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The funny thing is when I think back over the past few months my thoughts are filled with our house: toiling in the yard, working on the house, painting, minor repairs and trip after trip to the home improvement stores. Yet when I flip through the pictures I realize that isn’t the complete story. Looking back through the photographs it becomes clear that April, May, and June were filled with travels, family, and friends.

I kicked off April from afar—I was fortunate enough to spend Spring Break back in Ohio with family. It was my opportunity to get back there to meet the newest member of the clan, young Harper. What a wonderful trip—the weather was warm and sunny (Mother Nature’s joke on me, since I did not pack any shorts) and it was splendid to see everyone. I was even roped into helping out the Easter Bunny—who was running late that morning—and had a smashing time hiding the colorful treasures all over my cousin’s yard. Might even be safe to say I had more fun than the seekers. Though I might not be rehired for that gig since the first egg was found by the dog!

I returned to Tucson and hopped back into work and house projects. As part of our anniversary celebration, Lance and I took a break from chores and zipped down to birdy Madera Canyon for a relaxing day outside in the gorgeous Spring weather. Mount Wrightson, the tallest peak in the Santa Rita Mountains (and the Tucson-area), still sporting some snow, was a pleasant sight as we wandered along the flowing creek looking for birds in the canyon’s tall trees.

A few days later it was us up in the tall trees. Well, the poles of the ropes course used to be trees. In a stroke of luck we received an invitation from our friend Elizabeth, who runs the high-ropes course for a local 4-H group. We had often passed by the course and wondered about it but had been told that it was for group members only. Which is normally true but thankfully, the 4-H club was holding a fundraiser and they opened the course up for an evening of fun and games. It was my first experience on such a course and our first challenge was the Flying V. In theory, it sounds easy: Strap into a harness, climb up to the platform, walk the tightrope to the other end, then with arms outstretched lean towards your partner (Lance, in this case), and finally, balancing each other with tensed arms, walk the spreading apart tightropes to a higher platform.

It sounded interesting and I’ll try almost anything once (except cow tongue, long story). I did great! It was fun, it was fantastic, it was exhilarating—until I left the first platform. My belayer and I misunderstood a key concept which resulted in me staring at the ground far below (30 feet? 40 feet? 100?) with my rear end on the tightrope; not the recommended technique as Elizabeth advised me with a chortle in her voice. It was at this inauspicious moment that our friends Charles and Alison arrived. It was a bit hard to see their faces from up there but I’m pretty sure they were laughing.

Finally I decided that sitting there looking down was not helping so I scooted back over to the platform on my butt and regained my feet. Slowly, ever so slowly, I inched my way across to where Lance was patiently waiting. The Flying V is supposed to build a sense of trust and teamwork. I’m not sure that’s what I’d call it, in low tones the whole way I shared a long stream of epithets with Lance. We made it within five feet of the last platform before we lost our balance and dropped down off the course. Mostly successful and tremendously relieved, I unhooked. I’m not sure anyone has ever wriggled out of a harness faster.

Quite possibly the funniest scene at the Ropes Course was watching my friend Debbie’s husband tackle the Giant Ladder. His partner was a young girl who was too small to be any help on that particular teamwork challenge. So at one point Andy ended up clutching a large rung, hanging upside-down like a three-toed sloth. It must’ve been terribly uncomfortable but he was a trooper. By far everyone’s favorite part of the course? The aptly named Screamer, where you are hoisted high, and with a jerk of your wrist you are set free flying through the air (safely attached to a rope on your harness, of course). I think Alison achieved the highest swing but Charles upped the ante by flying upside-down (show-off).

At the end of the month Lance left for a conference in San Francisco. His trip was mostly work though he did manage some fun free time including a visit with friends, Tim and Tiffany. It had been a couple years since we’d last seen them and it’s always good to meet up with old friends. So overall it was successful trip. Though I’ll be honest, I did not enjoy Lance being gone for ten whole days—that was way too long.

It was May by the time Lance returned, which normally means a steady increase in temperature. Lucky for us, this May was one of the coolest in many years. We took full advantage of the cooler temperatures by working on outside projects and then celebrating Lance’s birthday with an evening picnic at a local park. All the inhabitants of Tucson, including the wildlife, revel in the cool mornings and evenings. The critters that share or wander through our property were no exception. There were quite a few times that I had to stop working on a project to grab my camera and squeeze off a few shots. Unfortunately, I missed far more great photo opportunities than I was able to capture.

Near the end of May Lance and I escaped for a weekend in the high country as we drove up to Payson to visit our friends Rich and Karen and see their new digs. This past March they found themselves a place to settle down a bit, their long-hoped-for “log cabin in the city.” When their house came into view all we could say was, “Wow!” It was gorgeous: honey-colored logs and high ceilings with a breezy, open feel. Of course, their place was in such good shape that they are already moved in and putting on the finishing touches. (I am still dreaming of that stage even after a year of home-ownership.) Someday, I hope our house will be that comfortable and welcoming.

It had been quite a while since we’d seen each other and we had a lot to catch up on. Our weekend flew by since that area of Arizona is infused with the art and architecture of native peoples, pioneer history, interesting flora and fauna, and cool geology. All too soon we descended back down to the desert where things were really starting to heat up. Not only was it in the triple digits but we were trying to wrap up our house projects and squeeze in time with friends and family before we left for the summer.

At least our leaving would be temporary, a couple months at best. Just before we left we learned that our friends Aaron and Jenny would be leaving for good. Aaron landed a great paying job back in the Cincinnati area, which is where they were originally from. So, not only will they be in better shape financially but they will be closer to family, which will come in handy since they now have two kids. Other than the fact that we’ll miss them, we’re happy for them.

Our last week in Tucson flew by in a whirlwind of activity (and some afternoon cooling-off sessions in the swimming pool). It was the last week in June when we finally hit the road for cooler climes, first stop: Santa Fe, at 7,000 feet. That oughta cool us off!

A baby Javelina explores our yard. Too cute!

Two sets of photos for this post: Our April and May and June.