What we've been up to

The kids and I hiked up to the waterfall in the White Tank mountains. None of us had ever been there before, but we heard the waterfall only runs after it rains. So after Noah's flood in January, off we went!

At the waterfall:

Climbing on the rocks:

It was a gorgeous day, and everyone else had the same idea. It was pretty crowded, but still nice. It's such an easy hike, and it was fun to climb around on the rocks. There are also a lot of petroglyphs to look at. The waterfall is kind of around a corner in the canyon, so unless we wanted to wade into the water, we couldn't really see the whole thing. I'd like to go back when it's dry so we can do a little more climbing.

In front of some petroglyphs:

Some of you may know I got a new job. I've been working part-time at Kohl's for almost a year, and I went back to work full-time in August at Express Scripts. It was a nice place to work, and I appreciated my friend Mary for letting me know about the job! We would've been in bad shape without it.

A few weeks ago, Rob's sister Stephanie took a different job where she works, and she told her boss she knew someone who'd be good to fill her old position (me). They interviewed me and now I'm working at EcoPlan. It's an environmental consulting firm, and they do a lot of work all over the state. I handle contracts & cost estimates - very similar to what I did when I worked for Phelps Dodge. It's been good so far, and the projects are interesting; I like learning more stuff about Arizona. Although starting a new job is always weird until you get past the learning curve. Hopefully that will go quickly! I'm enjoying it, and the pay increase has been such a relief. Thank you Steph! I was even able to put in my notice at Kohl's last week. I'll work there the next two Friday nights, and that's it. I will dearly miss the employee discount, but I'm excited to have Friday nights back!

Rob started umpiring fast-pitch softball in addition to the slow-pitch he's always done. It will open up a little more availability for him to umpire more often. He likes it so far, and he got to buy a whole bunch of new equipment (yay for tax write-offs). The kids like whacking him in the chest when he's wearing all his padding.

A couple of weeks ago, the kids and I went over to my parents house to see them and my sister and three of her kids, who were visiting for the weekend. We all went to Joe's Farm Grill, and it was gooooood! It's a pretty cool place & very yummy food. The weather was awesome again, and we had a nice time.

Erica, Robbie & Grandma:

Later that night, we went to see Rob for a little bit between games. He was umpiring at Papago Park. Since we were driving through the park on our way home, I stopped so we could hike up Hole in the Rock. The kids thought I was nuts since it was night, but the moon was so bright we didn't need flashlights or anything. They got a kick out of hiking at night & it was a pretty view of the city lights.

Well, I think that catches us up! At least on the things I have pictures of.