Ella's Top 10...

Top 10 Reasons I Love Family Reunions.

10. Otterpops!
9. I get to stay up past my bedtime every night.
8. Mom doesn't get too mad when I play in the mud.
7. Grandma buys me toys.
6. Aunt Irene gives me candy to put in my pocket.
5. I get to play all day long.
4. Mom let's me eat ice cream in the car.
3. I get to go swimming, Lots!
2. Uncle John will take me down the water slide when Mom is tired of it.

And the #1 Reason I Love Family Reunions...

COUSINS!!

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.

Things Sophie Has Swallowed (This Week)

Sophie is not a discriminating eater. She never has been. She has yet to refuse anything I have offered her. Her favorite foods include Shredded Wheat, tomatoes, and enchiladas. Today she ate sauerkraut. In most ways this is a blessing. I definitely don't have to worry about her being malnourished, however, she seems to think that everything is food. I don't remember Ella trying to eat everything in sight when she was one, but maybe not having an older sister to leave stuff laying around has something to do with it.

Things Sophie has swallowed this week:
*a penny
*a whole pack of gum
*a rock
*a cherry from Ella's "hi ho cherry-o game"

Things Sophie has tried swallow this week:
*a hair clip

I've had to remind Ella over and over again to keep her little things put away, and out of reach so that Sophie won't choke. Last night, about a half an hour after putting the girls to bed, I heard some serious choking, and rushed in expecting to find Sophie choking on a penny or small toy that Ella had "accidentally" put in Sophie's crib. Instead I found Ella in a panic, trying to gag up what ever she had just swallowed. After a pretty intense minute or two of trying to coax the unidentified object out, it decided to go down. At first she wouldn't tell me what she had swallowed. I think she was afraid she was going to be in major trouble. It was a pretty scary experience for both of us. I spent sometime drying her tears, calming her down, and helping her get her breath back. When she finally told me what she swallowed, I started laughing. I couldn't help it. Poor Ella was so stunned, she started crying again.

Things Ella has swallowed this week:
*a hair clip

Hopefully Ella has learned why it's so important not to leave her little choking hazards where Sophie can get them.