Walnut Canyon

A few weekends ago, we decided it was time for a family adventure and some local exploring. So we hopped in the car and drove a few minutes to Walnut Canyon National Monument. It turned out to be a very neat place and we all enjoyed our time there.

(Except for Max right here. He really wanted to go play in the dirt rather than have his picture taken. What's wrong with that kid?)

We hiked a steep trail a little ways down the canyon to some pretty well-preserved ancient cliff dwellings. The Sinagua Indians had built them high up on some pretty steep ledges.

Noah and Max were great little hikers. Plenty to see, climb on, and explore. It also helps to have a great little path to walk/run on.

The boys loved exploring the little 'rooms' and hearing about the life of the Indians back then. They were very impressed. Ok, Noah mostly. But let's pretend, just for a minute, that Max is not 2 and does not throw a fit every 3 minutes.

Time for some yummy sandwiches, so we have enough energy to hike back out of the canyon.

We definitely recommend this little place for anyone visiting the area. And hopefully us.

Reality

Our little tree hugger

I sure like reading and writing blog posts. As you can tell.

But here is the problem: Do our blogs really reflect what is going on in our lives? Maybe. Maybe not. Sometimes it is hard to tell.

Are you thinking everything is dandy up here in Flagstaff because I have been posting beautiful pictures and telling you about our fun adventures?

Truth is, we are really enjoying ourselves and making the best of our situation. But it is definitely not easy peasy. I don't want to start complaining. I have no reason to. However, I also don't want to make it seem like our move here was a piece of cake. So I am gonna be honest.

It has been difficult for our little family to:

• move from a 4-bedroom townhouse to a 2-bedroom apartment
• leave behind all friends and family (except for the ones I already left behind in Germany)
• be in a more expensive place while making less money
• not have any neighbor kids to run around with outside

Well, those are the big ones. I know we had been really spoiled so far. But we did not take it for granted. Sometimes you have to take one step backwards in order to move forward. So that's where we are at right now.

Life is good! We are together, healthy and determined to make this a fun adventure!

So now you know...

(And in case you want to know more about how I feel personally, you're gonna have to visit my other blog. Soon. I have yet to write that post.)

Training in Flagstaff

If you want to know how "training" in Flagstaff has been going, go here.

I definitely recommend finding a StrollerStrides (which I talk about in that post) near you. If you are looking for a fun way to work out with your baby/toddler and meeting other moms.

Not today

I have so many posts in my head

that I would like to write.

But not today. Again.

Today I am going to play

Playmobil Knights with Noah instead.

We are both really tired

of Max knocking down our set up.

And he is taking a nap right now...

Hopefully tonight or tomorrow!

No post tonight either, unfortunately.

I need to go to bed.

We had a great time playing though.

Here are some pictures:

Lego Boys

This picture of Noah makes me laugh

Noah has been into Lego for a long time now.

Pretty much since he turned 3.

So by now he has gotten quite good at it.

Better than me.

Today was his turn for Show'n'Tell at preschool,

and he brought a Lego helicopter he made.

(And two rocks.)

He got new Lego a while ago,

got out the directions for this truck,

followed them,

and half an hour later it was finished.

That kid has patience and persistence.

I think it's pretty awesome.

Not sure what this one is.

I am having a hard time keeping track

since he comes up with about 5 each day.

He kinda has to since he has Destructo-Boy as his little brother.

Max is actually getting pretty good at Lego himself.

He loves to make towers or "TurmMänner".

Guys with really, really long necks and lots of heads.

This is actually a really short one. But the only pic I have.

Then he proceeds to carry them around with him.

All day.

In which case my main occupation is to look for lost parts.

All day.

Thank you to whoever came up with Lego.

Must have been a German...

Lake Mary

Hooray!

There is water in Arizona!

Not a lot,

but we do have a lake less than 30 minutes away.

It is beautiful and fun to swim in.

Unfortunately, the day we went there

it was extremely windy and no one felt like going swimming.

Imagine that!

So we did lots of exploring and hiking around.

We will definitely come back

but I am afraid the swim season is over up here.

After hanging out in the wind for a while, we had enough.

We found ourselves a nice little protected area,

found a ball, and played around.

By then I was having too much fun to take pictures...

Thank you, Oma and Opa, for outfitting the boys with nice warm fleeces.

They will definitely need them up here.

Our Backyard

Humphrey's Peak - view from our home

On Sunday, we decided to explore our backyard. Not literally, of course. All we really have is a tiny balcony which we use as our storage area. But we like to think of the forest behind our apartment as our backyard.

Off we are. Max, leading the exploration. Noah, hot on his heels. Karl, the entomologist, with his bug net. Me, trying to document the outing.

Thank you, Carlee, for giving Noah another Freedom Run shirt. Now he really can wear it every day! I did not quite have the heart to "accidentally lose" those during our move. I sure "lost" lots of other stuff though.

Looking for anything and everything that might be of interest...

Sticks, flowers,

more sticks, rocks,

all kinds of bugs,

and even 2 deer!

I had to take a couple more pictures of the wild sunflowers. Apparently, we missed most of the wildflowers in bloom. We are excited to see even more beauty next year, but for now we are happy with what we've got.

We love our new backyard!

A tour of the apartment is in the works. It is just not quite there yet. Still some boxes around and not all the pictures hung up. Maybe next week...

PS: Huge props to Karl, who is fixing our extremely whimpy disposal after I managed to clog it for the second time in 2 days. I owe you, Karl! Actually, I think by now he moved on to cleaning up the whole kitchen. I can't decide if I should keep sitting here for a few minutes or go help him...