Fall!

It's fall!! Either that or we're having a cold spell. The high was only 90 today!

Rob didn't have to umpire today, so he actually got to play softball. We went to a couple of his games. The kids loved riding their scooters at the park.

Then we hiked up Monument Hill. It's the point where the surveys for the whole valley started back in the 1860's. The whole city was mapped out from this point, and they have a little plaque and concrete compass rose right on top of the mountain. Erin is getting kind of interested in maps, so she got a kick out of that. We could see just about everything from up there. Downtown is just above Robbie's head, and Camelback Mountain is to the right of that.

Don't worry - they're not that sunburned. They just get pink in the heat like their mom.

Monument Hill also butts up against Phoenix International Raceway, so we got a good view of that. On Saturdays, they open up the racetrack & let people pay to drive their own cars in there. Kind of interesting to watch. Robbie really liked that, since it was so similar to the Cars movie. (Robbie really hated this cactus. I told him to be careful & not to touch it because it's pokey, and then he didn't want to go anywhere near it!)

The Base & Meridian wildlife area is right at the bottom of the hill, so we went down there for a little bit. We threw a lot of rocks in the water, and the kids put their toes in for a little bit. It's a well-used area, I'll say, because there were plenty of beer cans & grocery bags lying around. It bothers me to see so much crap around, but it's still a fun place to go.

Then Rob had a break between games, so we met him at Hungry Howie's for pizza. Pretty good pizza - same $5 carryout deal as Little Caesar's, but not quite as... well... Little Caesar's. You know.

We went home, had baths and cooled down for a bit, and then we went back to Avondale for Rob's last game. His team was undefeated & won the tournament, so that was pretty fun for him. Right now, he's proudly wearing the t-shirt he won (ha ha). Here are the kids watching him bat. (Not sure what's going on with the umpire & the catcher, though)

We're tired! But it was a good day, and I'm so happy the bearable weather is here!