Change it up a bit

The weather has been wonderful lately... you probably won't see me write this again for at least eight months, the heat will soon be upon us. We've been taking advantage of the gorgeous weather by going to the park and doing other budget friendly (meaning free) outdoor activities. I wanted to find a place for Caitie to concentrate on riding her bike withouth a lot of traffic, so we went to a new neighborhood with new houses goin' up. I knew the traffic in the area would be minimal, and we happened to find one that had a small play area with a picnic table. This was across from some houses bein' built. After eating and playin' at the park for a bit we decided to go through some of the houses... here are a few pics...

Bailey enjoying a motorcycle ride at the park...





She and her daddy havin' a talk... (it reminds me of a baseball team's manager having a talk with a pitcher on the mound. i'm weird like that. movin' on now...)



While that was goin' on Caitie was playin' on the slide... in her bare feet... And no, the platform wasn't hot, I just happened to get this pic when she was jumpin' up to go down the slide...



I then went down the curvy slide with Bailey... Caitie took the pic.



Then Caitie took a turn on the motorcycle...



We then got Caitie's bike out of the back of the SUV and went for a walk/ride around the neighborhood...



And stopped to take a look inside one of the houses bein' built...



One of us needed a potty break, so we decided to head to the nearby models to find a bathroom... and while we were there, we decided to look at the two model houses... and ended up makin' ourselves at home... Caitie got into the fridge in the first model home...



and took out a nice, cold bottle of water, of which I took one as well. She put it against her neck and cooled off a bit. This really wasn't needed since the air conditioning was on in the model homes, but it did feel nice. I know because I did the same thing. A nice, cold bottle of water against the neck feels oh so good on a warm day.



We then continued on through the rest of the house. Caitie and Bailey can't stand showers/baths, but they loved playin' in this shower... it is a really nice one, and with no water involved, they enjoyed spending quite a bit of time in it.



Bailey found one of her favorite things... a toilet. She loves to put her hands in toilet water... Yuck! But this time she didn't get to... thank goodness. (she did, however, manage to do that in one of the homes goin' up; i'll save that for another post)



We then went to the next model home and went upstairs to an open area... the loft, I guess, and Caitie decided to entertain us by jammin' on the fake guitar. (michael was impressed with the mini fridge included in the cabinet/counter area you can see behind caitie)



We went out back and fell in love with the design of the yard... and the beautiful flowers as well. I love the color of the fence... it's a dark brown, which reminds me of chocolate (maybe that's one of the reasons i love it so much. um, yeah). The fence blends in with the surrounding mountains and the desert area beyond the homes. It's a beautiful area. We also liked the fake grass in the front and back yards of the model homes. It looks pretty natural and feels nice too. I didn't think I would like fake grass, but it was actually quite nice, and it would save on the water bill, and it's pretty much maintenance free. Somethin' to think about.



It was then time to head home. I think the sales people were glad to see us go... not sure why. Could have been due to the kids havin' wrecked the model homes... they got into everything! Especially Bailey.



You can enjoy beautiful weather in the usual ways... going for walks, hiking, biking and the like... but next time maybe throw in a picnic at a new neighorbood with new houses goin' up... there's just something about the look and smell of 'new'... dug up dirt, wood, fresh paint, the process of a house bein' built... I just love it. And going through model homes is fun too... even if you're not in the market for a new house, it's just fun getting decorating ideas and to see what's new out there... and it doesn't cost a thing. Give it a try sometime... sometime soon, that is. It's not quite the same when it's over 100 degrees out. :)