Prime Time Hiking in Arizona

Dave says: February is a great time for hiking in Arizona. Usually I bike Pass Mountain but we got out with a big group for a Sunday morning hike that was a lot of fun. The day was slightly overcast and the temperature was perfect. We went around the back side to where you get some good views of the Goldfield mountains. Skye was a good hiker and is pictured below playing with her pine cone that I've attached to the pack with a shoelace.

On my birthday, we did a morning hike up Lone Mountain. It is one of the lesser known hikes in the area but the 360 views from the top are great. Carrying our little girl up this trail is always a workout.

Finally, we tried out a new hike in the Superstitions on the massacre grounds trail. It's a beautiful trail with an ominous history that is just over five miles total and ends in this nice small waterfall. The wildflowers were just starting to come out when we did this hike. This one had great views as well.

Making Progress

Alisha says: We are not quite there but we are making progress in the walking department. She will take about three steps on her own before she sits or falls down. Dave has her practicing a few times a day and once again will try to bribe her with little treats placed on the other side of the room. 

Happy Birthday Dave

Alisha says: Happy Birthday to this great guy! The day started out with a nice hike up Lone Mountain and ended with a little family party at his parent's house where the nieces and nephews had fun giving him silly presents like the Birthday Princess crown. The birthday boy requested a berry angel food cake and had lots of help blowing out the candles. We sure do love him!

15 Months

Alisha says: Wow, 15 months. Skye still isn't too interested in walking and prefers to get around on her knees. She is quite the little knee walker. I love that her hair is getting long enough for me to start putting it in a few little pony tails. She doesn't really like getting it done so I have to distract her with the tv usually. She love to be outside and so we tend to frequent the parks in our area and she is still a good little mountain biker and hiker.

15 month pediatrician visit:

Weight: 20.6 Pounds (50%)

Height: 31 Inches (55%)

Head Circumference: 18 Inches (75%)

The Desert is Green

Alisha says: You almost wouldn't believe we were sitting in the desert from these pictures. Skye and I have both been sick with terrible colds and needed to get out of the house after being stuck inside for a few days so even though I still wasn't taking much because my throat hurt so bad we went on a little hike by Saguaro Lake on the Butcher Jones trail. We have a few rainy days that have really greened up the desert and should make for some great wildflowers in a month or so. Hopefully we get feeling better soon!

Miscellaneous January

Alisha says: Skye turned 14 months in early January. She still doesn't walk but she is starting to do a tiny bit of walking when you hold her hands and will take a few steps on her own so we are making a little progress but she just still isn't that interested and prefers to get around on her knees. She has started to say a few things like woof, quack, ball and can point to a few different things when we ask in her books like the bee. We are still working on getting her to use some of the sign language we have been teaching her. She uses "more" and "all done" occasionally when eating but still requires a lot of coaxing.

Lights of the World: Using a groupon I planned us a night out to this event. It was okay. At first when we got there it still wasn't dark so things weren't lit up and it we weren't that impressed. We walked around at the carnival and watched an acrobat show while it got dark and then walked around the light displays once it was dark. They ended up being fun to look at and Skye liked all of the lights.

Carousel ride at the mall.

We got a membership to the Children's Museum and have been a few times. Skye likes to play in the room that is just for kids under 3 years old where her favorite thing is this air vent that has a motion sensor on it so that it turns on when she crawls on it. She also likes the light boxes with sand on them that are in another room.

Bath time!

Family mountain bike ride in Usery on Cats Peak trail.

So We Bought a Camping Trailer

Alisha says: We had been toying with the idea of purchasing a camping trailer for a little while now so Dave had been watching craigslist for something that interested him. We were looking for a particular kind, a TrailManor, because they are a hard shell pop up. We needed it to compact down so that we could keep it in our backyard and not get in trouble with our HOA. Dave saw this trailer at a good price so we set up a time to go take a look at it. We decided it would be great for us and Dave negotiated a little bit off the asking price before we hooked it up and took it home.

We were anxious to take it out for a trip but since it is winter in most places we stayed close and headed to Tucson out by Gates Pass. We had a great time and Skye loved playing around. For fun we went and ate lunch at one of our old favorite restaurants, Cafe Poca Cosa and did two small hikes by Gates Pass and Saguaro West National Park. Even though it was only one night it gave us a chance to try most things out and make a list of things that we need to get for future adventures.