I’m happy to report that I am really enjoying my time here in Arizona. Last night the kids wanted to pitch tents in the back yard and sleep outside. At first I was a little apprehended. I have learned the hard way that there are plenty of things crawling on the ground around here that you wouldn’t necessarily want them to be your sleep buddies.
The kids really wanted to do it and were very excited about it, so I said yes miserably, thinking about the coyotes that will probably come to visit us at night.

It took us a while to get everything ready but then finally we settled down around 9:30.
I shared a tent with Natalie. She was so excited she could barely keep herself together! Of course she talked non stop! I finally told her that if she’s not quiet and go to sleep, I’ll have to put her back in her bed, so she finally calmed down and fell asleep along with her brothers. The boys must have been pretty tired after hauling all those things and trying to put everything together, because they fell asleep almost right away.

I was the only one that couldn’t get to sleep. I could hear a frog croaking sadly, and crickets scratching their legs together uncontrollably. It didn’t bother me. It was calming and relaxing. I looked at the sky and I was surprised to see so many stars. Last time I had seen a night sky like this was in Greece.

I tried to get comfortable, but my hips and back started to hurt and soon I felt my right leg go numb. Bad news… I got up and tried to stretch a bit, but my leg still felt stiff and my back started hurting even more. I soon realized that I was not going to be able to spend the night out there. The kids were already asleep, and by that time I felt pretty comfortable that we would all be safe from the creepy crawlers, the coyotes and the bob cats that like to lurk around here. There was nothing in sight and the back yard is now fenced, not like it used to be.

I decided to wake up Darian and have him sleep with Natalie. It took me a while to wake him up, but finally I was able to move him to the other tent. He was half unconscious, so I thought it would be pretty funny in the morning, when he would wake up and wonder how the heck he got there!

I gathered my stuff and headed to my bedroom. I took a pain killer and tried to go to sleep. I couldn’t. I laid there in pain for hours, not being able to sleep. Finally I felt my eyes getting heavy around 5:00 am.

I slept until 7:30, when Natalie came to my bed wondering why I left. I explained to her and she was OK. She thought it was funny to wake up and find Darian there instead.
I went back in the tent again. Darian was up too, so we were all having a good time joking and laughing. Soon we had to get up and start putting things away. It was cloudy and it looked like it would rain, so the boys and I decided we better hurry.

We had a busy morning trying to put everything back in its place and a few hours later the rain began. I had forgotten how funny it smells when it rains here. It’s like smelling wet dust! Who knows when was the last time this place has seen rain!

It’s still raining now. I came to my room for a little rest after I made lunch for the kids. I feel tired and nauseated. My bones still hurt. I officially declare that I feel like crap right now, so I think the wisest thing to do is to try to take a nap.

I’ll try and do that and hopefully I’ll feel better when I wake up.

Adios.