Photo of the Day for March 20, 2009

Desert Botanical Gardens and Butterfly Pavilion

It's difficult to choose pictures for this entry as there was so much to photograph at the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix yesterday morning. 

We were drawn to the location for the glass art that was integrated into the desert plants at the gardens as well as the butterflies at the pavilion. 

Dale Chihuly's: The Nature of Glass was displayed throughout the gardens vibrantly and was a spectacular sight. We could see how the shapes and flow of his work reflected nature in the context of the desert landscape which was highlighted by the light passing through the coloured glass. 

Upon arrival, we spoke to a volunteer who told us that the piece, The Sun took 5 men, 6 days to put together. All the pieces are handblown and were individually wrapped and shipped; each one having its own crate. We asked if anything broke along the way or during installation, but apparently not... This is all quite amazing as there are hundreds if not thousands of pieces of glass set in his work throughout the park. Wow! We can't imagine how much time, care and sweat went into these works of art. 

We went early in the morning as the afternoons have been quite hot this week. Also, it is great to see the butterflies in the morning as that is when they do their 'puddling' as they seek food to eat. They stay put longer for photo opportunities at this time as they are too distracted sucking nectar...however, you do have to walk carefully so as to not step on them on the ground. This pavilion was small yet full of gorgeous flowers and a pond of fish. Josh observed a butterfly fall into the pond and was eaten up by one of the orange fish! Other than that, they delightfully flitted along from flower to flower. Favorites were the zebra longwing, julia and several swallowtails. 

As we walked around the park, we noticed many lizards scurrying rapidly across paths and in between plants and rocks. We believe we saw mainly the Sonoran Spotted Whiptail and perhaps the Giant Spotted Whiptail whizzing by... It has been an interesting change since we've been here as at the beginning the kids really had to search for the lizards, now you can practically see them from your car at the side of the road. They are everywhere! We almost wondered if they were somewhat tame at the park as they didn't exhibit as much fear as other lizards we had seen- they stopped longer, went on the roadway and even came to check out flower petals Josh threw towards them as if to see if it was anything tasty to eat and then moved on...Anyways, this was a highlight for the boys as was the cool gift shop at the end. I really enjoyed spending time with the boys at this beautiful location and will not soon forget the time we spent together.

Photo of the Day for March 19, 2009

Chihuly's The Sun

at Desert Botanical Gardens

Phoenix, AZ

Photo of the Day for March 18, 2009

comics and kid magazines!

i think we may have a new obsession on our hands...

(at the fountain hills library)

Journal Entry

The end of our stay in Fort McDowell, AZ, is fast approaching. We leave this weekend and are heading to Austin, Texas. 

Quite simply, I have felt blessed to have spent time here. 

From the start, I felt connected to this area and have enjoyed the serene quiet and beautiful scenery. 

As a family, we have discovered a love of hiking and recognize now more than ever that trails are a great way for us all to share a common interest. 

Personally, I have had many wonderful photo opps here-love it!

I really do feel that we have all learned a lot about the desert through observation and experience which has been more ingrained in us now that we have spent almost two months here-living, feeling, hearing, seeing and discovering....

I would gladly come back and would love to see the Saguaro Cactus flowers and fruit ... a monsoon lightning show, more of Tucson and visit more beautiful state parks.

Plus, it would be great to visit friends we made while we were here. I have realized that through our new relationships, we will create opportunities for return visits...that by having the trailer, this is more accessible in our future. In the past, travel felt so inaccessible in a lot of ways, but now I see how possible it is and how much we enjoy it as a family. We have met several families who don't 'full-time' yet take mini holidays often on weekends to places within a few hours of where they live. I see it as a great way to bond, relax and have new experiences. Having a home on wheels allows you to pick up and go more readily.

I am thrilled that we have arranged to come back on our way west after Texas to spend time at the Grand Canyon. We are thoroughly looking forward to it!

So, leaving is bittersweet...I will miss Arizona and remember many good times we have had yet, will be happy to see new places and eventually see friends in B.C. and Alberta this summer! Yippee! Can't wait!

Photo of the Day for March 17, 2009

let it be noted that at age 7, matt has declared upon his own initiative, 

he wants to be an artist when he grows up

(well, later he did say he was still thinking about it :))

of course i told him he already was!

More of Saturday with Daddy...

Before heading to the hockey game on Saturday, we spent the day touring around. I went to a Native Art Fair in the morning while Jeff and the boyz went to Cost Cutters for haircuts. It was nice to have some 'me' time, perusing the goods...This was supposed to be a juried art fair as per the description...and while there were some nice booths, it was essentially a glorified flea market. Nonetheless, it was nice to meet some great local artists and get some geodes from Quartzite for the boyz and Noah. Incidentally,  have to say I noted the lines on a few of the t-shirts for sale including: 'Hit me, it's the only way I will learn' and 'Don't make me break my probation'. Hmmm...interesting choices to highlight...

Anyways, afterwards we went to Phoenix and drove around downtown, then headed to the Deer Valley Rock Art Center to check out the Hedgpeth Hills petroglyph site. This location was created to preserve the 1500 ancient petroglyphs made by people hundreds, perhaps thousands of years ago. 

The kids were excited as they were given the task of a scavenger to find several petroglyphs on the path...the idea that if they found them all, they would get a small prize. Once outside, we noticed how blackened many of the rocks are, the petroglyphs, the yellow flowers in bloom, birds, squirrels and two special gardens. We all looked carefully for the rock art and finally, we sighted all of the pictures. The kids won glow in the dark plastic insects. :) Finally, I found a new mug at the Glyph Shop. I had been looking for one for a few weeks since I broke my only other one ... I found the same mug as I had originally, just with the name of this place instead of the Birch Aquarium :) 

Then, we headed toward Glendale to check out the shops, have lunch and get closer to the game. The Glendale Avenue area has many antique shops, a pretty park, a bead museum and a great comic book store called, Drawn to Comics. Jeff was thoroughly impressed by this shop owner and exclaimed that this was the best customer service experience he's ever had in his life. He said but for this service, he likely wouldn't have made a purchase. The boys loved the Star Wars Comics and Lucas was found walking and reading simultaneously- I saved him from at least one pole and a tree! 

Hockey in the Desert?

Hockey Hockey Hockey! 

Yes, here we are in the desert and on our last night with Jeff home in Arizona, we went to a hockey game at the Jobing.com Arena in Glendale.

The boys were on cloud nine as they had never been to an NHL game before. In Ontario, Leafs tickets run a pretty penny, but here in the U.S. you can get a decent deal on a ticket. In this case, it was cheaper to get a family pack with all you can eat popcorn, nachos, pop, hot dogs and peanuts than it was without the food!  Of course the kids found that to be rather cool too!

The teams were the Phoenix Coyotes vs. the Nashville Predators. The Predators ended up winning 2-0... I don't know much about hockey, but even I could see that the Predators had more streamlined strategy and skills than the Coyotes. We cheered the Coyotes on nonetheless as we have loved our time in Phoenix and wanted them to do well. Especially as Mr. Wayne Gretzky is the owner and coach of the team. Yes, we saw him through our binoculars and my camera lens. Was neat to know of one other Canadian in the arena! 

Outside there were multiple fountains going off to the beat of contemporary music, large blow up Coyote players, restaurants, bouncy station and stores. Inside, the opening of the game was dramatic and exciting...the music and clapping kept us hopping in our seats...the food and drink kept Jeff taking Josh and Matt to the washroom...the teams were apparently not very good, but we didn't care...it was a game and it was fun!

Memorable quotes from the evening came from myself and Josh...

Laurie: Is there some sort of intermission? (Jeff just looked at me and laughed- I guess 'intermission' happens in between periods)

Josh: Those cheerleaders on the ice must be cold! (as the girls came out to shovel off the ice build up)

Josh: This is stressful! (as he's cheering them on, yelling for them to get a goal and watching as they keep missing!)

Photo of the Day for March 16, 2009

Time to say Goodbye...

 

We have really enjoyed developing friendships on the road here in Arizona with Kevin, Jo, Noah, Merlin and Smooch.

We met them at the beginning of our stay and were sad to see them head back to Minnesota this morning.

We enjoyed much of donuts and dog walks, scootering, swimming, lizard and snake discoveries, Nintendo DS playing, chatting, kites, books, movies, games, more swimming and DS playing...

We will truly miss hanging out with them as our families so naturally integrated into one another's lives here...

Willow will miss all the extra attention, walks and treats! 

We hope to visit them in their new home here on another trip!