Hay Happens and Hay's Happen

The beauty of the room did not help as the air blew right on us as we slept. Ergh. Well, no worries, we are ready to take on the day. Well at least our morning:
Workout at the Fitness Center (CHECK!)

Oh, while we were there, we met a nice young man of 43, Kevin. We discussed staying healthy, and that lead us to discuss our relationship with God is our foundation. Daddy encouraged him to watch The Chosen; we prayed for him later that he would fall back in love with Jesus. Wherever we go, we practice what we believe. Faith first! (in HIM who died to give us LIFE! (and he forgives and loves you too…if you accept it as a FREE gift).

Next, do a short hike up Marg’s Trail (the trailhead at Arabella) (CHECK!)

More beautiful views!

NEXT…(finally) Walk to Circle K (walk!! YAY!) for our coffee. (CHECK!)

This wonderful hotel has free breakfasts, so we found a cozy seat, read our devotion, and got to work on the rocks we would throw into the water (and the new ones that would represent our HAY family)

OK, what do we want to THROW OUT FOREVER? Family huddle….GO!

Now, what will we replace them with? These white rocks: (see later in the post about these)

Now we are ready!
It was time to head to our water source and why not go to Slide Rock? It was SUPER BUSY CRAZY on Labor Day, but the next day? Aaaahhhh. Much. more relaxed. (well, at least not busy. Relaxed? Probably not that).

The price dropped from $30 to $20 the day after Labor Day. See? We are smart!

The water will be about 65 degrees, but today it’s almost 100 in Sedona! Yeeks!

We embark on the walk to the water (50 feet down)…but first we see some must read signs.

LIVE IT! OK…NOW immediately we see the slidey rocks!

Oh yeah! I’m going first.

BRRRR is right, but oh, so fun and slippery. Seriously like a slide rock. HA!

Tot, you are next…her words: “COLD COLD COLD COLD COLD….” Allllll the way down.

Mommy, help!

Then….we come upon this massive rock. I say this is my SIBO and I’m trying to move it! I cannot but only GOD can! (Tot wants to help so badly)

Daddy….your turn!

Go Daddy!

They did have apples too! But not ripe yet.

We all agreed that Slide Rock was fun, but were all the scrapes and bumps worth it? One time, yes.

Here is what we came to do. It’s time to TOSS THE ROCKS! (remember from breakfast we filled them out?)

SPLASH! Goodbye disrespect, angry outbursts, miscommunication, impatience, rudeness, and tearing down. Truly. This is a symbolic event that we know will make a true visual impression for our family. REDEMPTION!

HELLO white rocks. (SEE LATER POST)

and goodbye SLIDE ROCK> Daddy, will you give me a ride? Oh, Daddy she has you wrapped around your lil finger.

Kind. HHH.

Now, it’s off to catch some fish. Really, it was fun, but one hour was PLENTY.

Trout Farm ahead. We decided to catch some dinner! Now, this is really “pseudo fishing” because there are about a zillion fish in this small farm, and the ALL bite. SO….it will take about 5 minutes to catch our dinner. HA! We are all about efficiency. Us Hays.

Success! My turn!

Three fish. Three minutes. Three of us. $30. Perf.

Tomorrow night, HHH will cook these up! YAY!
Now it’s time for lunch, ice cream swimming..the usual. So excited to get out of these mossy, fishy, smelly clothes!

We headed to the lobby to play OPERATION before embarking on our dinner. Riveting, right Daddy?

We LOVE to eat in the room and chat/play games. Our view is just beautiful from our room. (We brought in the patio furniture. During dinner we always do our THANFKULNESS< KINDNESS< and MERCY< Talk.

And then, Tatum sings for us.

Dinner and a show. And a GREAT NIGHT SLEEP>

Hays, this is the new era! We are ready to head back to Scottsdale redeeming the past and looking forward to brighter days.

HERE ARE OUR ROCKS:

See them in our kitchen tomorrow!

Every Labor Day, in the past, we have headed to Coronado Beach. This year, we decided to go to Sedona AFTER we did a Project Peace in our family. You see, the last time we went to Sedona in July, it was a bit messy. Conflicts, misunderstandings, and outbursts. Yuk all around.

Tatum had the brilliant idea of going back to Sedona, throwing some rocks (representing old junk from unwanted behaviors) and redeeming our memories of not only Sedona but moving forward to better unity in our family. YES!

Mrs. Denmark gave Tatum her work for Tuesday and Wednesday; now we are ready to head out ON Labor Day. (We like to miss the crowds!)

Adventures in Odyssey, Focus on the Family, and Family Life podcasts would brighten our ride.

We also decided to change where we stayed; we’re making NEW memories!
When we arrived, the hotel was not ready for us. I found a lovely place that fell right on a trailhead, free breakfast, heated pool, and walking distance to a few spots we love. YEAH!
Our room seems nice too!

Since they weren’t ready for us, they gave us an upgrade to a SUITE! SWEET!
So, to kill a bit of time before lunch, Tot and Daddy played monster Chess. Tatum was determined to capture his king!

Finally, we headed to Subway and McD’s. We love to get ice cream when we travel! (and it was right next to Subway. Plus in the past, McD’s prompted a negative memory, so again, redeem it. Tot got us all some water…

Daddy ordered, and he found the guy behind the glass so pleasant (and he reminded him of Austin), he gave him a tip! What modeling. Show appreciation! Amen.

time to eat and tell riddles!

Ice cream time! My personal favorite.

Pokeman cards were th prize, and now she finally got Pikachu! A rare find apparently!

Ready to head to our room and visit the heated pool. Hmmmmmm. Not sure it was really heated, but we still splashed around and talked to the guests. Worth it!

This fun swingy chair adorns our patio (and it’s like 50 ft distance to pool!)

They have lovely grounds as the sculptures are just beautiful.

After our swimming and settling, we visited Whole Foods and Chipotle for dinner. We wanted to get home for the sunset and hike up to the vista. Arabella had red chairs all set up up there; magnificent views!
The Daddy.

and the Mommy!

And… US!

Tot, you cutie pie! We just can’t get enough of God’s Creation. It’s intoxicating and peaceful.

Dinner, reading, and BED! We were ready for our redemption day and a few surprises.

Tatum LOVES to write stories. She gets inspired by the books we read.

She started a new story yesterday and couldn’t wait to read it to us. I LOVE her participial phrase usage!

Intro:

Like: “I said taking off my shirt.” or…

“Fear and panic growing.” This is a modifier (it modifies a the verb: Yelling) I think this is a verbal phrase!

“Drifted off to sleep.” Great word choice, Tot! Keep it up!!!

Tatum is starting to experience the challenges that stem from the opposite sex; All good challenges, but still, new and hard to navigate.

First, she has a first crush, which, rarely, is reciprocal. Noah from her grade adores her, and they like to talk often on the phone.

But, here is the challenge! Just last night the doorbell rang. It was 7-year old Beckham from down the street. He handed her an envelope and then ran away. She told him to wait while she handed him a Focus on the Family magazine. (She wants him to believe in Jesus)

Here was the note:

Oh, dear! Two boys. How did this happen? More of this to come, I’m sure of it. EEK! Lord, help us.

Now, in terms of friends, she has another dear friend she has known since Pre-K (Paradise for Tots) days. Little Carley (now big Carley!). This sweet girl has always had Tatum’s back and would fight for her. She is a lovely friend. Just this weekend, she came over for a play date and she thanked me multiple times for everything. Very polite!

Here they are from Kinder!

I’m so grateful for friends. She is learning what it means to be a real friend, and what to value in a friend. She must be what she wants to attract.

Tatum has been concerned about her math performance in class. I reminded her that it is just a speed issue. More practice, better speed!
So, I came upon this program called “Rocket Math.” The inventor, Dr. Don, spent a 1/2 hour on the phone with me going through it. So kind!
Anyway, she loves it! I decided to try her first with her multiplication facts.
She does 10 minutes (at least ) a day, and she is LOVING it!

Lauch it, Tot!! You are doing awesome!
Stay tuned for her progress.

Watching her play is truly exciting as she makes playtime an event!

She can turn a stack of “design” magazines into a whole imaginative world!

Then she adds characters..

Lord, what will you do with her brain and gifts? I can’t wait to see!

No, not a rat nor a gnat. We had my honey guess what was in the pool yesterday.

Yes, it was a normal day. Tatum and I get in the pool around 3:30 pm every day for a short swim. I’m paddling along and I see a black blob. I take a closer look, and it is not a leaf nor a rock. Nor a mouse or a rat. Nope.

It has wings. WHAT!? This winged little critter happens to be a bbbb….at. Tatum immediately hops out of the pool and tells me to get out now. I tell her he is dead, and she reaches for my phone to gather evidence.

Oh, my. He is creepy.

Let’s get a closer look.

Doug NEVER guess a bat, so thankfully he found him in the skimmer basket all shrivelly. EWWW>>

Glad we don’t have to become the bat cave. Who’da thunk?