tales from a far-land

We thought the monsoon rain was the end of our pool troubles, but the rain brought an onslaught of caterpillars.  They were everywhere.  We must have had thousands -- in our pool, on the bocce court and in our backyard.  Josh spent an entire day trying to save the caterpillars from drowning in our pool.  Our dogs loved eating them and when they did the caterpillars emitted an awful smell and green goo.  It was disgusting and insane.  In fact, this was such a phenomenon, that the local news station came out to our house and did a story on the entire predicament.  The story can be found here --  AZ Family News Clip . In our pool In the yard On the bocce court On the news

Every summer, Phoenicians look forward to the monsoon season. Per the National Weather Service, monsoon season in Phoenix is June 15 through September 30, however, most of the time the storms do not start until late July or early August. This year was no exception. The monsoon rains in August were insane. Some of the craziest storms that we have ever experienced. One such storm occurred during the evening of August 13th at around ten o'clock at night. Here is the storm report from the National Weather Service for this particular evening: Storm Report for August 13-14, 2021  Impacts: Localized wind damage, widespread heavy rains, numerous instances of flash flooding and unfortunately loss of life.>Strong to severe thunderstorms moved through central and southwest Arizona during the late evening hours of August 13, 2021 and into the morning hours of August 14, 2021. An unusually humid airmass was in place, fueling the thunderstorms and allowing them to produce very heavy rainfall.

Ten years old!  Wow, both kids are in double digits.  It makes me feel extremely old.  Who knew ten years ago that we would have a pretty amazing son.  Our youngest has a ton of confidence and wants to be a leader.  He is kind, helpful and intelligent.  He is inquisitive and stubborn.  He has a sense of style and isn't afraid to show it.  He enjoys challenges and can be motivated through financial means.  He is humorous, although his delivery isn't always quite on point - that will come with time and experience.  He enjoys being active and sporty.  If there is a short cut, he will find it.  A trait that can behoove him and be his detriment.  He often will charm someone into "helping" him with a chore or project, usually his sister.  Again, a trait that is both seen as a positive and a negative.  He enjoys spending time with his friends and will often ask for a sleepover or a playdate.   Aiden, you are becoming a remarkable young man and we know that any goal or desire

August and the first day of school approached rather quickly for our family this year, especially since July was spent apart from each other.  The kids were excited to return back to the classroom, in-person.  As were we, considering the kids started school virtually last year.  We are hoping the 2021-2022 school year will be a little more normal for our kids, even though COVID remains a societal constant. Aiden started fifth grade this year.  His homeroom teacher was Ms. McWenie, but about two weeks into the school year, his teacher was transferred to a new school, so all of Aiden's class was dispersed among the other fifth grade teachers.  So, instead, Aiden ended up with the same 5th grade teacher that Madilyn had, Ms. Fasnacht.   Madilyn is in sixth grade this year.  Her homeroom teacher is Mrs. Lacey, but in this grade, the teachers team instruct.  Each teacher specializes in a subject and teach all of the kids.  So, Madi will have a total of five teachers this year:  Mrs. Lac

While the kids were at camp for an entire month, Josh and I returned back to Oceanside, California, for a couple more weeks.  We wanted to experiment with one of the pandemics newest trends -- a workcation.  This is the concept of taking a vacation, but working while there.  For us, this experiment didn't exactly work out as we had hoped.  Both of us ended up having some very stressful and long work weeks.  And the set up in the rental was not adequate enough for us to fully engage in work in the most optimal way possible.  In the end, we realized that we are the type of people that need to have a separation of work and play; a clearer, more bolded line between the two.   However, the workcation did allow for some fun.  We were able to watch the Phoenix Suns on their journey in the NBA Finals against the Milwaukee Bucks.  We found a new bar for each game.  It was exciting to watch them play, especially since they started of the finals 2-0.  But, sadly, they couldn't keep the le