The desert in bloom?

I had no idea that cacti actually produced flowers until I moved to Arizona. It is gorgeous here now. Here are some pictures from our neighborhood. I missed this prickly pear cactus when it was totally covered in blooms. It was amazing. The white floweres are from a Saguaro cactus (the tall ones with arms). Each bloom is only open for one day and then dies.

A Must See!

In May, we finally went to the Rooster Cogburn Osterich Farm. What a blast - it was so much more than I had expected and I can't wait to go back! Almost as good as Disneyland! We have been saying that we need to go ever since we moved to Arizona since it is near the freeway between Phoenix and Tucson and we must pass it at least once a month.
We got to ride a monster truck through the desert where we learned and saw all about osteriches, their nests and the surrounding desert. We stopped for a bit to "fish for osterich" - we dangles grapfruit from poles for the ostrich to eat.
After the ride, we fed treats to more ostriches, some deer and some lorikeets. Upon leaving we had to purchase an osterich egg to taste. They weigh about 4 pounds and are the equivelant of about 2 dozen chicken eggs.

We made omelets out of it (with tons left over of course!) It was very good and much fluffier than chicken eggs. Even the dogs loved it! You can be sure that anyone who comes to visit from now on will be taken to the Osterich Farm - it's a real unforgettable treat.

The Culmination of a Year

As many my already know, Noah has been growing his hair out and it is wuite long now. His whole reason for doing this was so that it could be as long as he could possibly get it for Crazy Hair Day at school. He has had this plan since last Crazy Hair Day a year ago. Well, today was the big day! We got up very early and went to a friend's house to have a Crazy Hair party - it was very exciting. At first, I was beginning to get very nervous that we were not going to get his hair to stand up (which is what he has been envisioning it would do). I was actually starting to think that we were going to have to keep him home from school since I was sure there would be a major breakdown about the hair not standing and also because he has been advertising this at school all year and I'm sure would never live it down if he went to school with not-Crazy Hair. His reputation was at stake. Finally, Aquanet to the rescue! All the gel in the world was not cutting it, but those people in the 50's knew what they were doing when it comes to Crazy Hair. It's amazing how happy a whole can of hairspray, tons of gel, and a little blue and silver (school colors) spray can make an 8 year old boy. When he got to school, his teacher and several others were all waiting at the door to see his hair. It was a big hit!




Here he is at the beginning of the day.

Here he is at the end. Still pretty crazy.

Karate master

Noah competed in his first karate tournament a coupple of weekends ago. We were so proud of him for finally coming up with the nerve to do it. He did great! He won first place in his group and was so proud of himself. Of course, Dave, Grammy, Pop and I were in knots watching it because Noah gets so upset with himself if he doesn't do things perfectly. I almost wish he hadn't gotten first to see how he would handle it - it's a problem we have really been trying to work on. It's this same attitude that kept him from wanting to compete until now - ifhe can't do something exactly right, he doesn't want to do it at all. Anyway, this was a huge step in his karate career to help him toward his eventual goal of getting a black belt. What a great confidence builder!