Baptism, Bikes, and Beauty

Baptism:  Labor Day weekend, we got to head back to our old stomping grounds of Las Vegas for a very special day - Elizabeth's baptism!  It was such a great weekend!  We loved spending time with both our families and were so glad we could go.

The beautiful Lizzie.  Jeremiah and Lily loved playing with both grandma Westover and Dixon, and seeing Anna, Benj, Liz, and Isaac.  The fun cousins picked up right where they left off a month ago :)

We stayed with Dixons and Monday morning Parker was mowing their lawn, so of course Jeremiah needed to help him.

Lily observed from the safety of inside.  We had a wonderful time and while we love Arizona, it made us all a little sad that we don't live close to our cousins and grandma and grandpa anymore.  But 5 hours isn't that far :)

Bikes:
Once we returned home, the kids had to play with all of their toys to make sure they all still work.  One of their favorite things to do is ride their bikes in the front.  We live on a pretty secluded street, so it's pretty safe.

My beautiful lily-bee has to bring her "white baby" along for the ride.

Jeremiah loves to get going fast and yell, "Woohooo!"

It's not without its hazards:

Samuel was very happy to watch from the sidelines.  He LOVES watching these two play.

Not so sure what's going on here, but it's funny whatever it is :)

Beauty:
Living in the desert for the past 7 years of my life and then moving to a different desert has taught me many things.  One of which is that beauty is not always as apparent as somewhere like, say, Oregon or California, for example.  It must be sought after.  I've been seeking a bit.  Our neighbors have these beautiful bouganvillea bushes in their yard.  I want some in our yard, but due to the nature of renting this home and not being positive how long we are going to be in it, I'm hesitant to invest.  So for now, I admire the bouganvilleas from a distance.

We have a few of these "bushes" or whatever they are along the walkway up to our front door.  For the past few days they've been blooming these purple flowers like crazy!

When we moved in, there was a pot with tacky fake plastic flowers in it by our front door.  That was one of the first things to go.  My search for beauty led me to Lowes where I found these:

They have flourished over the past few weeks and they make me happy every time I see them.  During one of the big rainstorms we've been having the past few days, I made Parker move my flowers under the awning so they wouldn't drown!  Luckily there was only one small casualty.  It's one of my big dreams to someday have a garden and grow all sorts of things!  Gardening truly is good for the soul! (Even if it is just a pot of little flowers).

And speaking of beauty in the desert, I get to see my very own 3 beauties everyday :)