Kyle and Neighborhood Ministries

Janelle's mom is still visiting with us, and we had the chance to connect with our nephew, Kyle, yesterday in downtown Phoenix. Kyle has helped out a little bit the past couple of years with a dynamic ministry in downtown Phoenix called Neighborhood Ministries and chose to head back this spring to do an internship for a few months. Right now they're gearing up for kids' camp, which will reach out to 500 kids in the area! We're proud of Kyle and how he's investing his life. If you're in the area, be sure to check out Neighborhood Ministries, too. They're doing some great stuff.

Our Buddging Geologist

Elise's school year is also winding down, and she celebrated last week with the last of her 1st grade "cottage fairs" (where the students showcase their work). One of the things Elise has really enjoyed is learning about and collecting rocks, which was the subject of her science fair project. She really got into the project and keeps busy hunting for new rock speciments everywhere we go (she found a nice collection of mica at Joe's BBQ last night). Her other big interest this spring has been bird eggs and nests. We managed to get about 10 old nests out of the ficus trees in our backyard, and now that spring is behind us, she's been finding plenty of egg shells. Kids are great at reminding us that we are surrounded by countless wonders and examples of God's creativity.

The Graduate

Chloe graduated from Kindergarten last night. Janelle's mom ("Nana") flew out for the big celebration -- an hour-long presentation at school followed by dinner & cake at Joe's BBQ. The school presentation was fabulous -- the kids sang numerous songs and recited several poems. Chloe has always been our verbal one (she began speaking in full sentences before she was 2), so we were not surprised when she was given one of the few speaking roles -- and had the longest line. She was awesome (see below)! Great job, Chloe. We're proud of you!

Garden Update

It's been about 8 weeks now since we planted our little garden, and it's provided almost daily excitement for the girls as they've watched things sprout, grow and now begin showing signs of fruit. Since our last garden update, the corn has shot up from 8" to being much taller than them, and little husks of corn are now visible. The watermelon and honeydew mellon (those that lived, anyway!) are growing like gangbusters, and we just uncovered a baseball-sized honeydew yesterday. The tomatoes are less prolific than I'd hoped, but we've already had a chance to enjoy some of them, especially the small, yellow pear tomatoes. The bell pepper plants are finally showing little tiny peppers. I managed to kill most of the squash, save for a couple of nice plants with bloom brilliantly but produce no squash (what's up with that?!). The green beans started off strong, but 1/2 have withered away, and the rest are poking along. Never could get the lettuce to sprout (I think the 2 weeks of triple digit temps did them in). As for the various flowers, their alive & well, but... well, mostly flowerless. So a mixed success thus far, but enough to keep things exciting.

Perspective

I took this shot of a Julia butterfly at the butterfly exhibit at the Desert Botanical Gardens last night and found it interesting as it gives a sense for what a butterfly might see. The dress of the woman in the background would be awfully tempting with all those flowery designs on it! At a deeper level, this was a good reminder to me to try to see things from other perspectives. How much heartache and strife might be avoided were we all to do this more often?

Chihuly Glass

It took us 18 months to get there, but we finally made it to the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix this evening. Two things drew us.... First was the butterfly exhibition, and it didn't disappoint. The screened in exhibition was chock-full of a variety of butterflies fluttering all around us and, occasionally, landing on the little stitched flower on 1-year-old Brooke's outfit. It was fun to see the girls have so much fun. The second draw was the Chihuly glass exhibit, part of which is pictured here. The glass work is absolutely stunning, and it is wonderfully presented in natural settings throughout the botanical gardens. We weren't able to stay until it got dark, but that is apparently when this exhibit shines (literally & figuratively). If you live in the area, you owe it to yourself to see this exhibit before it's gone!

Reptilian Push-Ups

I couldn't resist posting this shot of a lizard taken this evening at the botanical gardens in Phoenix (be sure to click on it to see a larger, higher-res version). Chloe, Grace & I missed the exit when we were leaving and ended up heading down another trail. I spotted this good looking guy (or maybe it's a girl?) back in the bushes. It was bobbing up & down on its front legs, to which Chloe immediately commented, "Look, Daddy - the lizard is doing push-ups!" I LOVE seeing the world through the eyes of children!

Thanks, Joe!

Today was a happy day for many residents of Gilbert, ourselves included. Today was the annual customer appreciation day at Joe's BBQ in downtown Gilbert when they serve roughly 6,000 totally free meals! We first became aware of Joe's when we saw another of Joe's restaurants, Joe's Farm Grill, on the Food Network on TV last year. It's one of our favorite joints in the area. Today's offer of free meals was enough to get us out of the house to finally try the flagship restaurant. We were not disappointed! The food was terrific -- not much of a choice -- BBQ beans, cole slaw, and then your choice of either a beef or pork BBQ sandwich. The beans were seriously some of the best we've ever had, as was the slaw. The sandwich was a bit on the dry side, but very tasty, and given that they were trying to serve about 6,000 meals, that was a minor gripe. The inside has a lot of character, including the tractor right there in the dining room. And Joe himself was on hand to greet customers and thank them for coming. I guess if you offer a good enough product (quality food AND service), offering free food for a day is good business. Hey, it made customers out of us. Thanks, Joe!