Summer Fun in May!

May was a jam-packed month of fun. It went way too fast, probably because as school teachers, Jon and I eagerly countdown the arrival of Summer Vacation. Both our districts got out the past week or two, so now we're just getting ready to enjoy the summer. May in Arizona is wonderful--the weather is warm without being hot, and everyone is enjoying being outside. We made a couple of trips to Schnepf Farms to fill up on peaches (I even made fresh peach freezer jam to go on my homemade bread--Mmmm.....), had a wonderful weekend visit from Jon's sister Amy, and had a fun Memorial Day party (complete with bounce house and blow-up pool, perfect for the kids!) at the Brown's home with the Howards. With a couple of trips to the pool, a lot of trips to the gym, and just fun times hanging out, May was a party!

For those who know the game World of Warcraft, I actually started my own character. I know, I know, I never thought I would get into Jon's little secret passion, but when Rebekah joined up to spend more time with her hubby, I thought I'd give it a try. It's been fun spending this time with Jon, who's been helping me out a lot as I play. I'm not the junkie that Jon and his friends are (and admittedly never will be), but I have to admit, I do think my character (a level 12 hunter named Lauryl) is pretty cool. =)

For the summer, Jon will actually be starting his observation hours for one of his Masters classes, as well as taking night classes 2 days a week. So despite being "on vacation", Jon will be gone M/W from 7:30am to 9:40pm, and T/Th from 7:30am to 5pm. At least we'll have Fridays together. Aaron will be starting swim classes 2 days a week at the YMCA this Monday, and I'm just looking forward to spending time with my kids, reading some good books, and getting ready for our big trip to Washington state in July. It's going to be a busy summer, but super fun. We'll keep you posted!

Summer Fun in May

Picking Peaches

Last year, when my sister came to visit, our family discovered one of our favorite things about living out here in Queen Creek--our proximity to Schnepf Farms and its Pick-Your-Own-Peaches time! Schnepf Farms is an actual working farm (it's also home to a lot of outdoor festivals and events, including the 10K run I did in Februrary), and is only about 5 miles from our home. So, upon learning that peach-picking time was upon us, we loaded our family in the car and headed to Schnepf last Friday.

For $1.75/lb., you can have the joy of traversing their acres of ripe peach trees, picking off the perfect peaches to later be turned into any number of peach delights--ours, in fact, became a scrumptious peach cobbler. The best part--as you enter the groves of ripe fruit, the smiling attendant reminds you, "Eat as many as you like while you're out there; we only weigh your box, not you." Woo-hoo! You don't have to tell us twice!

Sarah especially got in on the fun, eating near her weight in peaches that she giddily plucked from the lower branches. Each time we returned to the box with arms laden with peaches, Sarah's eyes nearly popped from her head as she exclaimed, "More Peaches!" But, Sweet Sarah is not without gratitude for such blessings--with a wave of her sticky hands, she loudly proclaimed as we left the fields, "Bye trees! Bye! Thanks for the peaches!! See ya!!" We plan to return next Friday to sample a different variety of peach that will come ripe this week. I'm even considering my hand at canning, but I'm sure a cobbler or pie will also make it onto our weekend menu. I just hope that I remember to thank the trees as I leave next time! =)