What are we up to?

Teaser . . . . . . .

RILEY . . . . . . the pro

and

his dad . . . . . . the novice

Frog legs anyone?

One of the side effects of our monsoon rains and subsequent flooding is the emergence of FROGS! Rather, Colorado River Toads come out of "hibernation" deep in the dirt/sand of our desert and begin their reproductive cycle - complete with LOUD CROAKING at night. We can't leave our windows open because it is so noisy. Some of them are quite large, like 6-8 inches in diameter. Then, there are the itty-bitty newbies. They are hopping all over the place and because they are only 1/4" in length, we have to be careful where we walk or it's QUISH-SLIP-SLIDE

First flood on 2010 monsoon season

We wanted RAIN and got it tonight -- along with a MAJOR flood roaring down our wash right behind our house. The wash ends at the one entrance to our yard. All that water floods onto our road so we are basically stranded until the water recedes. The pictures don't do it justice because you can't hear the rushing water. Pic on the top is taken from our carport. The others are viewed from the front porch.

Notice the high water "waves" running down Old Pomerene Ward behind the car in our yard.

Don't know how much of our gravel yard Riley spread around will be left thanks to our mini-lake in our yard. We have to wait until tomorrow to access the damage.

Define P A I N

The pictures define it well . . . .

My left foot, in a sandal,

VS

a 3/4" x 16" x 72" board

sliding off a shelf 4 ft above me

T K O

This is how it looks nearly 48 hours after the bout. I suspected early on that there were no bones are broken as I could wiggle my toes. Why spend 8 hours in an emergency room when, even if there were broken bones, nothing could be done about it (cast?) until the swelling went down in 3-4 days. My judgement seems to have been justified as I can now walk without assistance. I even stood the entire time during Primary music yesterday (I am the chorister). My biggest concern was whether a blood clot would break loose and travel to my lungs/heart/brain for a quick end to my mortality. Pain reliever of choice (and blood thinner to boot) -- Aspirin!!! It is VERY tender to touch and feels a bit numb when I do touch it and I occasionally get a slight burning pain below my big toe.

You can see in the difference in foot size.

I just hope it is completely healed by the time I go back to work on Aug. 9 where I HAVE to wear shoes and do LOTS of walking to keep up with my special-needs students.

PS - We have lots of wildlife in our field. Every morning (like 5:30 AM) I see rabbits out and about. Finally decided to get my camera took of long-distance (from inside the house looking through the window) of this fine-looking jackrabbit eating some breakfast in our front yard.

Emma's turn with G&G

Emma has be "bugging" me since April about when would it be her time to come stay with us and go shopping. Her family was down for the 4th of July so she just stayed when the rest left. Yesterday she went swimming in the neighbor's pool instead of the town pool because there were 2 girl "cousins" her age visiting and swimming there. She had a great time.

Today we went shopping in Sierra Vista. (I must REALLY LOVE my granddaughters because I totally dislike shopping for clothes and all the time it takes trying on everything- even if it isn't me doing the trying on). She fell in love with this cute skirt we found at Marshall's - denim at the top and varigated green (her current favorite color) on the bottom with cute flower embroidery on the pockets. I tried to tell her that she wouldn't be able to wear it very long because it fits her perfectly right now but she insisted on getting it. A plain white Tee completes the look.






Emma decided she wanted two skirts instead of getting any pants. I insisted she get one that she could wear for a year or two so she chose this mulit-colored pleated skirt found at Ross. The wind was blowing a bit when I took the picture so the design is strange-looking.



She also wanted a few accessories. A feathered headband and scarf were her choices.









We ate at Burger King because she wanted to get the "Eclipse" toy in the kid's meal. She was thrilled with her "Team Jacob" growling werewolf box.

In addition to these clothes, Aunt Margo was down over the weekend and bequeathed a few shirts, sweaters and capris to Em's wardrobe (no photos).