Swim Lessons Finished!

Nate & his instructor, Isaac

Nate took his last swim lesson today & had a great time! He's become very comfortable in the water, holding his breath longer & learning strokes. Definitely worth it! Today all the kids got to go on the giant slide at the pool & I was proud of Nate going by himself...head first!!

Click on SWIM PHOTOS below to see the rest of the pictures.

SWIM PHOTOS

Parker Canyon Lake

We took a spontaneous road trip to Parker Canyon Lake this morning, in southeast Arizona. The weather was beautiful...a storm blowing through dropped the temp down to 75 (YESSSS!!!) and left big puffy clouds. Don & Nate caught a ton of bluegill...threw them all back...but Nate had a great time fishing. Don got a cane pole at the dock shop, threw the line out & a second later hooked a fish! I went on a 5-1/2 mile hike around the entire lake (not knowing it was going to be that long!) It was gorgeous & cool out and we were wishing we'd brought a tent to stay the night.

Here's photos...click on LAKE PHOTOS below (I just assume everyone can see these photos. If you can't, leave a comment & let me know):

LAKE PHOTOS

1st Swim Lessons

Nate had his first ever swim lessons today & had a great time! I came prepared to get in the pool with him but he didn't need me. haha. There were only 2 other kids in his class so they all got some good one-on-one attention. Two weeks of swim lessons for only $20. Can't beat that! I'm glad I didn't get in because I was able to take a few photos. Got all the way & realized I'd left my camera at the pool so I had to go back. Doh!!

Here's photos below:

SWIM LESSONS

PATAGONIA LAKE

Well, Becky P...you'll be pleased to know we went on another spontaneous adventure today! At first we planned to go to a movie, but I really felt like "getting out of dodge", so I said to my man, "Hey! Why not just go for a drive?" Don, naturally, has to have a purpose to that drive, so he ran into the garage, threw a bunch of fishing stuff, chairs & what-not into the truck and said, how about Patagonia Lake? (well, whatever, as long as it's out of dodge!) The lake is a little over an hour south of us.

So we headed out & about halfway there, we noticed the temp had dropped from 100 to 85!! Woot! Woot!! Road trip definitely justified. We stopped in Sonoita & picked up some fried chicken and other stuff for a picnic (Don was eyeing the local steakhouses). I had forgotten how beautiful the scenery is down here. Finally, we made it to Patagonia State Park and discovered the beach area. I think the last time we came down here, it was in the winter, so we overlooked the beach. But today was perfect for wading or swimming. Had we known, we would've brought our swim suits, tubes, noodles & whatever else. As it was, I only waded in as far as my pants would roll up & Nate shed his shorts to go partially buff. haha.

He had a great time, even making friends with some of the older kids. It was funny to watch because he just quietly invaded their groups and they had no choice but to pay attention to him.

It was a nice day and perfect little getaway. Here's photos for you:

PATAGONIA LAKE PHOTOS

Easily Entertained

When I was a kid, my dad took us to a ton of different summer-kid activities....summer reading programs, Wallace & Ladmo performances, VBS, etc. Now I get to do the same thing with Nate. However.....it's EXHAUSTING! Or maybe it's because I'm a parent later in life and a little lacking in the energy department. ha.

I'm glad there's no shortage of fun, free stuff for kids out here. Nate's craft project stash is steadily growing.

Next week he starts 2 wks of swimming lessons...then it will be time for preschool! He picked out an IronMan lunch box and we've decided on Light the Way preschool at Desert Son Community Church. Summer has flown by.

And I haven't made it to the ocean yet.

**click on the links below to see more photos**

SUMMER PHOTOS

Connection Group Swim Party

CHUGGING ALONG

UPDATE 7.22.10: Had a few more donations to our adoption so that puts us at $1075 total. Thanks everyone!

Just finished a funky tropical messenger bag made from recycled coffee & snack bags. Check it out for sale on my Etsy site!

www.etsy.com/shop/dsbagdesign

Don't forget to stop by our Just Love Coffee website if it's time to stock up on more beans. We've nearly used our 2 bags (Ethiopian Sidamo & Ugandan) and I love the flavor (believe me, we are picky about our coffee!)

www.justlovecoffee.com/TheSullivans

You can show your pride in saving orphans by wearing one of our adoption tees for sale at our adoptionbug site.

www.adoptionbug.com/theSullivans

EVERYONE WHO DONATES WILL BE ENTERED INTO A RAFFLE!! Prizes are selections of products with my art on them (prints, note cards, wall plaques, etc).

July 4 Carnival

Had a great time at our church's July 4 carnival fundraiser! I was basically at the church from 8:15 that morning until 9pm that night. It was hot, sweaty work setting up the booths after service and I think I was a little dehydrated from the heat & over dosing on coffee to keep me awake, but thanks to several volunteers, we managed to get everything set up by 5pm! It was so awesome to see families arriving & having a great time. I really wanted a Starbucks basket up for auction but the price got too high for our budget. Next time I'll have to put a stash of $$ aside!

The fundraiser was a HUGE success in many ways..financially (sorry, not revealing the final fundraising amount until Sunday!) and being able to meet many new families. Fireworks from the nearby resort topped it off. Here's photos for you:

JULY 4 CARNIVAL

GETTING READY FOR THE 4TH!!!!

What a day! Our church is putting together a July 4 carnival fundraiser.....to build homes in Rocky Point, Mexico and today we did a ton of set design & construction. HOT HOT HOT but so many people stuck around to get 'er done!

We got a lot of AWESOME items for the silent auction...in fact...I'm bidding on the Starbucks gift basket (complete with coffee grinder & plenty of Starbucks to keep me going!). I donated my "Tranquility" bath collection that's available in Anna's Linens ($170 value) and one of my coffee purses made from recycled coffee bags. But there are several very cool things, like tickets to Breakers Water park, gorgeous 20" square tile, a 30 minute airflight in a Trike.....

I'm so excited and hope that tomorrow is a very successful day!! Here's photos of our work today (click on July 4... below)

JULY 4 CARNIVAL PHOTOS