One Year In The Desert!

Well we have survived a whole year in the AZ heat!  We moved last year on the 22nd, arriving in AZ on the 23rd and moved when it was 98°F. It was warm, but not like the Midwest 98°F with 80% humidity. Overall we couldn't have picked a more suitable region for Mara to do her rotations in. We have absolutely LOVED the weather here, although we did enjoy the thunder/lightning storms we had in the Midwest. We've taken full advantage of the mountains with hiking, camping, and rock climbing, and the night sky in the desert is spectacular!
This last week we took a trip down to Desert Breeze Park (on the advice of my fellow lab rat, Aprill). This park has EVERYTHING. A train, carousel, lake, huge playground, and our favorite hot weather activity, a splash pad. Rohan was all over the place. We hit the playground's tube slides (which Rohan experienced for the first time) and also the 3-turn tall tornado slide. Rohan got turned around on the tornado slide and rode down upside down and at a snails pace. It was hilarious. He had no idea what to do going down that directions. We wish we had video. Rohan was running all over the place, but kept looking over at the splash pad. It was large, and the kids were going crazy at it. He found a beach ball (that someone must have left there) and tried putting it on the fountains and concrete spray animals. He really wore himself out. We even had some time to share his Cheerios with some very brave, almost aggressive, ducks & birds.
We capped off the day at Sasha's where she made us some traditional Columbian fare. I can't remember any of the names of the food, but one translated to "Sweaty Chicken"...:) Slight language barrier, but it was essentially chicken roasting in it's own juices. We filled up so much we needed a walk too...where else...a FroYo place...:) It was a nice 3 hour walk to walk off all that food!
Sunday we has some seriously high winds (topping 40 MPH). We decided it was a perfect time for Rohan to try out his kite Grandma Bacon got him. Rohan actually really liked holding the kite and was even letting it pull him all over the soccer field we were at. It was pretty cute until he let go and we had to chase the kite down...:)
The weather was gorgeous despite the wind. We even went on a hike afterwards at Piestewa Peak in the Dreamy Draw Recreation Area.
Mara is finishing up her Pediatric Cardiology rotation this week and we are planning a nice camping getaway sans Rohan. Auntie Heather & Unkie John are watching him this weekend, and we can't thank them enough! I'm sure they'll all have stories when we get back.
Enjoy the mulitmedia buffet:


Rohan Goes Down The Tornado Slide:


Feeding The Ducks (Some Birds Were Very Cool To Watch Steal Food)


Fun With A Coke Box (Note The Destroyed Living Room):


Rohan Loved The Farm Animals At Wal-Mart:


Rohan Learns The Art Of The Zerbert:


A View Of The Wind On Our Walk: