Fun with daddy

The pool at the Casa de Hayes is closed for the season, that is, unless you are a polar bear and can tolerate what we Arizonans consider to be "cold" water.  But before we put up the net, Natalie and daddy couldn't resist hopping in one last teeth-chattering time.

Then they hopped on their bikes and went for a bike ride together.  She was very eager to show him some of her new tricks:  pedaling while standing, riding with no hands and riding through all the rocks on the sidewalk at the elementary bus stop.  Looks like pretty soon daddy will have a new lil mountain bike companion.

Poor daddy didn't realize he really shouldn't go for a bike ride with a toddler at 5pm with no snack stashed in his pocket.  I'm pretty sure the whole neighborhood heard the meltdown that occurred 2 or 3 blocks away.

Surprise weekend with Auntie

Auntie Adrienne surprised us and came to play for a weekend!!  Auntie and mommy took Natalie bowling (her first time ever) and after throwing a fit about the ugly bowling shoes, the little booger actually won.  And yes, we were actually trying.

Yup, that's right.  Three years old and already rolling a strike.

Then a little girl showed up a few lanes down and was using a PINK ball.  So naturally, we had to go find a pink ball too.  Magically, the extra pound didn't seem to matter since it was pink.

 Final scores?  From top to bottom: Auntie, Natalie and Mommy

 

Thumbs up for winning.

Hours of watercolor painting with Auntie.

Bathroom ballet

She may refuse to admit she took ballet lessons and may never want to take ballet again, but man, she LOVES reading about ballet....

Wettest day on record

We knew it was supposed to rain, but I don't think any of us knew it was supposed to rain SO MUCH.

I heard it start to rain at 3am - you know, because I'm pregnant and I hear everything while I'm sleeping.  Ahhhhh, finally, some rain.  Went back to sleep.  Then I heard dog crying at 6am.  I pulled the pillow over my head but it didn't help.  So I got up, looked out the window and saw this pathetic sight...

"Uhhhhhh mom, I need a lil help.  I'm surrounded by WATER."

I let poor Gus inside and told Scott the patio was flooded.  Like more flooded than ever.  So he woke up and assessed the situation.  The sump pump in our side yard couldn't keep up with the rain.  And our pool was a few inches from overflowing.  So we began to drain the pool and try to help the sump pump.

Natalie didn't seem to mind.  She finally had a chance to wear the raincoat mommy bought months ago when she found it a size too big and hiding on the clearance rack.  I dropped her off at school knowing they'd find puddles to play in and fun to be had.

Back in the neighborhood, Gus and I went to explore the extent of the "flooding" in and around all the parks.  He seemed to love walking in the rain, which is odd, but he's a strange dog.

View of the entrance to the neighborhood park from the mailboxes.
Water was backed up into the street.

Trying to leave the neighborhood to go to doctor appointment.
View down the street leading to our new City park.  Waves in water are from my van.

After school, Natalie had a blast splashing in puddles.  Mommy only let her in the nasty water up to her knees... other kids had swimsuits and pool toys and were literally swimming to the park through all the nasty runoff water.  This made mommy throw-up a little bit.  While there was at least there was probably a little chlorine in the water from everyone who had to drain their pools, there was not nearly enough to kill all the nasty in the water.

When all was said and done, we received nearly 5" of rainfall in less than 24-hours.  For reference, we generally get 7" of rainfall in a year.

The next evening, it rained another 1.5" at the house.