Our Little Daredevil

This was taken last weekend at a nearby Autumnfest. They have a great playground there and the slide was one of the highlights.

Ella "After"

I had to post her after the debacle of trying to get her in her costume. She does look pretty, though, doesn't she?

No costume this year!

We tried to get Ella dressed for a neighborhood Halloween party today, but as you can see, it did not go too well. She kept trying to tear it off (we think because it has black on it), so we ended up putting her in a fancy pink dress. I think she may be taking after her cousin Erin-uh oh! :)

Ella loves her Mimi and Papa!

Ella got lots of attention this week from her Mimi and Papa! We loved having them and went out to a great restaurant in Scottsdale last night, called Mastro's Ocean Club. Our table was next to an open window (which is perfect at this time of year in AZ) and we had a delicious, yet expensive side of lobster mashed potatoes.

Botanical Garden

We went  here the other day with Mom and Dad and checked out this butterfly garden. It was not all that impressive, although Phil got this great picture.

Our New Pet

Mom and Dad Dugan are here to visit this week. They picked up this turtle for us in old town Cave Creek. He now has a home in our backyard.

Sunrise Dance

Saturday morning, we went to see part of this maturity ritual for the Apache girls. This girl is doing a rhythmic dance with her godmother and facing towards the sun.

You Go, Girl!

We went to a rodeo in Globe over the weekend. Ella and I visited while Phil was back east for a wedding. This woman is practicing her lassoing skills before heading inside to compete.

A True Bookworm

I wanted to try this dress on Ella that she has never worn before. You can also see a little bit of Ella's room and the yellow that I painted it.

A Mama's Girl

The other evening was filled with yard work. Phil mowed the lawn and Ella and I weeded. At least Ella had fun!

The Phoenix Zoo

This weekend was gorgeous here, nice and cool, so we took advantage of it and checked out the zoo. This guy looked kind of sad, but I think he was just trying to get some shut-eye. Good luck, buddy! You might want to rethink your resting spot.

A Big Old Tortoise

Ella loved this tortoise, I think mostly because she could see it (most everything else was so far away) and it was slow and friendly-looking.

Kicking off the Weekend

Ella and Phil strummed a few tunes pre-happy hour. 

Eeks!

Ella was surprised by a spray of water on Wednesday afternoon. A friend and I went to outlets nearby where they have this play area.

Ella's New Friend

Yesterday, one of Ella's new friends from the moms' group I joined came over to play. This is Matthew and he's a month younger than Ella. This afternoon, we're all heading to outlets together to try to find Ella some more summer clothes. Yes, summer! The really warm temps are expected to break this weekend but I think we'll be wearing shorts for quite some time...