Oh Costco and Sleepy Wrap...how do I love thee both...together.

Sabrina is saying, "Quinoa!"

All the roses and the red gerbera daisies were Sylvia's favories.

We tried a vegetarian/vegan/Indian restaurant in Tucson. The fountain on the patio, koi pond and peacocks were a nice touch but the main deterrents were the cramped room with a buffet style meal, the paper plates and tiny plastic water cups, plus the few flying bugs inside.

Just hanging out...

Good morning!

Dinner on the patio...after swimming all day.

Dance party in the back yard.

Joey surprised us when he came home by hopping over the back wall.

The Vincents took us out for Mexican food...they even had a vegetarian menu!

Sabrina let me accompany her to 2nd Saturdays Downtown Tucson as her vendor sidekick. It was really fun to see people admire and purchase her prints and cards.

We were there from 5-9pm and as we were leaving the whole area was packed with people and cars which seemed fun if we weren't stuck behind the vending table AND if we didn't have to get the van through that mess to pack up. I liked it in the earlier hours when it was a little calmer. Plus, I wandered around and found this Wig-o-rama shop...creepy but cool.

Kelly and Judy greeted us when we arrived in Phoenix on Tuesday. We sat out on the patio for dinner but the hot weather finally got to us. Ha.

Jack's first time in a pool.

We celebrated Kelly's birthday after he and Justin got back from riding Segways. We only have a video of that...

Judy treated me to an afternoon at the spa...facials, delicious lunch, smoothies and fresh juice drinks, plus lots of relaxing and talking. Thank you Judy. Below is a picture of the private pool for the spa where we had our lunch and relaxed. Don't ask what I'm doing to Judy's nose.

Just as Judy and I were getting ready to head back to the room, Justin, Jack and Kelly came to say, "hello."

Kelly and Judy...waiting for us (me) to go to breakfast.

Jack can sit in a high chair...

Justin and I had our 6th wedding anniversary on June 5th. I've saved some of the tickets, receipts and other mementos from our first date, engagement day, wedding day and honeymoon. We don't give each other gifts but I tried to pass it off as a card.

We spent the afternoon and evening at Roland and Gwendolyn's wedding.

We went to family grave sites at the cemetery with the Clayton family. Jack loved sitting and pulling on the grass.

Some worked harder than others...

Jack was named after John Morgan...who went by Jack.

All tuckered out...on our way to Rubio's.

Fathers...and sons...

I've been eating a vegetarian diet since April 19th this year. I love all the great food I've been introduced to and especially love the pizzas. There are so many different options for a vegetarian pizza. Here is one I did last week. 

Chili, Tomato and Spinach Pizza

INGREDIENTS
3 T tomato oil (from jar of sun dried tomatoes)
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1-2 red chilies, seeded and finely chopped
2 oz. (drained weight) sun dried tomatoes in oil
14 oz. can chopped tomatoes
1 T tomato puree
6 oz. spinach
2 portobello mushrooms, chopped (optional)
1 ready made pizza base or make your own
3 oz. grated smoked Bavarian cheese
3 oz. grated mature Cheddar Cheese
salt and freshly ground black pepper

PREPARATION
Heat 2 T of the tomato oil in a pan, add the onion, garlic and chilies and fry then gently for about 5 minutes until they are soft. Roughly chop the sun dried tomatoes. Add to the pan with the chopped tomatoes, tomato puree and seasoning. Simmer, uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove the tough stalks from the spinach and then wash the leaves in plenty of cold water. Drain them thoroughly and pat them dry with a paper towel. Roughly chop the spinach leaves. Stir the chopped spinach into the tomato and chili sauce. Cook the sauce, stirring, for a further 5-10 minutes until the spinach has wilted and no excess moisture remains. Leave the sauce to cool.
Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. Brush the pizza base with the remaining tomato oil, then spoon over the sauce and sprinkle the mushrooms over the sauce (if desired). Sprinkle with the two grated cheeses and bake in the oven for 15-20 minutes until crisp and golden. Serve immediately.

Yesterday my boy turned 8 months old. I love that little tuft of red hair.

Over 40 years ago my mom got together with her mom and some other women and they each made a jewelry tree out of broken glass, marbles, buttons, beads, and jewelry. At Christmas-time my sister and I would study that lit up tree and even now I look at it and pick out pieces that were my "favorites."

My mom helped me make this tree...dad too.

I found this frame at a second-hand store.

...painted it a glossy black.

I gathered all the jewelry I have been keeping but don't wear anymore...or never did. My mom found a bag of random jewelry at the second-hand store and we ended up with some really great pieces.

I spent several days thinking about the shape of my tree and what pieces I would include. The background of my mom's tree is burgundy and I like how bright the jewelry looks against the dark. I found black velveteen at Joann's. My mom broke green and clear glass into smaller pieces and found more stones, beads and buttons to fill in the spaces.

This is where my dad stepped in and drilled holes in the backing for the small Christmas lights.

I just marked a small circle with pencil where each light should go and he drilled, placed the velveteen on the board and glued the lights in for me...typing it sounds easy but I know he spent some time on it and every detail was done just right.

The fun part is placing the pieces on the tree. The hard part is getting them to stay.  I used LOTS of white Elmer's glue to glue everything on (it dries clear). My mom helped me glue everything down (which took about 90 minutes...and that is with 2 people working on it).

One of my favorite pieces is this French Horn pin because that, along with the flute, is the instrument I played in High School.