My "baby" who was all excited about school.
But, there was a wee bit of apprehension before....
they finally took off and left all the parents behind to go to their classrooms.
Hannah with her friend, Wendy, shortly before she ran off to the big kids playground!
His "ice cream" birthday cake (the kids don't eat the cake anyway).
Hannah with Reece.
Simon & the neighbor, Blake.
The whole crew, including Elizabeth on the end.
This morning...with his new bike and presents.
Riding his new bike!
My new phone...I know, it is pink and I am not a huge pink girl but, I like it anyway. At least it won't blend in with the black inside of all my purses!
I also had this on my doorstep this afternoon...the 2008 Knitting Calendar a Day. I got it free for submitting a pattern they did not take but hey, I am always open for free.
I gotta do some stash diving because I know I have two balls and think I might be able to worth with a 3rd close but not the same colored ball to make the 1200 yards. I just have to find the 3rd, almost matching ball that might be in my storage locker...and I am not digging in that thing in 110 F heat!
You can't see it but there are beads all over the shawl and it is a wee bit heavy. I can't wait until it dries. Of course, given the 100 F temperature today, it won't take too long.
Necklaces...they have been collecting space in boxes in a drawer PLUS they get tangled so.....I had this towel rack for another reason in the house so I pulled it out for my necklaces and it looks great and keeps things clean and untangled.
I had two extra tickets so we brought along two neighbor girls, Ellen (l) and Moriah (r). 
For an hour before the circus, you can go down on the floor and see many of the performers up close and personal.
The girls tried on some costumes.
And, a group photo on our way to the car. We got very lucky with parking and parked in a lot right across the street. The extra $3 was totally worth the ease of getting the auditorium and not having to walk blocks in 110 F heat!
We then went out for dinner at a Mexican restaurant on the west side of Phoenix! Yes, Kristina, it was La Mexicana! Food was as good as always and they had a kids menu, who knew??
Sunset Crater in the background. Driving through the monument you could have sworn you were in Hawaii and seeing the lava pits. This volcano erupted about 1000 years ago.
The painted desert is in the background but you can't see it. As you are driving through it, you think you are in a painting of the desert. Truly amazing!
More of the painted desert....
Wapatki National Monument in the distance.
You can do a self guided walking tour, which we did....
The kids over the blow hole...their favorite part. It is a natural fissure in the earth which blows out 65F air in the middle of summer. It was like natural air conditioning!
The trio at the monument.
In the distance...
Sunday we went to the Rainbow Trout Farm in Sedona, Az where fishing is a sure thing.
Hannah had to hold the pole while I got the fish into the net above water.
Hannah's catch...
The fishing trio...
Simon pulling in his catch...
Supervising the catch.
We actually ate the trout for dinner on Sunday night. A bit expensive but you are paying for the experience which was worth every dime!
Saturday we had a full day. We went to the Pioneer History Museum outside of Flagstaff where the kids explored an old fashioned train.
It is a long way up but so pretty!
The view from the top!
Hannah wanted to take some photos so she took one of the new sign for the top of the mountain.
And this lovely view!
We could see for miles on the way down although both kids pretty much put their heads under the blanket I brought most of the way down. Going down on a chair lift is always a bit scary, even to me but the view made it worth it.
Next post....Sunset Crater & Wapatki Monument.
I updated the kids bathroom yesterday. It looked kinda "blah" and I needed something to replace the big fan over the windows because it made the bathroom look really dark.
So, yesterday I stopped at Big Lots on my way home from meeting some SnB ladies for Saturday knitting.
I didn't know what I was looking for but I found the flowered napkins for $1 each. Then, I saw that they also had bath towels in hot pink alone and white with hot pink so I took at as a sign.
I sewed seams in the napkins to make a casing to fit over the curtain rod. Some were straight and some I sewed on a diagonal. They make a nice curtain and let a good amount of light through them too. AND, Target had the hot pink shower curtain. The bathroom looks so bright and clean instead of tired.
