27 October 2019

What a fun and exciting week we had!  We started things off right with Family Home Evening with the Masseys on Monday.  They came over and brought a treat and Helen gave us our lesson from Come, Follow Me.  When we were done we played a rousing game of Outburst, my stinkin' kids can be so competitive.  We were grateful to have our good friends with us.

Arlo had a doctor's appointment on Tuesday morning and we made yet another change to his medication.  The silver lining is I have finally reached our out of pocket maximum and the insurance has kicked in a little more.  I'm grateful for that, all the doctor's visits and med changes can get expensive!  We did our usual busy afternoon activities and Felicity had a young women's activity.

 I took the day off from work on Wednesday and headed into town after I got the kids to school.  I did a little bit of clothes shopping, had my nails done, and topped the afternoon off with a much needed trip to the salon.  Now the top 12 inches of my hair match the bottom 12 inches again!  I also told her I was thinking about having her cut bangs, she thought it was a great idea...so now I have bangs.  I think I like them.

Thursday afternoon I took my dad's truck, which I would be borrowing for hunting, to the car wash to see if we could make it smell less like an ashtray.  My mom went with me and we enjoyed lunch together while we waited.  My mom picked up the kids from school to keep them overnight and I drove to Benson to meet Phil for our shooting date.  We had a really nice time sighting in the rifle and doing some target practice.  When the sun went down he took me out to dinner and then we talked in the car for quite some time before I drove home.  I think it was the best first date I've ever had.

Friday morning I met Phil at the bottom of the road at 4:30am to head down Arivaca road to find a good spot to sit and look for deer.  We got to a decent place just as the sun was coming up, and didn't have to hike too far from where we parked the truck.  We glassed all morning and saw some does, but no bucks.  We called it a morning at 9:30 and came back to the house for something to eat and to rest a bit.  We went back out Friday evening.  This time we didn't have as much luck finding a spot as we ran into a snag with a locked gate where we didn't expect one.  It meant that by the time we went around the ranch, which is what was behind the gate, the sun had mostly gone down and we had to turn around for the night; sometimes that is the way hunting goes.  Phil was supposed to be helping with a deer hunt for his niece and nephew on Saturday, but since they got two deer opening morning, he was free to help me again on Saturday, lucky me!

Saturday morning I took the kids to Oro Valley for their counseling appointment and while they did that I ran some errands.  On the way home we stopped for lunch and then to do the grocery shopping.  Phil met me at the house Saturday afternoon and we went out west on Magee Ranch Road and then hiked a ways back into the hills.  We saw a lot of deer, there were so many and they were so close in the canyon we got into you could see them with the naked eye.  We got to a good vantage point and spent time looking through the binoculars until the sun went down on us.  It was kind of a long hike out in the dark, but I didn't mind.  I did end up falling once (or maybe twice), one time bracing my fall with my hand in a cacti.  Luckily it wasn't a cholla or prickly pear!  We got out of the desert safely in the dark, and he took me for ice cream, saying I had certainly earned it.
The kids and I went to church on Sunday morning after a good nights sleep, and then to visit Grandma when we were done.  We spent some time over at my parent's house before heading home.  Evidently when I fell in the cactus on Saturday, a piece broke off in my finger because it was red and swollen and tender all day.  When I got home from my parent's house in the evening I got to work digging out the broken off piece, it was a good size sliver!  I do love the desert, even if it doesn't always love me back!  I got to work on Helen's costume after the kids went to bed, but didn't get as far as I would have liked, hopefully I can get it done before the ward trunk or treat next Tuesday.  It was such a fun weekend, its amazing how quickly things can change in our lives.  Phil and I have a few more dates planned, so I'm excited to see where this adventure takes us.