Bisbee Copper Kings and a 5K

Friday night Matt and I were invited to go watch a minor (I mean really minor) league team in Bisbee.   They are called the Bisbee Copper Kings and the team is a summer league made up of college players from around the United States.  It was fun to be at a baseball game, but honestly it was kind of low rent.  These guys are really doing it "for the love of the game".  

They played at Warren Ball Park.  This ball park is supposedly the oldest ball park in America.  

Saturday we woke up and joined our friends Jason and Michala Siler at a 5K they organized.  This was just a  small friends and family event that Michala put together to support an orphan organization, Doorways to Hope, that is a large part of her life.  Similar groups to ours all over the country got together at the same time to run/walk a 5K for Orphan Nation. 

If combined, the population of all the orphans in the world would make up the 5th largest nation coming in at 173 million.  Matt, Duece, and I thought this was such a worthy cause! 

Duece meeting some of the puppy competition. 

Getting ready to take off at the start/finish! I love my two men.

 

Coming and Going...

Duece ended up placing first place in the dog division, go Duece!

Over all it was a great weekend.

Fajitas and Margaritas

So it was less margarita for me and more fajita, but a girl can dream right?  I haven't really been craving any off limit alcoholic beverages lately, but there is something about everyone else enjoy nice salty rimmed glasses full of tangy frozen margarita that will make a pregnant girl's mouth drool.

Saturday we were invited over to Jason and Michala Siler's house (parents to the cutest little girl) for a fun game night, delicious food, and cold drinks.  We had such a good time!

Joel and Baby Kennedy also proved to us that having a baby isn't the end of a social life, esp if you end up with a little social butterfly like Kennedy.  She held her own throughout the night including Four On The Couch and Taboo.  Buzzz.....

Jeanie and Rick Landgraf

The Margarita Feast

Again, I repeat, I did not consume any alcohol, but....I might have sniffed the strawberry margarita mix. 

There might have been a pinata, maybe.  Happy Birthday Grace!

Things we learned:

-The fire will not keep us from partying 

-Fast paced pictionary doodling almost always looks like something inappropriate

-Taboo is not easy when played with margaritas

-Pinatas may cause whiplash

-Having great friends is such a blessing

Arizona Monument Fire

It has been a crazy, CRAZY, week here in Sierra Vista.  Never before in my life have I seen the terror that is a wildfire.  Bonfires?  That I am used to, but wildfires are ridiculous. A week ago today, we played at a golf course near the Mexican border, and as we were on our way home, we saw a fire in the mountains.  We mentioned to each other and talked about it a little as the law enforcement race to shut down a couple of roads.  I never thought that a week out I would still be talking about it, and watching it from my back yard.

(This was taken last Sunday about the time the fire started)

Matt and I are in no immediate danger, but every day the fire has progressed more and more over the mountains, and while our home isn't in a threat zone at the moment, other peoples homes and businesses are.  It is really sad.  Over the last couple of days our friends have been given evacuation orders, allowed to return to their homes, only to be given evac orders again.  

The weather here is beyond dry, Matt and I have been here since late March and we have not seen a single drop of water from the sky since, I have no idea how long it has actually been.  The sad part is, the "rainy season" isn't supposed to be here for another month.    The fire is just eating across the mountain side like something I have never seen.  Aside from almost no humidity in the air, the wind is that of a tropical depression.  Today we have sustained winds of 30-40 mph with gusts up to 50-60 mpg, and if you payed attention in school you know how much that just fuels the already monstrous flames.  Here is a piece of info they gave out at a town hall meeting:  The typical piece of lumber you buy at Lowe's has anywhere from 12-15% humidity, the trees here have 0% humidity.  That really struck me.

(At night)

The firefighters and other first responders have been doing such a great job trying to get everything under control and allow families to return safely to their homes, but unfortunately today, because of the high wind and high smoke, there is no visibility for the fire fighting planes to do their job, they are grounded.

Matt and I went out for lunch and as we were driving away from the restaurant we just sat in awe in the parking lot, looking at the mountain side, it was visible to the eye, seeing it just slowly eat away at whatever it pleased.  You could see the flames from a few miles away, in broad daylight.  It was really eye opening, heart wrenching, and interesting all at the same time.  

I wrote this not to freak out our friends and families, but just to try and put a little perspective to what it has been like around here.  It definitely opened a dialogue between Matt and I, as well as our friends about how we would respond to a fire.  We are prepared.  Praying for no wind, lots of rain, and for everyone whose lives are being affected forever!

Saguaro National Park

 Have you ever seen a cactus forest? 

I hadn't either until recently.  I didn't even know they existed.  Apparently, Arizona is home to the largest forest of Saguaro Cactus in the nation.  While my grandparents and Mim were here we decided to take the scenic loop through the forest and check it out!

Matt and I kept saying how bad it would be if we were stuck (no pun intended) out there, because believe me...it looked prickly.

I have always had a picture of what a cactus looked like in my mind, but I had no idea they were this big 

We looked like little dwarfs next to this ginormo.

Here is a better view of the fast mountain side of Cacti. 

A fun cactus facts: 

A full grown cactus, approx 50-60 years old, weighs 8 tons...8 TONS!

And finally the gang:

Mim, Me, Duece, Grandma, and Grandaddy

Ramsey Canyon otherwise known as Chelle's Death Trap

Matt and I decided to go on a nice "easy" hike as it had been described to me by friends.  Pfsht....it was nice and easy the first 1/2 mile, until we started the slow climb to my death.  I was sure that at any moment Matt was gonna leave me in the dust as I had to stop at every bench to reassure my body that I was not trying to kill it.  Imagine a stair stepper on steroids that screams at you for trying to breath all while throwing poop in your face, that was this hike.

We did make it to the top, and it was nice and breezy.  Thank goodness going down wasn't going up.  Would I do it again? That is to be determined.  But here are some great pictures from our hike and proof that I actually did it and did not die.