Unconventional February 14th

We have done flowers and fancy dinners in the past, but this Valentine's Day we took a different route. No babysitter and no booking a restaurant a month in advance. We took a family hiking trip!

We went to Saguaro National Park and did a fairly steep climb up to a stupendous view. Paul took his turns walking, but Lee carried him most of the way.

Paul gives this hike "One thumb up, but only accidentally."

Lee took this video to capture the 360 degrees of amazing desert around us:

Paul was a champ. He did some walking and climbing (with help) and he even fell asleep in Lee's arms on the hike back down! If only he'd been willing to stay asleep as we put him in the car!

Thanks for reading our adventures, and stay tuned for a very serious travelogue blog in the next couple of weeks...

The Great Outdoors

We will very soon be losing our cool weather here as we move towards springtime, so the Phillips clan have been busy hiking while the weather is still pleasant.

Paul really loves being in the great outdoors but we have to keep pretty close tabs on him because most of the plants here are trying to kill him. With the help of a toddler leash we were able to keep him safely on designated hiking trails.

Paul was absolutely fascinated by running water. The creek at Madera Canyon provided him with endless entertainment and temptation. He learned that stepping into the creek was extremely cold and not at all what he had anticipated.

I introduced this fun game to Paul and he liked it so much we couldn't convince him it was time to leave.