The word “summer” takes on a completely new meaning when you live in the desert. No longer is it just snowcones and swimming. You’ve got to fight to survive out here. In an effort to fight that fight and not die from the heat, Jackson is learning to love the sprinkler. Not only is it great fun for any 2 year old but it also waters our dying grass while our sprinkler system is incapacitated. I thought I would share some photos from his first adventure with the sprinkler.

So, no…unfortunately I did not compete in Iron Man. But I did, however, get the chance to massage the athletes once they completed the race. It was incredible to see these men and women who had trained for months finally cross that finish line and for many, it was a HUGE accomplishment and it showed. Just to give you an idea of what they went through to get to that finish line, the race began with a brisk 2.4 mile swim in Tempe Town Lake. They then hopped on their bike for a mere 112 mile bike ride and topped it all off with a 26.2 mile run. Not my idea of a fun day but their feelings of accomplishment were quite contageous. I was so proud of them even though I had never met them before in my life and it was such an honor to help them to cool down and stretch out after such a grueling race.

The last lady that I worked on was such an inspiration. She had just finished 10 minutes before the cut off time. You could tell she was not a natural athlete, nor was she super thin or toned. She was in tears but yet had the biggest smile on her face. She said she felt like she was going to barf but never have I seen a nauseous person filled with so much joy. Her family was there to support her and they were obviously very proud of such an accomplishment. I confess, I teared up a bit. You would have thought she’d come in first place as proud as she was. It was such a cool moment and so amazing to be able to work on her. I love my school and I love massage therapy and moments like that remind me why!

So after the Batman costume for Halloween ‘07, we knew it’d be tough to beat this year. I still don’t know that we beat it but we came close. Jack still has a bit of a waddle in his walk so the penguin fit perfectly. It took a little practice but once he got used to it, he loved his costume. My school had a trick-or-treating party so we released our little penguin into the wild. No penguin has ever waddled so far in such a short amount of time. He knew he was cute and the candy just kept coming. He had a blast. Hopefully, soon we’ll be able to trick-or-treat in Texas. Until then, enjoy the pics!

Tim and I were part of a short film that our church is making for their new building campaign called “Flood”. Even though it was over a hundred degrees, we had a great time…and we looked great too!! We’ll be sure to show you the final product when it’s all done. (Click pics to enlarge)