Hay Happens and Hay's Happen

Doug and I have decided that we are going to celebrate Arizona by going to various places in the next year and a half. We have such a remarkable state, so why not see all of it?
Sunday, we started with a day trip to Prescott. Also, we’d get out of the heat.

Well, not sure if 90+ degrees is out of the heat, but it was a great idea to go on a hike in the mountains. My honey found a perfect hike for us: Thumb Butte.

Our drive was only 90 minutes which of course meant a quick break to use the facilities. McDonalds always perfect for this and to get a pretend hot fudge sundae.

Here we are! It looks promising!

After we paid our fee to park, we headed up. Daddy and Tot stopped so we could smell the bark on this tree. Definitely smells like vanilla.

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Well, let’s take some home. I love stopping to admire the foliage, but darn it’s hot and I want to mosey up so we can get out of this heat. What happened to this “cooler weather” idea???

Continuing on as we neared the top, we came across this memorial. It was for the Prescott 19 which were the 19 firefighters killed a few years ago. It gave us all goosebumps.

The top was so fun to see!

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We then saw the mountain with the 19 on it and understood. It’s a bit hard to see, but this was our spectacular view. We HONOR you, firemen.

Coming down was much faster; finished in 72 minutes and about 2 miles. Not bad for stopping often to shade and to let Tot grab Daddy’s hand.

Here she grabbed my hand which was so awesome. I know Daddy felt the same.

We made it!

Hooray! The car has waters and snacks. We couldn’t get there fast enough.

We headed to downtown Prescott with its beautiful courthouse.

They have a timeline of the history of Prescott. We found the date of our state founding.

We found the whole thing so amazing.

Then I wanted Daddy and Tot to stand in front of the whole thing. We love you Arizona.

After a bit of antiquing and reminiscing about our old toys, we had a nice lunch at Wildflower.

I loved the day with my family.
Cooper was being taken care of by my friend Kellye and Charlie. Charlie loved getting kisses.

And Murphy (their dog) loved hanging with the Coopster.

So good to be home with our little cutie pie. Thank you Daddy for a great trip! Next HAA here we come!

Once a month, Tot, Doug and I go to UMOM through Matthew 25 ministry at SBC. UMOM serves homeless families and we go to help pray and serve. This week, we did something different since we couldn’t go due to schedule conflicts.

Tatum and I drive by homeless people daily. Now, we don’t know if they are just panhandling or WHY they are asking for money, but it is not our job to know. It is our job to love them no matter their heart. Their motives are between them and God.

So, we decided to make homeless bags again, and Daddy helped us with the note.

We figured we’d put a note taped to a bottle of water and give them a granola bar.

The note would say: “YOU ARE LOVED.” On the other side: “Cast your anxieties upon the Lord because He cares for you.” (1Peter 5:7).

We hope it blesses them. We remain grateful for all we have, and to give others love is what we will always do.

He had his final booster shot today.

We waited for a while. And waited. And waited.

While we waited, we saw our picture on the screen from his first visit.

Finally we got in, and guess what? He’s 6.5 lbs now.

He has grown so much. Well, he’s grown more fur! I think that is what weighs 5 of his lbs.

When we got home, he was raring to go. We throw the ball and he slides with it under the table. Thank goodness he has piles of fur because he keeps bonking his head on the bottom of the under-table.

We throw it and he runs runs runs, emerging from his slid spot.

Go Coopy!

And back he goes

He makes us all crack up. At least until someone puts an eye out or bumps his/her head. We love you COOPY!

Third year, sixth camp. Toy Story promised to be a fun time. How could it not be with the cute characters and fun songs?

They all sang You’ve Got a Friend in Me.

She had poise, smiles and loads of fun on stage. She really has grown in two years.

Then, her group sang She Loved Me. She and Will were partners.

Ms. Sussan has been with her since she was 4 at this camp. We wanted to say Thank you for all she has done for Tatum. Next year, she’ll be in the 7-9 group.

Great job, Tot! here’s a Emoji Pez because you always have a smile.

We have been waiting for this little shop to open for about a year. The building was absolutely beautiful, and we knew Luci’s was a cute little cafe and shop from other locations.

So, I surprised her with going there after camp.

We enjoyed a FIVE dollar mini macaroon. I figured you’re paying for the cuteness of the place.

She shared an arm with me, sweet thing.

Delicious!

And next time, she’ll consider buying an overpriced stuffed dog. Her allowance of course.

We have so much fun hanging out together. I enjoy our talks. We always do questions or I Spy. Never a dull moment with my bumby.

Formal Cooper must obey the orders. Yes, he is getting schooled right now each week by our trainer, Karen. She is doing 4 private lessons and then we’ll do 4 at the dog facility. Cooper is learning his heel, sit, down and place. Here he is learning to leave it when there are all these wonderful socks to chew!

He loves Ms. Karen because she always has treats.

Hooray for Cooper! We are practicing with him daily to be “down” when we pray, practice piano, and when we just need to have him chillin’.

The informal is a must with a puppy, right? He needs to be a kid and PLAY! Daddy needed him to chill the other night so he just dumped the plethora of toys on his place. It was truly Disneyland for puppy!

No, this one…

Or this one..

And then there’s the playing with Tatum’s setup here.

Ok, now he’s totally pooped out as we have our standoff for bed. Come and get me mommy!

And the saga continues tomorrow. We love you Coopy!

All day long, my sweet girl had tummy trouble. During the afternoon, Tatum decided to sing some songs. They were all about Jesus. “Come and be my friend. Be my friend in Jesus. Sisters and brothers-in Christ.” It warmed my heart and made her feel much better too.

She makes up all of her own words and just goes with it.

I love her heart for Jesus. I also love that she loves being a follower of Christ. She is developing her own relationship with Christ. I pray for it to grow and flourish.

Cooper enjoyed all the singing too.