The Joys of Summer

Right after playing in the rain




This is our new roommate in the garage....


First and foremost, I gotta say that the summer brings out some interesting wildlife in Arizona. I found one of these in the garage the other day when I moved a box. It was all I could do to keep from screaming bloody murder! I know that the monsoons bring tarantulas out but I hadn't seen one at all til it was right underfoot and I almost stepped on it! By the way, Andrew was at work when this happened and he made me sweep it out all by myself. If you know me very well then you'll know how spiders terrify me! I did not want to even go back out there. I still have fears that it's going to be sitting in the drivers seat of my car, waiting to get me. (I know I'm being dramatic, but it really did scare me!)

Speaking of monsoons, who knew that summers in Arizona would be so humid? I definitely didn't. It hasn't really rained too hard for a couple of weeks now, but man, when it does it's like the clouds open and everything just pours out. We took some video of the flooding in the backyard creekbed (Andrew is very proud of the creekbed and of the rain gutter he hung. He is the best!) and it just doesn't do it justice. The temperature drops like 25 degrees and the wind is blowing, so the water is just everywhere. It now makes sense why there are so many washes and flash flood zones. I thought the neighbors were just talking crazy when they warned us about the summer weather. The thing is that it's so so hot (100+ days recently) and you just pray that it will rain so that it's not so humid anymore. Everything just sticks to you. I feel bad for Andrew, having to work out there with his body armor on, and that probably adds like 15 degrees or more to his temperature. Anyways, the summer storms are beautiful, with all the lightening and thunder. Really nothing like it.

And last, but not least, we had a great 4th of July. We were lucky enough to celebrate the whole day together, Andrew didn't have to work, and so we made the 35 minute drive to Bisbee to have a true American lunch. Jimmy's Hot Dogs is one of our favorite places to eat and what could be better on the 4th of July? If you ever come down to visit, this place is a must. Don't worry, it's not all hot dogs, they have awesome sandwiches too. :) After Jimmy's we headed back up to Sierra Vista to check out the festivities at Veteran's Memorial Park. We made it in time to see the Patriotic Presentation, where they presented all the flags of the different branches of the military. It was really touching, especially in a community that is so influenced by the military. Fort Huachuca is the main employer here in town and we are very grateful to these men and women who do what others can't or won't. I am amazed at their courage and strength. They also put on a little fireworks display which was pretty good. We were able to sit in our neighborhood park and watch it and it was great! Byron Days fireworks are still #1, but Sierra Vista did a good job. All in all, a pretty good day.

Other than that, we've both been working long days (and nights for Andrew) and trying to find time to spend together. We love our lives here, but miss our families and friends very much. We'd love to see you all soon!