You know it's summer in Tucson When...

So it's been hot. REALLY HOT. It's always a little sad when the temperatures creep up above one hundred. I can't help but have the little "oh no, not summer yet" feeling, when realizing that it's 4 months until we can really enjoy the outdoors again. Don't get me wrong, we love Tucson. The beauty of the desert has really started to grow on us. A few months of scorching temperatures is a small price to pay for the 8 other perfect months of the year, the gorgeous sunsets, and the year round swimming. Thank goodness for swimming pools (and air conditioning). So in honor of summer here is a list we made a couple summers ago.

You know it's summer in Tucson When...

1. You have to swerve to avoid making a rattlesnake or tarantula road kill.
2. You feel guilty for momentarily wishing you had run over that rattlesnake or tarantula. 
3. You've mastered driving using only your fingertips.  
4. When the water from the 'cold' is the appropriate temperature for making hot chocolate. 
5. You have to put on shoes to retrieve the paper from the driveway at 7am.
6. You have to use an oven mitt to check the mail.
7. When 75 degrees feels downright chilly.
8. When ice cream becomes an appropriate breakfast.
9. When you decide that having cereal for dinner is better than braving the 400 degree car in order to make a quick trip to the grocery store.
10. When the weather man starts making his forecasts more and more vague in an attempt avoid telling you how hot it really is, (ie. “We will be in the triple digits for the rest of the week").”
11. When you have to use baby wipes to cool down the car seat buckles before buckling your kids in to avoid giving them 3^rd degree burns. (I am currently working on a better solution to this problem, but haven't come up with one yet).
12. When you start thinking you should try cooking an egg on the sidewalk.
13. When you try to drive without touching the steering wheel.