Camping In Camp Verde

This last week we FINALLY had an entire weekend with Mara!   She has been on at least one weekend day for the last several months, so it was nice to have a weekend together.  We spent the weekend camping in a canyon in Camp Verde, exploring Sedona & Cottonwood, and stopping at Watson Lake in Precott since I had never been.
We had an awesome shady spot for camping, right next to a stream, with only one neighboring campsite, and no one took that until the middle of the night on Saturday.  It was very nice to be shaded so well since it was still close to 100°F during the day.  Friday night we explored our campsite and the rocks/trails around it before hiking around the West Clear Creek trail at dusk, it was really nice.
Saturday we had a great breakfast and camp coffee before heading into Sedona to beat the heat a little bit (about 10° cooler).  We talked to some locals and they told us to hit up Fey Canyon trail.  It was near another trail we had done, but we had no idea it was back there.  It’s 1.5mi back into a small canyon, nothing spectacular, but the views were awesome and another couple told us of a small “fort” someone had built and gave us directions to it.  Very cool to see, and the views back towards the canyon mouth were gorgeous.  We at lunch in the shade near the Tlaquepaque shops before heading back to the campsite.
We hiked back out on the West Clear Creek trail to a swimming hole we had found a couple years back.  Rohan was SUPER excited and there wasn’t many people there, but there were several younger kids.  Rohan was a trooper, jumping off of rocks and having a blast.  The other kids were crayfish hunting so Rohan was interested in that.  He wouldn’t touch one, but loved looking at them.  We capped then night off with some wine while Rohan chased beetles and crickets with a stick…
Sunday we headed back to Phoenix, but first stopped in Prescott.  I had never been and Mara looked up a really cool lake, Watson Lake.  It had very strange granite rock formations which is not like many other places in AZ.  Schroeder had a blast in the water again, and Rohan now has a renewed desire to go on a boat or kayak, so we might have to visit there again!
We capped the day/weekend off with some swimming at home and we let Rohan watch the Iron Man movie.  He has been so enamored with The Avengers that we thought it was time to give him some back story on them.  He was enthralled throughout the WHOLE 2hr movie and even gets drawn in during suspenseful parts and super animated during chase scenes and flying scenes.  It was a lot of fun to watch.
Hope everyone had a great weekend!  Enjoy the plethora of pics and SloMo videos…:)


Rohan Sized Cliff Jump:

One of the first times Schroder went in the water on his own:

Schroeder Chasing A Ball @ Watson Lake:

Schroeder & Ayla Chasing A Ball:

Schroeder Bobbing For The Tennis Ball:

Birthday Fun!

This last week we enjoyed Mara's LAST week of PCH wards!  It was a tough month, but we got through it as usual...:)  Mara and I had the chance to attend the graduation reception for the 3rd year senior residents who will be leaving for real jobs or fellowships.  Mara was good friends with some, so it was nice to be able to send them off.  Our friend Shannon watch Rohan that night, and from the sounds of it went swimming, to the park, and non-stop played...I'm sure Shannon slept good that night...:)

Mara will be on a much easier rotation this month (Development) where she is more of an observer of kids than an interventionalist.  She still has some cross cover in the ED, but her weekends and overall schedule is much more "social life friendly"...:)

Rohan has recently discovered superheroes and has also rediscovered the cape my Mom made for him when he was little.  Last week we went to see the Avengers movie in the theater...that kid was GLUED to his seat the entire 2.5hrs!  He had since been wanting to fly with his cape...and we can't say "No" to that...:)

Sunday we had a BBQ for my birthday, but it was more about opening the pool to everyone and enjoying the perfect weather.  We had SO much fun with the SloMo feature on our new camera...there is an entire playlist on YouTube with those videos...:)
We had tons of food as usual, great friends to enjoy the day, and to top it off, Jeanette brought her massage chair!  Nothing caps 8hrs in the pool and sun like a 15min massage!  What an awesome birthday!

Hope everyone had a great week/weekend!

SloMo Pool Party Playlist:
Here are some highlights:
DCN0254 - Dudo's awesome aim
DCN0258 - Taylor soaks Jess
DCN0281 - Wiram's bicycle kick
DCN0289 - Dudo defies the laws of physics
DCN0297 - Jess's spectacular entry