How many photos can your phone take?

Mine can take 391. Wanna know how I know this?

I have about 3 pictures of this.

380-something pictures of something like this.

And about 7 pictures of this.

All this was a result of being shut in a super tiny piano studio for an hour for the girls weekly lessons and desperately needing Westy to stay quiet. Was it worth using all my phone's camera space for an hours worth of quiet? You better believe it. (The tire sticker on his forehead is how we spent the first few minutes before he found the phone.)

Channeling our inner Corban

My little nephew, Corban is such an animal lover. I have never seen a little boy quite like him. He constantly carries around frogs, lizards, snakes, anything creepy and crawly. He loves them and has absolutely NO fear. When we were camping together a few weeks ago he said to his mom, "mom, I just want to kiss a feeog" (I love the way he says Frog) Not long ago, we were outside talking to some neighbors and Hattie came with this little guy. The pictures are less than great but you get the idea. A lizard!

Good thing he was a slow baby because we would otherwise need Corbie to get it for us.

Pink Flamingo

I love summer forts. They really set up shop with the dvd player, food and even a secret password. Okay, not so secret...

To Ryan

On Monday, we celebrated 11 years since we got on this crazy train ride.

We've had some incredible climbs

Some devastating drops

And we still hang on

You have a good eye for design

Because you are just creative like that

You can paint the hell out of a chalkboard

Or a wall

Or a toenail

These are all the things on your someday list

That I could not get you this year

What did I get you?

It is (ahem)

unbloggable

Love you babe

First Day of School

Hattie is in third grade, Neeley is in first and Westy is just hanging with mom.

Camping in the Sequoias

We had such a unique vacation this year with my family. We camped in the sequoias for an entire week! No electricity, running water or anything. The Secrists know how to "rough it!" Luckily mom and dad bought us a shower tent years back so we could at least get clean.

The sequoias are an amazing sight and even though we have been camping there years before, my kids needed to be reminded that there is so much more in this world than the Wii, their friends and their own little universe. The sequoias, Kings Canyon and the scenery are a stark reminder that we are children of God and He created this beautiful world for us! I always can connect with my spiritual self while taking in the wonders of the world and this trip was no exception. It gave me great inspiration and reminded me of what is important in my life. getting prepared to camp in the back woods for a week is an immense amount of work but well worth the efforts. These pictures are only a fraction of our trip but some of our highlights.

Hattie in front of General Grants Tree

I told the kids to make a silly face in front of the Boole Tree. The hike to this tree is uphill almost the entire way but when you finally get there, WOW! The 2.5 miles back to the car included the most breathtaking scenery. This picture doesn't even capture the enormity of this tree's trunk. This is only a fraction of the tree trunk.

We loved Hume Lake! Lots of swimming, canoeing, and paddle boarding. Certainly a highlight of our trip.

Haboob? Could this possibly be the lamest name for this?

Tuesday July 5th was an interesting one. This time of year we have our Monsoon season where extreme temps kick in and weather patterns clash. Its very humid, temps around 115 and a lot of electrical sky storms. Its miserably hot, but visually it can be a beautiful/electrifying time in the desert.

Well, Tuesday a massive dust storm (aka Haboob) hit while we were at our Aunt and Uncle's home up on the mountain. We had such a great view! This is the largest dust storm on record since the 1940s - it was MASSIVE and we watched it roll northward from our viewpoint. Amazing.

A haboob (Arabic ) is a type of intense sandstorm commonly observed in arid regions throughout the world. They have been observed in the Sahara desert (typically Sudan), as well as across the Arabian Peninsula, throughout Kuwait, and in the most arid regions of Iraq.

Amazing. The first picture is of the wall of dust coming across our area of Ahwatukee. The 2nd picture was taken in the middle of the dust wall - pitch black. Daylight turned to night in minutes. All you can see are the faint lights across the street. It lasted for several minutes - maybe 20 to 30 it was that huge! Enjoy the video at the end. So glad we were able to watch from an elevated spot.