Saguaro Lake- The Sandbar

We beached the boat on a sandbar in a nice little cove.  The kids were able to get out and play around a little.  David got a small net and was out there trying to catch fish.

Megan borrowed a pole from the people next to us and was trying to catch a big one.

Joelle even tried to get in on it!

In the end she just played in the sand and had a great time. 

As you can see, by the end of the day everyone was tired.  Well, except David (he slept on the way to the lake)!

Saguaro Lake- David Tubing

Ready to go!  Joelle is on the tube, so the going will be slow, but still fun!

 

David was always trying to catch a wake and slide to the outside for a faster, bouncier ride. 

Posing pretty!  Ready to go for another fast ride. 

This ride ultimately ended up with Megan falling off and David deciding that it looked like fun to fall off, so he did too! 

Saguaro Lake- Megan Tubing

Megan hadn't been tubing in several years, but she was so excited to go again!!  Megan and Tara had a blast doing "tricks"!

 

Megan was a little disappointed when Joelle was in the tube with them because they couldn't really go as fast as she wanted to.  They did go over some nice wakes and had some really good bounces though. 

Finally able to go as fast as she really wanted, Megan had a blast!

SCORE!! 

The cool thing about going slower is that you are able to do "tricks" and have a blast showing off.  The cool thing for the people watching is that you ultimately fall!!

Saguaro Lake- Joelle Tubing

Joelle is letting other boaters know that we have people in the water by the boat.  David and Evan are getting ready to ride the tube.

Joelle couldn't wait to get on the tube and go for a ride.  She has never been on a tube before and we weren't sure how she would do, but as you can see she was all smiles!  She is very adventurous for a 4 year old. 

Getting ready for their first ride.

Ready, Set, Go!

 

The girls like to get fancy and daring when we are going through a no wake area!!

Saguaro Lake- The View

The drive to Saguaro Lake in Mesa was gorgeous.  The whole time all I could think was how much my parents would enjoy the drive and the scenery.  I am ashamed to admit that this was the first time I had ever been there.  Of course, when you don't have a boat, why go to a lake!  My friend Lisa invited us to the lake with her boyfriend and his kids.  We were all so excited to go.  David, Megan, and Joelle had never been to a lake here before either.  When I told the kids we were going to the lake and would ride on a boat, Joelle said, "We're going to Grandma Ginny and Grandpa Bobs!"  I had to explain that there were other lakes and other boats:)

I was a beautiful day relaxing and watching the scenery go by. 

Best Buds

Joelle has enjoyed Libby so much.  She is very good at following all the directions I give her as far as how to behave with the dog.  She is in command of Libby, she will make her sit and stay like a pro!!

She likes to take Libby on walks and throw the tennis ball for her.  She even likes to feed her and take her outside for the bathroom.  The hardest part for Joelle is remembering to put any small toys away.  This morning she was playing a princess game (I told her she had to do it in her room) and she came out to strut her stuff.  She placed one of the earrings on the couch and can you guess what happened?  Yep Libby got it and tried to eat it.  Joelle was pretty upset but I think she knows that Libby can't help herself and that we have to make sure we don't leave stuff like that lying around. 

This morning Joelle told me that Libby was the bestest dog ever! 

First Day of School

Joelle is so excited to be in the fours room.  Each day she has so many stories for me:) 

Are You Ready for Some Football??

 David had his first scrimmage today!!  It was Freshman against Freshman.  He is playing offensive line in this picture.  He is lined up at the end.  His number is 78.

 Here he is lined up for Defense.  His socks are the white ones that say Puma on them. 

 Here he is charging the O-Line!

Getting a little water break.  It was 90 degrees when the scrimmage began and after an hour I know it was worse!

Here he is charging the line again.  We don't know yet if he will play offense or defense. 

At the end of the scrimmage, the JV team came out and our Freshman got to play a few series against them.  David was in the first group to play against the JV.  Hoping that means something!!  He is putting up a nice block here. 

Another nice block against the same JV line. 

On Tuesday there is a meeting and we should find out if David makes the Frosh A team or B team.  Based on what we saw today, I would be surprised if he didn't make the A team.  He has put so much dedication and work into football.  We are so proud of him so no matter what happens, we will be at EVERY game cheering him on!



Ms. Libby Pratt

On Sunday, July 15th we went to the Maricopa Animal Shelter to check out some of the dogs that they had.  It was a very depressing sight.  The number of animals that were there was ridiculous!  We had been discussing getting a dog and had just begun to really look around.  There were several dogs that we had ear marked as possibles after walking through all of the wings of the kennel.  We knew we wanted a female and we wanted a dog that was around a year old or a little older.  I was hoping to avoid the puppy behavior! 

When we saw this little girl we just knew we had to meet her.  She was laying in the kennel chilling.  She wasn't barking or anything.  You can imagine how loud the kennel was with 60 plus dogs in a section.  We got a volunteer to take her out and we went outside to a large penned in area to get to know her.  She was pretty jumpy and wild at first, but then the volunteer said she hadn't been outside in 3 days!!  Can you imagine? 

After awhile she calmed down a little.  She was such a good girl.  Another dog walked by the pen and Libby went to the fence and licked the other dog.  She showed no aggression towards people or other animals.  We figured out right then that she was ours.  While I had really no idea that we would be adopting a dog that day, I am so glad we did.  We had to wait until Tuesday to pick her up because part of the adoption fee is getting her spayed. 

When we were finally able to pick her up she rode in the car very well.  I was a little nervous about that, but it turned out okay!  For the first several days she seemed a little sickly and just did not have the personality that we remembered from the pound.  It turned out that she had kennel cough which is pretty normal for dogs that come from the pound.  We had to give her some antibiotics and she returned to the dog we saw at the pound.  I have learned a whole lot about dogs in a very short period of time. 

If you know me, you know Megan really wanted a dog and that I wasn't so set on it.  What is hard to believe is how much I love this dog!!  I am so glad that we got her.  She has her down sides, but her up sides are so wonderful.  If anyone would have told me I would like her this much and be willing to let her sleep in my room, I would have told you that you were crazy, but it is true!  She kind of makes our family complete.