Finally Got to Run with Dad

Northland Hospice 5K in Flagstaff yesterday. We ran together the whole way and finished in 26 minutes!

Yosemite, anyone?

In three weeks, when Birch finishes his internship, he and I will escape to California while Trevor stays in Flagstaff to be spoiled by his grandparents. We'll be camping in Yosemite National Park for 5-6 days and I hope we can get a night of backpacking in also.

Now we need to get serious about planning. Neither of us have been there, but we have a few suggestions from friends who have been before. I REALLY want to climb Half Dome and I think there's a big tree called General Sherman? Any other ideas? We'll also be driving for 8-9 hours, so if you've heard any good books on tape lately, let me know.

We're taking this trip for a couple of reasons:
1. It's our 5-year anniversary in August!
2. We haven't taken a vacation by ourselves in three years. We always jump in the car with our families and tag along with them.
3. I hope Trevor will do well with us being gone after he's gotten used to both families this summer. (I've never left him overnight!)

Hikers climbing the last stretch of Half Dome. We'll definitely get an earlier start when it's not so crowded.

Heros at Home

First, an update on our summer "vacation." We left my parents' house on Wednesday after a week and a half and made the long journey across town (A whole 15 minutes!) to Birch's parents' house. I am SO glad it was the last time we will pack everything again until returning to Tucson.

Birch's parents will be here until next weekend, when they fly to South Africa for a business/pleasure trip and we become house-sitters for three more weeks.


So yesterday I was looking through old pictures with my mother-in-law (Nicole) and sister (Becca) when we heard a loud crackling noise, almost like an airplane. I kept looking at pictures but my sister stood up to look out the window and saw the neighbor's house on fire!

Nicole immediately called 911 and tried contacting the homeowners, who arrived about 30 minutes later. The fire was two houses away, but as you can see in the picture, there are enough dry plants and grass in this climate to spread the fire quickly.

Within an hour, the streets were lined with city and rural firetrucks and reporters. Hey, this is big news for Flagstaff!

The only other time I've called 911 was for a dumpster fire across the street last summer. Do any of you have any heroic stories?

Beauty Highs and Lows

For as long as I can remember I've always had dry hands, probably thanks to the Flagstaff climate. I wanted the smooth hands with beautiful nails but it never happened, no matter how much lotion I slathered on.

Then...a few weeks ago I went to a spa party at a friend's house, only to find out it was another scam to get me to pay big bucks for beauty products. (Sorry if you are a consultant for one of those companies, maybe I'm too cheap.) I ended up buying yet another bottle of lotion that was on the cheaper end of the order form.

The irony is that I LOVE it! I grease up with this lotion every night before bed and I finally have smooth skin and clean nails. The lotion is called Extreme Repair from BeautiControl.

Now I am motivated to take on another beauty dilemma: skin care. I've been thorough Mary Kay and several drug store brands but nothing has worked for me. Not being a big spender, I'd like to find something I can purchase at Target, so any suggestions? The fewer bottles required, the better.