July 2nd came and went without me realizing Silas turned 20 months. It’s the first month I’ve forgotten to take mental note of his getting a month older. I suppose that’s a sign that Silas is definitely not a baby any more, but a toddler. And a big brother toddler at that.

July 3rd we had some friends from St. George, Utah visit! Virginia and Thelma were so good to me the year I taught in St. George, and we’ve kept in touch over the past six years. Thelma now lives in Phoenix, and Virginia came to visit her, so we reconnected! Silas loved having them read to him. Lunch at Wildflower Bread Co. hit the spot.

July 4th was the most incredible Arizona summer day–it rained! Since both of us were itching to get out of the Valley, we set out on a day trip to Prescott (about 2 hours north of Phoenix). Prescott turned out to be the quintessential Old West town we were hoping for. In fact, Stephen declared it his favorite spot in AZ. The courthouse is in the center of the town square with grass and (real) trees all around. The streets surrounding the courthouse are lined with tourist shops, antique stores and unique eateries. We fell in love! I was having so much fun that I took hardly any pictures. I just wanted to soak it all in.

We walked around in the sprinkling rain enjoying the 70 degree weather. Sometimes Prescott reminded me of West Virginia with the greenery, broad-leafed trees, rivers and hills. Sometimes I was reminded of southern Indiana.We discovered that Prescott was the original capitol of the Arizona territory. After exploring the quaint town, we ate lunch at a local favorite where I felt very Western drinking my sarsaparilla.

Prescott was a LOT bigger than I had imagined it. We drove to the local ball field where it seemed the whole town had gathered for one giant Independence Day celebration. At first, we couldn’t believe all the things people were toting to the ball park. They brought tents, sleeping bags, chairs, grills, ovens, coolers–they were setting up housekeeping! As we walked around through the midst of Prescott neighbors, I felt like I was on the set of an adorable movie. Eventually, the sprinkles gave way to large raindrops, so we headed back to the car–since we had inadvertently left our tent at home :).

We finished our day with playtime for Silas at the mall, a melt-in-your-mouth supper at Famous Dave’s BBQ, and fireworks on TV. Happy 4th of July!

Saturday I took my friend Jen to lunch at Rumbi Island Grill. I love the Pacific island atmosphere, and the food was delish! I tried one of their salads for the first time, and it just might be my favorite.

This past weekend we hosted Phil and Bethany Herwaldt, missionaries to the Apaches on Regeneration Reservation east of Phoenix. Their son, Adam is just 10 days younger than Silas, so those two boys had a blast getting to know each other. It was hilarious to watch them copy each other. At one point, they were sitting under the kitchen table head-butting each other. I guess that’s the one year old way of bonding.

So, July is off to a busy start! Hoping there are a lot more adventures in store this summer.