two-wheelin'.

You'd think that we'd get a lot of time outside here in Arizona, but I feel like we've been cooped up for months, having had something like 100 days in a row over 100 degrees during the summer. Can't do much in that heat besides swim.  At any rate, the temps are finally cooling down so Cassidy has had a chance to get back on her bike to practice without the training wheels. She's done a great job and is now riding on her own!

Matt helping Cass get started on a recent day at the park.

Cassidy happily riding on her own.

Skidding to a stop.

The old Lightning McQueen bike will likely be making it's way out of the rotation in favor of a big girl bike soon. Lightning has served both kids well.

monopoly.

There's always a game of Monopoly going when YiaYia is here. Looks like Lincoln and Cassidy have teamed up against YiaYia here.

family time.

During my birthday week, my mom and dad and oldest brother were here visiting. Along with them, were longtime family friends, Jim and Christine. We showed them around town a bit.

We took John to Tempe to climb "A" Mountain on the Arizona State University campus. You can see John and Lincoln  climbing above. 

Lincoln at the top of the mountain.

YiaYia, Cassidy, Lincoln, and John at the ice cream parlor after climbing the mountain.
It was in the mid-to-upper 90s here in October. 

YiaYia, Cassidy, and Lincoln by Tempe Town Lake.

We also visited Old Town Scottsdale. 

YiaYia, John, Cassidy, and Papou in front of a grouping of cactus in Old Town. 

Finally, while our guests were here, we took a boat tour of Saguaro Lake on the Desert Belle.

Jim and Lincoln on the boat.

Lincoln, YiaYia, and Cassidy enjoying the cruise.

 

The kids steering the boat with the captain.

Lincoln with Jim and Christine.
Papou is in the background with his Michigan shirt on.

Peace, dudes.

Papou, YiaYia, Julie,
Cassidy, Lincoln, Jim, Christine
on the lower deck of the boat.

The kids in front of an impressive saguaro cactus. 

flying high.

Matt fulfilled a bucket list item of mine for my birthday -- going on a hot air balloon ride! What a fun 40th birthday gift idea.

We had to get up at 4:30 a.m. to drive to the place where the balloons lift off.
Here is the basket that we rode in. It held 10 people.

Me in front of the balloon as we waited for it to inflate.

It was a big balloon. Good thing they didn't rely on people using their breath to blow it up! They started to inflate it with fans and then start blowing the fire into it...heat rises.

 When the balloon was ready, we quickly loaded ourselves into the basket and off we floated!

Julie & Matt up in the sky!

We enjoyed being up in the air, looking down on the Phoenix area. It was very peaceful, in between the loud bursts of hot air that were blown into the balloon to keep us afloat.

After about an hour in the air, we were ready to land. Apparently it was a bit more windy than the pilots like to see and we ended up with a pretty rough landing. We hit the edge of an embankment and ended up landing on the side of the basket, with our backs to the ground. Kind of a lot for an old lady like me to handle.

My hat flew off during landing, but Matt was able to find it in the field that we landed in.

This is the bush that we took out during landing! 

This is what the basket looked like when we landed.

I survived!

Me, enjoying some post-flight champagne. 

mom is over the hill.

The kids and Matt helped me celebrate the big 4-0 this year -- good times!

Cute daisy garden-themed ice cream cake from Baskin Robbins (with my favorite chocolate fudge ice cream). 

Me posing with the gorgeous vase of flowers that my good friend, Jen, sent. 

Talk about being surprised...this guy showed up on my porch a couple of days before my birthday.
My oldest brother, John, flew in from Texas and stayed with us for three nights. What an incredible gift and a huge surprise. I'm not big on surprises, but this is one that I'll take any day. 

My mom, dad, and brother with Lincoln and Cassidy.
Note: my middle brother, Jeff, was in Louisville at this time getting ready to tackle a full Ironman - whew! 

Mom and daughter.

My brother, Jeff, made this fantastic photo book for me, with 40-years worth of memories.
I love it! 

Matt, Julie, John, YiaYia, Papou, Lincoln, and Cassidy out by the orange tree.
Love the family time!

Dragonfly & Butterfly Bash.

I took the kids to this event at a local park on a lazy Sunday morning in September. We went on a nature walk and learned interesting facts about dragonflies and butterflies. We saw quite a few dragonflies. Apparently they can be found year-round around this local lake. The kids were given nets to try to catch some dragonflies. They tried and tried, but never actually caught one. It was fun though!

Cassidy with her bug catcher net.

Lincoln and Cassidy trying to capture some dragonflies.

Almost got one!

Lincoln with his bug catcher net. 

 After the nature walk, we went inside and the kids got to do several bug-related crafts and activities.

Coloring butterfly masks.

My two cuties. 

Rawhide.

Granny came for a visit in September. It was still nice and hot while (actually, annoyingly hot) while she was here. We were able to get out one of the evenings to head to a nearby Old West town aptly named Rawhide.

Granny, Lincoln, Matt, and Cassidy at the entrance to Rawhide.

Granny and Matt watching the kids run down the old dirt road. 

We watched a short theatrical show in the Six Gun Theater. 

Granny, Matt, Linc, and Cass getting ready for the show in the Six Gun Theater. 

The kids in their proper place:  JAIL! 

To the electrical chair, Lincoln!

Now it's your turn, Cassidy. 

For her one activity at Rawhide, Cassidy chose to do a burro ride. She really enjoyed it! 

Lincoln chose to have a go on the mechanical bull. Hilarious.