Summer's Underway

John and Troy and their dog Sirius (Simba stayed home with Troy's mom) drove over to the panhandle of Nebraska a couple of weeks ago to kick off summer. Troy spent just under nine hours riding her bike 100 miles through gravel at the Robidoux Quick & Dirty.

If that sounds horrible but you know Troy, you'll know she had a blast. And even though she literally makes the Fat Tire beer that's in the giant cooler she's standing in, she was still excited to get it at the end of the race.

A few days later Brad and I went over to the other side of Tucson to see Mission Garden for the first time. We were drawn there by a festival for the "birthday" of St. John the Baptist (and to pray for rain). The area is considered the birthplace of Tucson and is one of the longest known areas of continuous cultivation in the United States (about 3500 years) and it still has a garden at the base of what's called Sentinel Peak. 

This is looking up at Sentinel Peak from the gardens. There were also loads of fruit trees—mostly figs but also some citrus and stone fruit.

Brad's mom and dad spent last weekend with us, and this is the only picture I have to show for it. (That's Allie laying on the floor next to Grandpa.) Brad's brother Brian also joined us for a night and we all had so much fun that we're all getting together again today at Brian's house in Phoenix to celebrate the Fourth of July.

This one's kind of random, but Mary wore her Poland soccer jersey and wanted us all to see. And now you've seen too. The Harrisons' love for Poland will never die.

Peter sent this picture of a place in their new neighborhood. I'm told that Water Ice is a Philly thing. In my mind, it's a snow cone with fruit. Anyway, on a hot summer day I'm sure it's refreshing.

Peter and Jessa gave us a video chat tour of their new house, which they're doing some work on before they move in. Jessa sent this picture of Peter, who is a bit too tall for the conditions, starting some work in the kitchen.

Meanwhile, Brad is painting the inside of our fountain, now that the temperatures are more reasonable and we have plenty of cloud cover.

Finally, it seems like it's lizard season in Tucson. There are so many more of them out than usual and they're so much larger than we usually see. This guy is probably around eight inches long. They're harmless and actually kind of fun to watch.