On New Years Day, we got snow in Tucson. I went to Sabino Canyon to photograph the snow on the mountains and the valley floor. The trams were not operating at the time so I ended up hiking all of the way up and back down. It was a great day, though, because it was very beautiful.
I turned 44 on 1/2. On 1/5, we went to Phoenix to celebrate my birthday. We ate lunch at Grimaldi's. Then Paul and Nathan went to Legoland in Tempe and I went next door to Sea Life Aquarium. Then I went to Butterfly Wonderland. We finished the day with dinner at Portillo's.
Nathan had his annual vision exam on 1/8. Dr Barry left the practice so we saw the new person at Envision Eyecare. He said Nathan's eyes look really good. In fact, he said since Nathan isn't having any problems with his eyes or vision, that he doesn't really need to wear his glasses that he got last year.
I went to Sweetwater Wetlands and Tohono Chul Park on 1/9.
The next day I went to the Desert Museum and to Christopher Columbus Park.
I went to Tohono Chul Park on 1/11. I also got an email from Nathan's Art teacher, Nichole Perry. "Good evening! I just wanted to send a quick note home to let you know that Nathan has been doing well in art class. He demonstrates excellence by being ready for class quickly and by being respectful. Nathan is invited to join me for the Radiant Royals Lunch that will be held at the beginning of next quarter. I will add the dates and time for the lunch into my newsletter when we are a little closer to the end of this quarter. The purpose of this email and the lunch is to highlight the positive character attributes seen in my class by the scholars and to encourage them to continue doing the right thing. I am proud of him and enjoy having him in class!"
Nathan had his honors day assembly on 1/16. He made honor roll. He just missed making high honors. He got a 97 in History/Geography, 91 in Reading, 96 in Recitation, 96 in Science, 97 in Math, 94 in English, M for Art, M for Music, M for P/E and M for Latin.
On 1/18, I went to Reid Park Zoo and the Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens.
We went to Whitewater Draw to see the sandhill cranes on 1/26. Afterward, we had lunch/dinner in Tombstone.
Nathan had his annual pediatrician appointment on 1/29. He weighed 56 lbs which is only 1 pound more than what he was last year. He was 52.5 inches and last year he was 50 3/4 inches. He is only in the 20th weight percentile, but she is not concerned about it at this point. Even his height percentile has gone down to 45%. At one point he was in the 69th height percentile (4 years ago). I hope that doesn't mean he is going to be short like me! Everything else checked out good. Muscles seem stronger this time around, no more major stomach problems and no more cysts on his head.
Nathan got his purple belt in Taekwondo on 1/31.
Nathan started Brain Stem Club again at school on 2/1. He meets on Fridays until 4/5.
On 2/2, we went to the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show at Kino Stadium.
I went to the Desert Museum and then to photograph the wildflowers on Tangerine Rd on 2/8.
On 2/10, I went to the Asian Lantern Festival at Reid Park Zoo after church that night.
Bella celebrated her golden birthday on 2/11!
I went to photograph the wildflowers again on Tangerine Rd and at Picacho Peak State Park on 2/12. Nathan also graduated speech therapy that day!
Valentine's Day was depressing because Paul didn't get me anything, not even a card.
We went to the Tucson Gem & Mineral Show at the convention center on 2/16.
We went to lunch at Wild Garlic Grill to celebrate our 16th anniversary on 2/17.
On 2/19, I went to Catalina State Park to photograph the snow on the mountains.
For Rodeo Days, we went to California. We drove there on 2/20 and stayed at the Castle Legoland Hotel for a couple of days. On 2/21, we went to Legoland and Sea Life Aquarium next door. Nathan liked the hotel. He had his own little area in our hotel room with bunk beds, his own tv and Legos to play with. The next day, we went back to Legoland in the morning so Nathan could do the Lego robotics. Then we drove to La Jolla to see the seals and sea lions. There were tons of them there, including a lot of babies. That night we stayed at the Hilton in San Diego. On 2/23, I went to San Diego Botanic Gardens while the boys went digging for gems. The next day we drove back home, stopping at Anza-Borrego State Park to see the wildflowers.
I went to Picacho Peak State Park again on 3/1 to see the poppies and other wildflowers. This year was a super bloom in the southwest so the flowers were amazing.
We went to Peridot Mesa to see the poppies there on 3/2. We also drove around San Carlos Lake to see the Coolidge Dam.
On 3/6, I went to see a person's yard between Grant and Ft Lowell by Tucson Blvd. The whole yard was filled with African Daisies. Then I went to Tucson Botanical Gardens (tulips, daffodils, irises), Green Things nursery and to Pima County Cooperative Extension Gardens.
So I have worked hard since the 2nd week of January to lose weight. I have been doing 10k steps/day and haven't missed a day. I have been trying to eat better, too. I finally weighed myself on 3/9. I was 147. At my highest on 1/5/16, I was 161. So I have lost 14 pounds! I still have a long way to go. I want to get down to about 120 lbs which means I have at least 27 more lbs to go. I am excited, though, because I can already tell a difference in my clothes. I have gone down 1-2 sizes in my jeans.
We took the 2.5 hour drive to see the wildflowers at Bartlett Lake on 3/9. They had white, pink, yellow and orange poppies! We also got to eat at Portillo's on the way back!
This Friday, 3/15, starts Nathan's spring break. We are driving to New Mexico for a few days and then we are going to make our way to Phoenix to go to some spring training games.
The end of May/beginning of June we are going to Alaska!
