Day Sixty-Two: Good Times with Great Friends!

To everyone else, the last few days would seem kind of boring, but let me be the first to say that Arizona is a difficult place to spend a lot of time outside. Annie and Tyler are hard workers and Robyn and I are the boring ones!!
So, we decided to do what we do best, and did some shopping. We found the craft store, and since we haven't been to one in two months, it was like walking into a candy store for us! We came up with a few more projects we would love to start, including ideas for our scrapbooks. We also caught up with all of the new stuff that has come out since we left, (especially the Cricut cartridges!) We got some stuff for a project we are going to work on with Sarah. We went to a few of the other stores there, too.
Later, we went out to dinner to a Mexican restaurant. We had a few drinks and spent the night talking. (Katie- you were missed!!) It was a lot of fun remembering some random things. It was pretty late before we headed off to bed.

Day Sixty-One: The Land of Red Rocks

Today we decided to go to Sedona. It is about 90 miles away from Scottsdale, and is supposed to have a "vortex" and a place of healing. Luckily, we are all healthy enough and didn't need to worry about it. We left somewhat early, so we wouldn't have to hike in the nasty heat. Toby really wanted to drive, but had to sit in Robyn's lap, instead.
We got to Sedona at about 10:00. We decided to take a shorter trail (compared to some of the recent ones). The entire trail was about 1.5 miles. There was a little stream that followed the trail, so Toby enjoyed that a lot. He didn't find the sticks that were thrown to him, though. The end of the trail was at Cathedral Rock. It is a huge monolith in the middle of open land. It was getting warm, so we decided to head back to the car. Toby wanted to take another swim, but there were two dogs on the other side. I guess that's good, because no one wants to spend an hour in a hot car with a wet dog!! The way home was uneventful- Toby and I took a nap in the back while Robyn and Annie navigated us home.
When we got back, Annie gave Toby a bath. He ran around the apartment getting everything wet. Or so I'm told. But he did smell good afterwards- with his curl-enhanced look. Since Annie and Tyler both had to work, we made them dinner. We hung out a little and now it is time for bed!

Day Sixty: Another Low-Key Kind of Day

It has been so nice relaxing for the last few days. I feel guilty that Annie and Tyler have to work. Since they were working, Robyn and I had some free time. We didn't do too much. We spent some time playing with Toby (can't help it!). We also went to the store to spend some more time. Robyn made dinner for everyone (delicious!) and she was so happy to spend at least some time in the kitchen.

Day Fifty-Nine: Dog Days of Summer

We spent today hanging out with Annie and Toby. Tyler had to work today- he was missed, of course!! We started the day at the dog park- we bought Toby along, of course! We met all of the local dogs, like Dogstein and Shorty (and their mom). A lady there asked if we were mother and daughter (sorry Annie- it's unfortunate, you're the older one!!) We then went to Starbucks, to cool down a little bit. It is unbearably hot- record high heat, around 114 degrees. Yuck! Anyway, Toby picked up all of the old guys, and the old gals, too! We stayed there for a while, then headed back to the apartment. We learned all about potentially harmful bites and stings that can happen here. It's a long list that I'd rather not have to deal with. I could do without scorpions and snakes.
Our afternoon was rather exciting. Robyn and Toby took naps while I tried to look through all of our pictures. After dinner, we went back to the dog park. There were a lot more dogs there tonight. We met a few more puppies, got up close and personal with some of them, too. After the park, we went out for some frozen yogurt. These do-it-yourself yogurt places are awesome! After talking for a while, we headed back and headed to bed.

Day Fifty-Eight: It's Great to See Friends!

So after a nice breakfast (that didn't consist of dry cereal!) it was off to Scottsdale to see some friends! It was about 2 1/2 hours down. We made a couple of stops along the way, but finally got there! It is too hot down here! I don't know how they live here. I guess the AC and misters and pools help, but still! When you start sweating as soon as you walk outside, gross! After a hardy lunch and some time to cool down, we went for a hike. We went to Phoenix to Camelback Mountain. Apparently it is something to do when you come down here. I wonder why... It was probably the toughest three mile climb. It was harder than yesterday's hike. It was more like rock climbing, which they didn't warn us about... After yesterday's hike, and then this... But, when we finally got up to the top, it was totally worth it! The view from the top was amazing! We were able to see all of Scottsdale and Phoenix. The way down wasn't nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be. We were able to see the sunset, which was beautiful! It got dark pretty quick, but we made it down just in time. After the hard workout, we went out to dinner, and came back to the apartment. Since everyone is pretty tired, we are heading off to bed, to recoup from the last few days!