Saturday Is a Special Day

There is nothing more spectacular than AZ Saturday afternoons in February. Lucky for us, we have one extra this year, and we will be using it very wisely, I promise.

I watched Tucker's kids last Saturday while all the brothers (including Ben on FaceTime in UT) played Dungeons and Dragons. 

Don't get me started, 1986. Yes, I remember.

It was such a gorgeous day that Gypsy came out of hibernation to catch a few rays. While Caroline isn't afraid of much, she was a little hesitant with the tortoise.

But she sure loves Cleo. And we have the world's most patient dog who allows kids to grab her face and tail and just loves being around the family every waking (and sleeping) moment.

Hyrum hung the hammock in the front yard a few weeks ago, and it's become a temporary installation that the even the neighbor kids use.

Annie was pretty proud of herself figuring out how to get Caroline into it. I still don't know how she did it, but I got Eli in because he's close to Annie's weight now.

Brad works in his yard about an hour every day before work and almost all of Saturday. And it shows. His yard is the most beautiful in the neighborhood--flowers, vines, trees, fruit, and no weeds (which is saying something this time of year). Caroline helped him with some dirt for the front beds.

If you look closely at this picture, you can see Annie up in the tree.

Caroline wanted to get up there with her so bad. She loves that big sister of hers.
As I lay on the grass watching the kids and enjoying the sunshine, I kept watching Annie up in that tree. She sat in the crook for twenty minutes, just thinking about stuff. I asked her what she was doing, and she replied, "I can feel the breeze and smell and sit and think." I loved that.

Whenever the kids find Gypsy, they beg for lettuce so they can feed her. It's really fascinating to watch her beaklike mouth chomp bite after bite after bite.

I know lettuce isn't that filling, but she can eat three whole pieces as long as her body!

She is a rescue tortoise from AZ Parks and Recreation. I don't know her full story, but she couldn't be reintroduced to the wild for fear of introducing disease, so the ranger (a family friend) gave her to us. She is the world's easiest pet. We don't even know she's around most of the time. As long as she has access to water (more plentiful in Brad's green yard than in any AZ desert, I'm sure!), she's content. We've had her a few years now, and I can't tell if she's getting bigger or not, but she will probably outlive all of my kids if she stays healthy.

Ah, AZ. I love you in February. Just not as much in August.
But it's worth the tradeoff.