Blizzard 2016

So, here we are deep in the blizzard of 2016. One of the worst storms of the century. The snow is falling up to 30 inches in some places, so we are hunkering down at home and trying to stay warm.


Just kidding, we live in Phoenix.

While the East coast is covered in snow we've been enjoying "cool" weather in the high sixty's and low seventy's. Here's a few of the things we've been enjoying lately!

Hiking:

Let me just preface this by saying, my parents spent most of my young life dragging me on hikes where I hated every minute and complained the whole time. I just never got the point of "walking" up a "hill".

Apparently things have changed in my old age!

We've spent the last few weekend exploring local hiking trails with the boys, and then trying new restaurants for lunch in the area afterwards. It's pretty much my new favorite activity, and we plan on keeping it up until the weather gets too hot.

The boys do surprisingly well on the hikes. I carry R on my back (which is quite the workout!) and L and L2 have actually kept up pretty well. Last weekend we even did a slightly longer and more difficult  hike, which I was worried they wouldn't' be able to keep up with, and they did awesome!

And while, I miss the forests and the mountains of Northern Nevada, this is not a bad view!

Fire Nights and Twinkle Lights

One of the best Christmas Presents I received this year was a fire pit from S. We've been talking about getting one forever, and just never pulled the trigger.

After we set up the fire pit I convinced Shaun that we should string some white Christmas lights over the backyard. Again, something I've been wanting to do forever and just never have. The results have been amazing.

We've been doing a fire pit a few times a week, and usually letting the boys roast a few marshmallows. And with the added light from the Christmas lights our backyard is suddenly an amazing place for them to run around in once the sun has gone down!

There's a lot I don't always love about Phoenix, but when your kids can run around the fire pit with no shirts on, and you can go hiking every weekend in tank tops, in January, it's actually pretty nice.

Sending warm thoughts to all those affected by the crazy weather out East!