We arrived home for Kartchner Caverns the morning of Valentine’s Day, so it was a challenge to get into the spirit. The focus was to unpack and to launder. Not too romantic.
But….again my honey did not disappoint. Neither did Tot, and I had a few goodies up my sleeve.
First, we, as a family, usually meet to go over our gratitudes for the day. At this time, Tatum had prepared a little song for us. She worked on it outside and carried it in the BBQ pail. Very inventive!
Now, here we go, Daddy first. An I Love You notecard and a quick little tune.
Now, my turn!~
Cooper is waiting for his. And remember the Tot and her singing?
Yes, she sings her emotions. She sings when she wants to communicate something to us. She sings when she wants to get out her frustrations, emotions, or thoughts. It is her form of communication. (along with drawing). And so this is how she told us Happy Valentine’s Day.
Now, I gave my honeys cards. (and of course a nice dinner of BBQ chicken and delicata squash ….and a glorious salad!)
I wanted Tot to have some new shoes too since she does put the spring in my step as I mentioned in her card (besides floating my boat!)
And of course….
Now, my real honey…..
He does hold the key to my heart.
And I wish I had more goodies for him, but I did leave love notes all over the place for the HHH.
Right before dinner, Daddy came out of the office. ……carrying….
Lovebug!! I love this!
The amazing kiddo!
She loves it, and I love him for spoiling her with this love! Now, me? WHOA…He knows I love flowers and birds. A bird puzzle does the trick. I cannot wait to dive in and explore them. I mean the puzzle…heehee
I saved the card to read with him later. He truly makes me feel like a queen.
I love us.
What a great end to a fun weekend. Our anniversary is on Tuesday (2 days). More love and celebration to come.
We got spoiled last night. Jeff, a friend of ours and past neighbor, treated us at his restaurant Sushi Ko. It happened to be the night before our two year anniversary, so it was a double blessing.
He invited us to dinner at his restaurant his treat. WOW!
Here is Jeff!
We sat down and he immediately brought us some beverages and monstrous menus. The first course was just some rolls and sashimi. Tuna, salmon, and rolls. Tatum was not afraid to try it all. In fact, for her entree, she did not want the “kids” meal of chicken teriyaki, but instead, a rainbow roll. How beautiful is this!
Crab and avocado stuffed each roll. You had salmon, avocado, yellowtail, ahi and shrimp. I mean..cmon!! Delish!
Doug ordered some spicy jalapeño rolls. Fish eggs on the outside. Sounds weird but actually delightful. We also had ahi seared on top of salad.
I gobbled up all the pickled ginger. I could eat piles of that.
We thank you Jeff. That was such a treat, and you spoiled us!
We are on our sixth Hay Arizona Adventure (HAA), and it did not disappoint.
First, of course, Cooper is not quite sure what all the ruckus is. He knows that we are packing, but really, he just wants to play ball.
And if he can’t play ball, he needs to be right in the middle of what we seem to be doing. Right now, we are packing snacks. Can I have one too?
Now, we are ready to drop off Cooper as we head out. Oh, such a sweet sorrow.
I have to give Coopy one last hug. I’ll miss the little guy!
Now, Daddy, great job packing the car. We are so excited for our drive because we can get Circle K cinnamon coffee.
We arrived a Kartchner around lunch time (it’s about 1 hour south of Tucson).
I have been wanting to check out these caves for a year or so It’s a hidden treasure we have in Arizona.
Our tour began at 1:45, and with Covid, there were only about 7 of us; a nice intimate group. We would learn about in 1974 how Gary (not sure of his last name) discovered these caves in college. He brought in his friend Randy, and convinced a science teacher, James Kartchner, to purchase this area. Now, there are miracles under our ground which are living rock formations. We couldn’t bring our cameras with us, but I do have a few pics.
We learned about soda straw rocks which grow at about an inch every 1000 years.
The massive amount of living rock underground is truly miraculous.
The white in the rock is calcium and the red is bits of iron. The humidity in the cave is about 95% which makes the growth possible. We learned that the stalactite (are hanging from above) and stalagmites (are growing erect from the ground). We also learned that the bats come to live in the cave when it is warmer, so there were none in at this time. They will come in and have their babies in the summer months.
Tatum, Doug, and I hung on every word of our 90-minute tour! The beauty of God’s creation. We arrived at our hotel, Start Pass Golf Suites, in Tucson later on that day.
We were ready to just chill in our room a bit, but alas…our room was not really a sweet suite. It was more sour, but we made the best of it.
After a good Chipotle take out dinner and some fun convo, we fell asleep fast! When we woke up in the morning, the gym was closed, so we walked up the hill and discovered a hiking trail!
We brought our camera with us, and right there, a Gila woodpecker greeted us in the tree.
Ok, now we are ready!
The views were glorious.
And the saguaros were plenty.
Even though we live in the desert, it still is beautiful to be in it. God’s creation is all around is. We even spotted a pack of coyotes traveling down the hill. They were hunting for some wabbits (or roadrunners) I’m pretty sure.
Tot enjoyed exploring all the wonders.
When we got back, we got ready to explore Tucson. The library was closed, but we found it to be quite pretty.
Later, we peaked in a room outside the art museum, and found it was a little hidden gem.
This is the kind of place that makes water look pretty. So all we got was a cappucino and a fruit cup. With whip of course.
But they did have this board game. I was so glad because Tot has been asking for it, and now we have cured her of this want.
The rest of the day, we swam, ate, and chilled. It was a perfect end to our Tucson HAA adventure.
At night, we had more take out. Ugh…it’s the best we could do. BUT, we played a game, talked riddles and jokes and laughed. Did this mean there were no hiccups? Well, The thing about the Tot? She sings her emotions. She sings when she wants to communicate something to us. She sings when she wants to get out her frustrations, emotions, or thoughts. It is her form of communication. So, she wanted to apologize and justify some unlovely behavior. And she did. Eloquently in song. I love her heart.
We left early the next morning to get the Coopy and celebrate Valentine’s Day. More to come.
I love my Hay family. Thank you for the adventure. May they continue!
What makes a team thrive? Well, I know that a tree only grows stability through the hard storms. I know that rose bushes only grow with much pruning. So, the same holds true for a family. A team. Those hard times, those conflicts; they all are so necessary for growth to occur.
Now, we have a choice of course when struggle occurs. We can chop down the tree, cut down the rose bush, or we can run away from our families. OR, we can talk it out and thrive. Sure, it may hurt at first, just like the pruning shears don’t feel so great, but in the end, you have a blossoming, fruit-filled, bushy tree or plant.
Such was the other day. Tatum had a tough morning with learning to be a leader in a kind, humble way, and her words did not reflect who she really is. Daddy and I had to have a meeting with her later. It was a wonderful conversation, and Daddy even gave her a lovely card. I love how his heart is so geared to growth and especially love.
She does have a heart of gold, a beautiful smile, a repentant and contrite spirit, and ….well, I know she is growing in HIM every day. I love how our family works.
We are forming our team every day. With Christ as our center, nothing can break us apart.
I love you HAY team. And thank you Daddy for being our ROCK too. XO
Today was the big day! You had to call and schedule and appointment, and only front line workers and people over 65 can be vaccinated right now. So I told her I would drive her over to the parking lot area that is doing drive-through vaccines.
We got there about 15 minutes early and drove through the designated cones.
Then, they asked my mom some questions, and we were directed to our shot locale! Easy peazy really.
The lady came over to our car, but first a nurse went through potential side effects. Basically none because there is only ingredients such as Miralax (whatever is in that) lipids and other natural fillers. Zero allergens, so my mom was thrilled.
She gently pierced my mom’s arm and VOILA it was finished.
She said she didn’t even feel it. What she did feel was this delicious lolly that she received. Some sanitizer too as parting gifts. Not a bad deal!
Now, we wait for 30 minutes in the parking lot just in case there is a reaction.
So far she feels great and not even a sore arm. We return in 3 weeks for the same shot same dose. Same bat time, same bat channel.
