Zucchini Abundance

Even with only a couple of squash and zucchini plants the crop is almost too much to handle. On that note here are a few zucchini/squash uses we have done:

Chocolate chips, cranberries, walnuts and zucchini (of course!)

Zucchini cookies
Zucchini bread
Squash stuffed with grains or goat cheese/bread crumbs
Stuffed in manicotti
Shred into enchiladas
Mixed with seasonings and beans for tacos
Added to apple pancakes
Sauteed into omelets
Polenta squash towers...

Squash is fairly mild in flavor and can just be snuck into almost any recipe!

Saguaro Colors

Saguaro National Monument

Spring Prickly Pear - Summer Green

Wind in my face - Burgeoning driver

This is a favorite location for us. It is an eight mile loop, traffic is 15 mph....lots of riders, walkers and hikers. Craig and Sam cycle it often, we do some of the smaller hikes with the kids and I have gone out to walk it.

Saguaro is gorgeous in March and April, being covered in cactus blossoms, brittle bush flowers and spring greenery. The spring colors are peach, yellow and purple. The temperature is perfect at that time of year too. Summer offers another view of Saguaro, the monsoons bring water and so there are lush green cactus, green grasses and brush. Vines are lush and crawl down the arroyos, the ocotillo are so covered in leaves they hide their thorns. All the vegetation is topped with seed pods and red juicy prickly pear fruit. The summer heat is a bit too much, but early morning rides and hikes provide a nice start to the day.


Part of Saguaro's charm for the kids is the chance to ride outside the car seat. Going 15 mph around the loop allows us to let Elias sit in a lap or look out the window at all the animals crossing the road or the cyclists zooming past. Elias even gets to try steering once in a while!

Morning Discovery

We woke up early this morning and rather than hang around the house, head to the farmer's market or do chores we took off and went to Saguaro National Monument. We loaded up the car and grabbed easy breakfast snacks. It was before 7 am when we drove into Saguaro.

There are several favorite spots in Saguaro and today we decided to take the kids to Freeman Loop (a short 1 mile trail down into a wash where an old homestead used to be). The kids took off down the trail, Eva as anxious to be down and hike as the rest of us. Elias was hoping to see lots of lizards; Eva wanting to touch every plant, cactus and rock on the trail.

It rained last night, making this morning humid and buggy. The trail crosses a hill and gradually goes down into a wash. We saw numerous types of butterflies, lots of lizards, a king snake and spiders. The birds were singing and the flies were buzzing. Elias blew kisses at all his cactus friends and chased after lizards. Eva would walk a bit and then sit down to grab handfuls of rocks. Some of the barrel cactus were blooming and we looked at the fish hook shape of the needles. Elias skiped along talking about the desert and naming the plants. Eva walked about half the loop and then wanted to be carried. There is a plugged well down near the ravine and we stopped for a drink and some observation time, then it was up the hill to the car. Overall, it was a nice peaceful walk.

Where Are We?

With all the traveling we have done this summer Elias is always asking "Am I on the east side of the car? Which way is north? Are we in the state of San Jose or California?" It is definitely time for some maps!

We found some foam core to protect the wall and placed a US map up. As we travel around we try to pick up a hat pin for National Parks, aquariums or cities we visit. Elias spent some time discussing where we picked up the pin, what we were doing there and how we got there. He then placed the pin in its location.

I think he made all kinds of connections doing this. He pointed out that we visited lots of places in San Diego (as such we had to put some pins to the side) and that he hadn't visited very far east of the US. He really wants to go to Canada and get a map for there and it would be nice to go to New York where Uncle Caleb is.

Because there are no roads on this map we copied some individual state road maps and taped them on his door. Highlighters were used to show the route we took to Colorado in June and our previous road trips to San Diego. We highlighted the San Jose area to show that we flew there. Elias traced out the route we would take to Albuquerque in September and we talked about different places we could go on that route. All in all a good fun way to learn geography!

Flipping for Flexibility

Elias has been doing gymnastics the last few months. It is a preschool class where they walk balance beams, stretch, swing on the bars and in general try to gain some coordination. Elias loves this class and is gaining confidence with every lesson. You can now regularly find him upside down against the wall or couch, flipping over on the bar on the play set or somersaulting across the grass.

On several occasions his class has been small with just him and one other kid or on Thursday, just him. He spends these classes going from one piece of equipment to another practicing, jumping and never taking breaks. His teacher came out to talk to me after the 45 minutes of non-stop action and told me "he is such a dream to work with". That is SO nice to hear when you have spent the week feeling like he never listens! She has made comments before about how well he listens and understands what she is teaching and at this point said he has to move up. He has the skills and the behavior to move up to the 5-6 year old boys class. So next week we will have a new teacher, a new time and a longer more involved gymnastics lesson. He is thrilled!