Reid Park Zoo

Claire had fall break at the beginning of October, so we went to Tucson's zoo one day. It is not like any of the major zoos, but it satisfied the girls for the morning. They loved seeing the giraffes and elephants, and we even got really close to the grizzly bears.

in front of the lions' den

"Touching" the grizzly

"Hi Grizzly Bear!"

Elepahnts molar. Jeff would hate to fill that one! 

Phoenix Zoo with the Keyes!

October is the perfect month for outdoors stuff. It was also the perfect month to meet up with the Keyes, since Lance has had some free time in his oral surgery residency. We met up with our fellow dental school friends, and let the kids run free at the Phoenix Zoo. It took all the girls a while to warm up to each other, but once they did, they were unstoppable! Blake held his own too, though! Jeff and Lance caught up on awesome dentistry stories, and Melissa and I enjoyed comparing desert life to our old home in the bay. It was a fun day! We can't wait to see you guys again, probably when your baby is here in December!

Reno Visit

My BFF Christie turned 30, so I had an excuse to return to Reno. As if I need one though, right? It was just me, alone,  no kids. Soooo weird! We got a hotel room at the Peppermill, enjoyed a spa day, and partied like we were 21 again. It wasn't too crazy, but lots of fun! Sunday I spent with Susan and Scarlett and Catherine. We also visited Katelynd who was due in less than a month, and ate yummy sushi before I headed back to Reno. A quick trip, but one that made me miss my old city. Lots of fun in a little bit of time!

Claire-Star of The Week

At Claire's Preschool, they celebrate birthdays by making the kids star of the week. Claire's birthday fell around the same time as another one's, so they made her star of the week in September.

She put together a poster all about her, got to wear a star necklace all week, and she brought a mystery items with clues for a fun game one of the days. At the end of the week, the kids drew and wrote what they liked best about her, and her teacher, Ms. Lissa, put it together in a book. It will be something I will hold onto for a long time. So Cute!

She had a lot of fun that week!

Saguaro National Park

The best part about living in a new city is exploring! Tucson is a great place to explore, when it is not 110 or rainy out. Our city is right in the middle of Saguaro National Park, meaning if you go east you can enter the park, and if you go west, you also enter the park. We decided to go west one weekend, and walked and marveled at how tall these cacti actually get. And the saguaros don't sprout arms until they are at least 70 years old. The one I am standing next to is really old, and it was stuck by lightening and survived. We also saw a snake that scared the bejeezus out of me, and walked along the path for awhile.  It was fun checking out our new desert dwelling.

BUGS!

University of Arizona has a huge entomology department, meaning they like to study bugs. They have a festival every year, with lots of crawly critters that are in and out of their jars. I am not a huge fan of bugs, but we had to check it out anyway. It was crazy seeing these people with insects on their shirts and hanging out in the open. Many of the bugs were behind glass and that was just fine with me. We learned a lot, but definitely avoided learning what cockroaches and ants tasted like, since they had cooking demonstrations too!

Monsoons!

Monsoon Season is no joke here. Growing up in Vegas, we had monsoons, but it was a flood and disappear the next day kind of thing. This city has a flood-everyday-during-the-season monsoon! We love the rain though, And the lightening that comes with it is spectacular. Not to mention, we actually get to use the rain boots we thought we'd never bring out again after moving from Reno...