Escaping to Flagstaff and other Summer Adventures

So Flagstaff in a second. First off, here's Claire in her first swimming lessons - and if you look at her face you can tell how she felt about it: 

                           

 She learned lots but did it all while crying. Still getting used to going underwater.

 She also has enjoyed taking pictures with my camera...

... and going on outings like our weekly trips to the library, meeting up with friends, and with mom and dad to Chick-fil-A for their "dress up like a cow get free meals" day!

Clark on the other hand is enjoying the summer too (besides getting itchy heat rash from a hot car seat :( and he is getting SO darn cute! I love six months - so many new skills and pure rolly-polly baby-ness. Clark is a strong little six month-old - scooting, and trying to push himself into a sitting position. He's getting in some real hair, is starting to teethe and eat rice cereal. He has a piercing happy/tired shriek and is still all big smiles. We LOVE our boy.

Freedom from the stifling heat is found two hours north in Flagstaff. This city has offered us a reprieve from the sun-baked valley and we have decided we love it. In June my dad had a chance to teach some classes at EFY at Northern Arizona Univ., so him and my mom flew into Phoenix and we drove up there together for a couple day stay. It was so fun to spend that time with them. Such a fun week. 

                The deer (and exotic animal) farm in Williams, Arizona - just 25 min. or so from Flagstaff. The deer basically swarm and attack you for food. They've learned all the tricks, including just grabbing the cup of food by the rim and pouring it into their own mouth.

 Poor Christian had to stay at home to work on people's teeth during that trip so we decided to go again, this time as a complete family for the Fourth of July weekend.

 My favorite thing we did: Walnut Canyon. Here you can hike through the canyon which filled with cliff dwellings from Native Americans. You can actually walk through a lot of their old dwellings and then look across the canyon to see rows and rows of more homes - they're like little apartments. Their people thrived there during the 1100s AD.

This is our first full summer in AZ but we're surviving and having fun during dad's long days at the clinic. He worked on my teeth for the first time last week and he's quite professional, if I do say so myself. I love getting a glimpse into his future career and see him looking and acting like the real thing!

The Garden Island

In May we had the amazing opportunity to go to Kauai - yes, that's Hawaii!! We met up with members of Christian's family and enjoyed a week of green, jungle-y tropic landscapes, the beach, and the ocean. The greens and blues are so vibrant there. I loved going to church in humid little chapels with fans overhead, waterfalls, and the Na Pali Coast. I felt the expanse and majesty of God's creations but on a more micro scale, learned more about myself as I dealt with the negative emotions which sometimes get the best of me.

We did take two children two and under - but after my solo journey with the kids to Utah a month before, I was not afraid. Yes it was a longer flight but Clarkie the Sharkie (as Jonah would say) slept most of the way and Claire stayed busy with Tangled, color sheets, and snacks. Here it is in pictures:

Eli and Clark - cousins super close in age

After a kayak we hiked to Secret Falls. One of the highlights of the trip

Queen's Bath. Gorgeous place and hike but sometimes dangerous because people have died there (yikes!) so knowing me, I stayed  a safe distance away from the water but some of the braver family member jumped into the tide pool. 

You be careful boys!!