and I decided to try it. This was Phoenix after all and I hadn't driven in rush hour traffic in years (literally...I work 10 min from my house and I avoid freeways whenever possible at rush hour) maybe things had changed. So I bravely put on my blinker and waited patiently for a break in the traffic. It is there that I encountered my modern day miracle! In the course of 10 minutes I had to make 7 lane changes (three to get into the carpool lane and four to get out of it and off at my exit) and I had SEVEN people slow down and let me go in front of them to safely change lanes. It was AMAZING to this re-planted California girl! Truly a MIRACLE!!

California Adventure....

Josiah built a sand castle and a big hole to catch the coming surf!! Later he decided to bury himself in the hole but I didn't get a picture!


Abby spent most of the afternoon in the water! She spent some time building sand castles but mostly enjoyed jumping and playing in the surf...


Sarah, on the other hand, spent ALL of her time digging in the sand. I always think I need to build her a sandbox at home everytime I take her to the beach. She loves to dig!!


Bethany makes her sand castles just like I did as a kid. Of course, I showed her how...


Cousins and cohorts in crime....What are they up to now??



All five of the Kenney grandkids...in a bear cave...does that mean something??

Being off my feet is a drag....

I sit here feeling guilty because I was searching through the blogs that I regularly read and whining that there was so little out there that was new (there were a few so if that's you no back whining!!)...and I realized, I hadn't blogged anything new for awhile!

I really don't have much to say. I haven't been able to do hardly anything lately but sit around and put ice on my knee! I did go to California and take the kids to the beach and Sea World and visited with my Mom for a long weekend. Now I'm taking it easy and trying to heal this !@##$@ knee before I go back to work on the 24th.

I'll post pictures from our vacation later.

Local Food Anyone??

A Meme to Drool Over
My friend Heather tagged me for a restaurant meme. I'm not sure Phoenix actually has "local" flavor but I will give the names of a few of my favorite local (as in close to my house) restaurants!!

Here are the rules:
*Link to the name of the person that tagged you
*Include state and country you live in
*List top 5 favorite local restaurants
*Tag 5 other people and let them know they've been tagged

1. Every Wednesday night we hit Chick Fil A. Now this is not LOCAL to Phoenix, it started out in Atlanta, Georgia...but you gotta love a fast food restaurant that plays Christian Praise Music in their dining room and where, on Wednesday night, I can get a free kids meal for every adult meal I buy!!

2. In-n-Out is my all time favorite burger joint. Again they are not LOCAL to Arizona, they are LOCAL to California. Seeing how I grew up in So Cal and truly was a beach babe growing up I can claim this as a fave. Fun Facts...you can order your burger "protein style" and they will serve it to you without the bun, wrapped in lettuce. You can also get a burger "animal style" where they grill your meat with mustard. You can order a double double (two meat patties, two cheese) but for those of you looking to REALLY clog an artery or two order a 3x3 or a 4x4!! Somewhere on each wrapper there is a bible verse printed...can you find it?

3. I'm beginning to think it's a little pathetic that all my favorite restaurants are fast food...but...One of my other favorite restaurants is Rubio's. I especially like that they have a whole wheat tortilla option, and I love their salsa fresca. If you ever go there you do have to order the salsa fresca from the counter.


4. Let's go Outback tonight!! Now, I'm not really that enthralled with a majority of Outback's food BUT I love a good steak (still mooing) and they have awesome cheese fries and a drink called a Wallebedarned that you can't get anywhere else. This is my favorite girls night out spot and I've spent many a great evening with Heather here so it has a special place in my heart.


5. My favorite eatery in Phoenix has been relocated to Florida so I can no longer get my favorites on a regular basis. It is called Casa de Nations. The menu is always changing but always wonderful as the chef is constantly trying out new recipes. Desserts from there are to die for!! The prices absolutely can't be beat!!

I'm tagging:
Amy W. because she took me to some fabulous places when I visited.
Laurie, because she already got tagged by Heather so maybe if we both get her she'll actually do it.
Debbie, partly because I know Dave (who lives in the same town won't do it!)
Wendy, because she might point me to some great places I can try out here.
Amy R., because Heather tagged her also, and again, maybe we'll get her to do it if we gang up on her!!

Me? A Rockin' Girl Blogger?

I was graciously awarded this Rocking Girl Blogger award by my wonderful friend Heather over at Redheaded Rants and Rambles. She's the true Rockstar!! I don't know what the etiquette is for this award (she is much more blog savvy than I) but I want to pass along this award to my friend and wonderful author Amy, Debbie who is a friend from long ago and far away, and a new blog I just recently stumbled upon but have really been enjoying, teachergirl.

Thanks, Heather, for the shout out and kick in the pants to start blogging again!!

Camping!!

 

This past weekend we went camping with our friends Mike & Lisa and had a wonderful time!! Sarah found a "wishing flower" and was amazed when I told her it was a dandelion. (Background: she danced as a dandelion in our church play this past spring so she though it was pretty cool to see a real dandelion)

 

Abby enjoyed hanging out in the woods, looking for butterflies, and visiting the horses that were camped with their owners nearby.

 

 

 

Playing with the quads was the hit of the weekend! The kids had a blast driving the quads around the meadow where we were camping! Unfortunately, Mom got thrown off one of the quads and now has a fractured patella and crutches (which the kids think are cool!LOL!)

UPDATE as of 7/6/07 I got a final radiology report and my patella isn't fractured, apparently it's just a deep (and very painful) bruise. I am grateful because I think (hope) it will heal more quickly. Pray for me because it's still pretty painful!!

Thursday Thirteen

I haven't done a Thursday Thirteen in a long while so in honor of today's high of 111 degrees in Phoenix...Thirteen things you can do on a really hot summer day...

1. Go swimming...but wear a lot of sunscreen!!
2. Take your kids outside in the guise of washing the car and completely douse them with the hose!! (if you're going to be outside longer that a few minutes I recommend wearing lots of sunscreen!!)
3. Go to the local Waterpark...and wear a lot of sunscreen!!
4. Go to the local splash zone at the park...and, yes, wear a LOT of sunscreen!!
5. Go to the zoo that has a water zone in it...and wear a lot of sunscreen!!
6. Lure your children outside..."Hey kids, look there's a cute puppy in the yard!!"...then pummel them with water balloons!! Expect revenge....
7. Drive through the carwash with the windows open.
8. Fill a kiddie pool with water and dishwashing soap and blow some really big bubbles!
9. Go out for ice cream.
10. Stay inside and watch movies and eat popcorn all day (no sunscreen required)
11. Go to a McDonald's with a playland, buy a soda, and sit and read a good book or visit a friend for four hours (I did this today!)
12. If you have small children, go to the mall and let them play in that wierd play area that has gigantic plastic bugs, cars, or even more strange...Food!! Unfortunately, they don't usually let the bigger kids play on these for fear of them being trampling the little kids.
13. Go to California, Oregon, or anywhere that the temperature is lower than 100 degrees.

Wordless Wednesday!!

One more down....

I've finally finished one more class towards my credential and soon will be working on another one but for now I am done!! Two units and the AEPA to go. I'm exhausted...I slept most of today away. I am really looking forward to being done with all of this so I can just focus on teaching.

I know I've been fairly absent from the blogging world while I slugged out the last five chapters of my book...I should be around more now...at least until school starts again!!