Out of Africa Adventures

When Justin's parents visited in April, we headed north to the Grand Canyon (you can read about that here). On the way home, we stopped at a wildlife park called Out of Africa. It is not similar to a zoo at all, except for the fact there are wild animals for your viewing enjoyment.

It's much more spread out and all animals are in an open space. Here are a few pics from our trip:

Rolin got to feed a giraffe!

Then the giraffe came on our bus!

"Yo, what's up?"

Rolin wanted to see this rhino up close, so I took him over there and lifted him swiftly up to pose for a pic on the rhino's nose (bridge?). That's when Rolin flipped out...it hadn't occurred to me he might think this statue was a real rhino. Oops! I felt like such a schmuck after I figured out why he was so upset. After some reassuring, he was ok with the rhino. Whew!

A highlight of the park is the tiger play area. Park workers get inside a huge cage with two live tigers to, you know, just play around with them as if they were house cats. 

Tug-of-war with TIGERS.

Tigers in the pool:

A pretty white tiger enjoying some sun. 

Grandpa was again a champ for carting Rolin around all day. 

In summer...

Me: Oh, I don't know why, but I've always loved the idea of summer, and the sun, and all things hot! 

Any Phoenician: Really? I'm guessing you don't have much experience with heat? 

Me: Nope! But sometimes, I like to close my eyes and imagine what it'd be like when summer does come...a drink in my hand...my snow (-colored skin) up against the burning sand, probably getting gorgeously tan in summer.

You may recognize this dialogue from the particularly popular children's movie Frozen.

It's the convo between a Christof, a Nordic ice gatherer, and Olaf the snowman. It's the snowman who hasn't ever experienced real heat.

Guys, I'm like the snowman! I thought growing up in eastern Washington, where temps would reach the low 100s on occasion, had prepared me. I thought spending some time in Australia, where summer had started to settle in by the time it was for me to leave, had prepared me even more.

Friends of mine will even tell you I've said, "I like it hot. I like to know my bones are warm!"

It's true. I prefer heat to cold.

However.

It's hot here. Like, really hot. All. The. Time. At 1 a.m. it's 90F. At 5 p.m. it's 109F. It's been this way for more than a month and it's only going to get hotter.

You know when you're outside and it's hot, but then you feel a breeze start up and you think, "Oh, good! A breeze!" You'll think the same here, but then you'll start crying when you realize the breeze is blowing hotter air.

I'm so grateful we live in a home with AC. There are also pools (aka luke warm community baths) in our neighborhood, which have helped to un-swell my feet a couple times.

Don't get me wrong, I really do like it here in Arizona, I'm just done telling myself it's not too hot. It's hot. And being pregnant makes me feel even hotter. We're also in monsoon season, which makes for significant and state-wide thunderstorms. These storms cause humidity, as well as dust storms, called haboobs. They're pretty intense!

Like I said, I'm glad we've found a few ways to (sorta) beat the heat!

This video is from more than a month ago, when I filled up an inflatable baby bathtub so Rolin could splash around outside:

Sharing the tub this time, and enjoying popsicles. 

Washington trip

I forgot to mention previously we met up with some buddies the first day we landed in Spokane. We grabbed some lunch and ice cream at one of our favorite old haunts on the South Hill, The Scoop, then hit up Cannon Hill Park to let the boys run around a bit before we strapped Rolin in the car for the trip to Grandview. Baby Jack and baby Rolin used to spend a lot of time at Cannon Hill Park, but they were never able to walk on their own, for they were just babes at the time. Jill and I did quite a few walks around that park, so it was especially fun to see Rolin and Jack running around, chasing each other and looking for ducks in the pond. 

The boys talking about good ol' days at the park.

Jack, Jill, Rolin and me looking for ducks near the pond.

Jack and Rolin at the park:

We spent a few days in Grandview before and after our beach trip. Rolin loved running free at Grandpa and Gigi's the week we stayed with them in Washington. I think his favorite part was he could get someone to take him outside any time he made the request. It wasn't too hot to go outside and there was always a grandparent willing to open the door and follow him outside. I can't believe it's almost been two months since we were there!

We got to see quite a few relatives while in town. He relished all the attention from grandparents, aunt, uncles and cousins (second cousins, but cousins all the same). 

Playing catch with the ladies.

Posing for a pic with Aunt Brianna and Uncle Joe (after a rousing game of wrestling on the couch pillows with Uncle Joe). 

Riding the rocking horse that we used to ride as kids! He kept saying, "Cowboy! Yeeeeeeeha!"

Helping Gigi at the flower nursery.

If you hang around long enough at Gigi and Grandpa's, you'll want to join in on the yard work. 

Checking out Grandpa's tractor.

"Cowboy!"

Rolin has been pretending a lot more these days. The following video was one of the first few times he did some pretending with one his stuffed friends. Here are Rolin and tiger, sharing a little peanut butter toast with berries:

Rolin pretends to feed his tiger:

Grandpa and Rolin also had several pool noodle fights. We have some noodles at our house now too, so if you hear his war cry coming from behind you, be sure to prepare to defend yourself!

Rolin vs. Grandpa, Round I

Destination: Neskowin

We made arrangements last summer to go to the beach as a family of three. It was to be a celebration of Rolin's first birthday (July 24th), as well as our fifth wedding anniversary (July 26th). 

What's that? Our new baby is due July 27th? Yes, I know. Maybe, just for fun, we'll aim to have a third due July 25th. 

Anyway, we were going to go to Neskowin, Oregon, a little (very little) beach town (I don't know that I'd call it a town) between Lincoln City and Pacific City. Growing up, I went there with my family; it's home to some of my favorite memories. 

We had to cancel our vacation last summer when we found out we were moving to Arizona; our departure was set for about a week after we were scheduled to be at the beach. 

We were able to reschedule for this year, even though getting there was going to be much more complicated whilst living in Arizona than Washington. Luckily, we were able to travel to Washington, use a car we have in place there, stay with my parents, stay with Justin's grandma and utilize a lot of my parents beach gear and pantry items for our trip. 

Here are a few shots from the first day we arrived in Neskowin, just in time for a quick walk on the beach, dinner at the local cafe and a fantastic sunset. More beach posts to come!

Rolin's favorite part: collecting and throwing all the sticks

Left arrow: Rolin casting a spell HP style with another stick. Right arrows: Our condo. 

Introducing Rolin to the ocean

Cool cloud & beach shot

Excited about a seashell

Daddy & Rolly

Anyone need a pregnant lady to run in front of your camera as you prep to snap a shot of the scenery? I'm for hire, but only until mid-July. 

Digging and flinging sand

Nighty night, beach!

Sunset at the beach:

Easter

Here are some shots from Easter. 

To celebrate our risen Lord, we went to church, ate hockey pucks, hunted eggs and dined with some new friends in town (where there was also more egg hunting). 

Luckily, Rolin had been trained the week before, by his grandparents, to be an egg-hunting master so he had a handle on what to do when it came time for an egg hunt. 

Rolly really liked that the little chick would cheep when he held it in his palm. 

I don't have a clue where this poor little chick is now, come to think of it. 

"A whole chocolate bunny just for me? Don't mind if I do!"

"Um, do you have another chocolate bunny I can eat?"

Scouting out eggs to make a plan of attack.

Find an egg, open it. Find an egg, open it. 

"I'd look at the camera, but I think I just spotted another egg. Gotta go!"

More egg hunting at our friends' house. 

Justin was so excited about being a hunting helper, he couldn't keep his eyes open!

"Dad! I demand you open this!" 

"Mom! Enough with the pictures already!"

Grand Canyoning

The day after the Tuzigoot and Montezuma business, we drove into the Grand Canyon National Park. Planning a trip of your own? It should be noted that it's best to do a bit of research on food options before going to the park without a picnic lunch. 

While we thankfully ate a large breakfast, our arrival was poorly timed, specifically in regard to walking certain distances between available food sources, times we would like to be eating and when these food sources were open (things close in the afternoon, folks). 

However, as I said, thankfully we all ate a large breakfast, so everyone was in good shape. That, and I had packed snacks for Rolin, which also doubled as adult snacks toward the end of the day. 

Details, details.

Lee and Rolin walking to the park from the parking lot. 

Justin with his sweatshirt on. 

Justin with his sweatshirt off.

It was a nice day for a visit -- clear, temps in the low 70s, a weekday so we weren't trampled by weekenders.

Because this is my blog, so I can say what I want to say, while grand, I was expecting more grandeur. I mean, it is a fantastically huge, colorful, mystifying work of art in the surface of the earth, but I think my eyes had been spoiled ahead of arrival by photographers' edited pictures.

I think another reason for my (I don't want to say disappointment, it wasn't that) lack of awe was because I was on edge and slightly terrified of Rolin escaping and slipping and falling, whether it be on his own or while he was on someone's back in the carrier. I mean, just a week or two before we arrived, someone tragically slipped and fell near where we were walking! I can't say I really stopped much to absorb the majesty of the Grand Canyon.

Don't get me wrong, it is pretty awesome. A few times I imagined being a pioneer, riding along on my horse, wishing someone would invent mosquito repellent already, and randomly coming across a completely impassable, colorful, enormous hole in the ground that no one had ever seen. But, after a while, everything started looking the same. And we had a long way to walk before we got to the (closed) restaurant, which would have cost us about $65 per plate, and 9 p.m. would have been the earliest we could get a reservation.

Plus, eventually Rolin didn't want to be in the carrier anymore. He wanted to run free. He wanted to show other visitors at the Grand Canyon that, yes, it is possible to walk the trail and cry for about 45 minutes straight.

Walking the trail, pushing Grammy and Mama forward with his screaming. Is he a future drill sergeant? 

Can you see the veins popping out in my hand? Death grip, peeps. Death grip. 

Justin, me and B2T2. 

Grammy making friends with another squirrel. 

Lee and Karen.

The view from the Desert View Watch Tower, nearing sunset.

We'll definitely go again sometime. Maybe when our kids have babies of their own (like, have to be strapped-in-a-stroller, can't-yet-walk babies), so I'm not responsible for fearless teenagers who think they can jump between rocks or scamper out to teeter on a cliff edge. Their spouses, not their overprotective mother, will then be in charge of threatening them with bodily harm if they're being ridiculous daredevils. If my kids are parents of their own by the time we go again, maybe I'll take some time to sit and stare at the world wonder.

Grand Canyon in 2042, anyone?