This and that

$30 at Walmart well spent:

10 foot blow up pool and 3 squirt guns=a little place to cool off on these crazy hot days.

The kids have loved having some backyard fun, but after a day will complain that the water is too cold.  Arizona sure has me baffled.

I was hesitant to buy a blow up pool with having a puppy that could pop it, but then I remembered that our dog is scared of water and won't go close to it.

She sits in the shade with me and if Eli jumps out of the pool, she'll chase him around the yard (something about his goggles makes her nuts).

Maya is doing really well.  She still has an occasional accident (I wouldn't want to pee outside when it's 115 either) but has been warming up to new people much better and is getting more comfortable in her doggy skin every day.  She sleeps in a crate in our room, but will often lay somewhere near me while I watch a show in bed in the evenings.  I don't hate having this cute view for the evening...

Eli has been working hard on learning chess.  Ben put on a kids chess app for the iPad that teaches them/makes it fun to learn.  He will often play on that app, but most of all, is convinced that he is the best because he beat Grandpa at Fun City when we were Kansas.  So Ben took his initiative and has been playing with him, teaching him the real ropes of chess.

I guess I should add that Ben is an avid chess player and the boys see him play and I love it that they want to be just like daddy.  Hopefully they will also be great cooks and musicians.

Our kids love art, way more than they should for how much effort I put into supplying them with art-y things.  The boys will often ask to color during school (which I always say yes to because I know that if they were in public school there would be a whole lot of coloring going on) and were asking a lot to paint.  Somehow all of our paint brushes got lost in the move.  New paint and brushes meant hours of painting for these two...in pj's, of course.

Summer arrived here this week and I won't lie, I'm a little scared.  This heat is something I've never experienced.  Hot, I can handle.  This heat hurts...literally.  I went out yesterday in 115 degrees.  I was surprised and relieved to see people out and about, but when I stepped out of the car, it felt like my skin was on fire.  I understand now why people wear long sleeves in this kind of heat because the sun is so strong that it hurts your skin.  I actually think I'm going to look into a lightweight shirt we can wear when we have to go out...and hats..and maybe we just won't leave the house.