The summer months have passed so quickly it's crazy. Of course here school starts in August so we're just about there. I can't tell you how much we've enjoyed our summer, mostly because we've just been home. The weather has been beautiful with both summer sun and monsoon rains. The rains have been pretty regular for the last month and a half and Prescott resembles Ireland, if you squint.
Sam celebrated his 4th birthday. For some unknown reason he was not his best that day so the plans of activities were cut short and a nap was made long. In spite of the off-day, he has been so excited to be four. At the strangest of moments he will remember and tell you "I'm four years old mom". He has excitement and joy for the most wonderful of things. Lately he has been enjoying catching bugs, playing with his sister and snuggling with his parents. Yesterday as he pushed me in the hammock he said, "Mom, I can't stop loving you." What a beautiful little man. When I asked him if he was up for the task of being the man of the house since Balin left for Mexico today, Sam said "yup, I'm ready mom". I'm ready too.
Perrin, my dear "Pepe Lou Strickler Dora Fancy". She has taken to giving herself nicknames when asked her name. She's becoming such a cute little thing. At the age of two she already prefers staying up late (it's 9:30pm and she's still putzin' around in her room), getting up late (if you can call 6:30 late, better than 5am) and likes her lattes and cell phones. She is talking non-stop which is great as when she talks she doesn't cry. Thank the Lord. 90% of the time she is a wonderful little person to be around. She's funny, independent, loveable and stinkin' cute. Today she and her brother played in his room for 3 hours. They have this game with one of those bead structure things found in doctor's offices. They call it, "Go to bed". They stack 3 beads on one side of each colored path and when someone tries to get those beads halfway up the path the other person yells at them "Go to BED!" and they respond, "but I want ice cream, I have to go the bathroom, I want water", all the excuses they use at night when they're supposed to be sleeping. It's pretty funny. They so know what's going on in the Strickler household and use every ounce of their cunnery to get out of going to bed. Balin has been busy, but that's nothing new. As of July 15th he is no longer Strickler's Geological Consulting but is part of a larger company, Fisher and Strickler Rock Engineering or FSR Engineering. He's really excited about the opportunity and has great hopes for upcoming work. Currently he's on a project in the Sonoran Desert in Mexico for a mine their exploring for minerals. He will also be returning to the I-90 job near Seattle later this month, though hopefully won't be working such long hours and sessions there thanks to a growing number of employees. We have really enjoyed him since he's been home so much more this year compared to last.
Yesterday was our 9 year anniversary and to celebrate Balin and I went to a friend's vacation rental in Prescott and spent the night. I hired two of our most trusted and favorite babysitters to watch the children. I think everyone had a wonderful time - including the babysitters. It was so nice to be only 20 minutes from home but feel like we were on vacation. Balin made some tapas for dinner and we sat and drank a delicious bottle of wine out on the deck overlooking the sparkling lights of Prescott. A memorable evening indeed.
Oh, one of my adventures this summer was to take a group of 15 girls from Prescott to Malibu's hiking program called Beyond. We hiked up 7400', from sea level to glacier in 6 awe inspiring nights. It was an amazing journey, one which none of us will ever forget but probably won't be repeating any time 
soon.
soon. 
I'm looking forward to future blogs -hopefully they'll be sooner than later.
Till then, live big and love larger!
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