Happy Belated 4th of July

We have lived in Arizona for 3 years now and we have yet to spend a 4th of July here. Every year we try to escape the heat for the weekend and enjoy some cooler weather.

This year we headed north to our homeland of the Salt Lake Valley. Wende's sister Kathryn and her husband Kayvon were nice enough to let us stay at their home. We got to spend a little time with Stockton, Macie's cousin.

For the 4th we hit up the local park for some games, pizza and fun. That night Wende and I enjoyed some fireworks in the front yard while Macie slept.

Kayvon always being the good sport and host watching some movies with the nieces and nephews.

Wende and her sisters playing some cards.

Grandpa and Macie feeding the fish in the pond behind their house.

We have to be the luckiest parents. Macie slept both ways on the flight to and from Salt Lake. As you can see here we were all pooped after a long, very fun weekend.

SPC

Anyone who knows my family is well aware of how proud we are of our name and family business. Scholzen Products Company (SPC) was started over 75 years ago by Macie's great, great grandfather Henry Scholzen. I spent most of my life working there before going into the medical field.

My dad still keeps us in T-shirts with the business logo and last month Macie got her first. Still a little big of course, but as we have learned, she will grow into it.

A Shocking good time

We took a little walk to the park just down the street last weekend. Being that it is 1300 degrees by noon this time of year we had to get there early. Luckily no one was there yet. So we had the whole area to ourselves to do a little swinging, rocking and even a some sliding. Macie wasn't all that impressed with the slide and the static electricity kept shocking my butt. However she did love the swing and we still had a good time.

Visit from the Grandparents Scholzen

Grandma and Grandpa Scholzen stopped by for a visit this past weekend. It has been just over a month since they have been to AZ and they had to get their Macie fix. New toys were in store as Grandma busted out a new doll and stroller. Grandpa was lucky enough to get some hugs out of the deal. It was great to see them, especially over Father's Day weekend.

Sneaky

Sunday Wende had to work so it was just me and Macie at home . Late in the afternoon it was hot outside so I thought I would chill and watch a movie. "No Country for Old Men" is awesome by the way, you should check it out if you have not yet. So Macie is playing in the kitchen about 5 feet away from where I am lying on the floor. I can hear her playing keep away with Tiki and laughing. I am totally engrossed in the movie when I realize that I haven't heard a sound for 2 or three minutes.

So I get up and look in the kitchen, no Macie. I walk in there thinking she is next to the fridge or behind a chair and I can't see her. For a second my heart drops. Then I turn to look out on the patio and she is standing on the other side of the sliding glass door smiling at me. I set up the video camera to capture her escape route on film. Thought I would share it. Hope it makes you laugh as much as it did me.

Splish Splash

So far Macie's enjoyment in the pool has been less than stellar. She actually has cried the last 2-3 times we have taken her swimming. We are not sure why, because she loves to play in the bathtub. I think it was mostly due to the water being so cold. None the less we wanted to get her more use to the water outside so we can take her to the pool more often. After all what else are you going to do in Phoenix in the summer?

Wende bought her a splash pool for her b-day to help her get use to the water. Last weekend we broke it out and gave it a shot. It took a little convincing but she finally is enjoying it. Here are a couple of photos:










As you can see she is definitely going to tan easily. I had to shoot this picture of her tan line after being out in the sun for only about 10 min. Crazy!!

Organic cotton bunny...sounds like a scam to me

About a month ago, on a recent trip to the mall, Macie and I found ourselves being drug into Pottery Barn Kids by Wende. I was pushing Macie in her stroller and she was being a little fussy waiting for Wende to find something "Macie had to have". So I grab the closest stuffed animal off the shelf to entertain her. It happened to be some overpriced "organic cotton bunny". I put on a little puppet show for her which made her laugh. Then I handed it to her for a hug after which I proceeded to put the bunny back on the shelf. Of course she started screaming and whining. So I gave it back. I thought I would just take it when she wasn't looking at the register.

Well we get to the register and she still didn't want to give it up. She was so attached to this thing that I had to take the price tag off to give it to the clerk to ring it up so I could buy it. I have a feeling it won't be the last thing she suckers me into buying for her. Anyway here are a couple pictures of her hugging her bunny and us too. I threw the last one in of her and Tiki looking out the window for cats and birds, which drives Tiki nuts.