Water! -in Arizona???

We love to come and visit our family in Arizona! We enjoy getting to know them better, and we love to help them out with projects that they may not be able to do on their own - or sometimes it's just much easier for us to do them...
Many hands make light work.

This year we have new family down here. Another of Vaughn's cousins just moved to AZ, and they moved in just a few houses down from the cousins that we are parked at. The boys have been doing a little light yard work for them and Vaughn fixed their sprinkler system. (Uncle Larry gives Molly a lift to the other cousins house...)
the kids call them all 'aunt' and 'uncle' - sounds more respectful to us. Tho they are all just like extra sets of grandparents, spoiling the littles :) And while we love them just because they are our family, we sure do appreciate the fact that they let us cool off in their snazzy pool!!! It's been in the upper 70s here!

And while the kids' new friends from church complain that it's 'cold!', we are roasting!

It's been such a treat to cool off in their pool! Water has been rather elusive to us in Arizona!

Since it's a diving pool, it's deep for most of the way, but at one end there is a platform with a table that is perfect for the little kids too! (not that Daniel is a little - he's at the deep end ;)...

We are enjoying getting together with them all!

And we are loving being back in Larry and Carol's driveway :) Aunt Carol makes great sweet tea, and she is teaching me to cook a little Mexican (which we love now that we've had the real thing! didn't care much for it before we started traveling ;) The kids have been getting a lot of schoolwork done. And right now the boys are in the middle of a big Axis and Allies miniatures game, and Beth and I just finished cutting up a bunch of red and green peppers to freeze. The little girls are out digging in the dirt, and baby Caleb is napping. Arizona sure has grown on us since that first year when we drove in and wondered just WHY anyone would choose to live here! We have grown to love the beauty of the desert, the friendly people, and the (winter) sunshine... not to mention our fam!

We will be here for another 2 weeks while we wait for the opening weekend of the Renaissance Festival (it's Beth's 'thing' that she requests each year). During that time, I suspect that we will be spending a bit more time transplanting century plants, moving rock, and possibly pouring concrete :) In the time between jobs, I imagine that the kids will be spending a bit more time in the water - Joel is working on perfecting his belly flop - he about has it down... LOL!