Welcome to Deanspot.org...

Once again, it's been awhile since our last update. But we're doing well down here in Arizona - still sweatin' out the summer, and ready for cooler weather, but we're well.

Some recent highlights include:

• A weekend camping trip on the East Verde, north of Payson. We went with Sara's folks, and had a great time. We were just above a dry stream bed, and Alex and Elliott spent some happy hours down there playing on and throwing rocks. Kate got to eat pine needles, and crawl around in the dirt. Sara started a novel (reading one, just to clarify). A brief hike, making smores, sleeping in a tent: all were a lot of fun. Right now, you can see some of Carolyn's pictures from the trip. Sara took some too, but they were with film (quaint, I know), and it still needs to be developed. They're coming soon.
• Speaking of pictures: we've ordered a new digital camera and we're very excited about it. Our camera was on the cheap end back when we bought it... and that was in 2003. (It was delivered the same day the war in Iraq began.) We've enjoyed it, but the prints we made from it just weren't very good, as the quality was so low. So, with such cute little kids around, I'd gone back to using almost entirely film... but that really does get expensive, and the turn-around time is so slow: take the picture, finish the roll, get it developed, then load the prints onto the computer. (Not to mention the fact that we were always paying a little extra to get the digital version of the film prints.) Yikes. When our new camera arrives, we'll use mostly that... which is good news for you deanspot viewers who wish we were more prompt about loading pictures!
• We enjoyed the Olympics, but perhaps not as much as the popcorn! Recently, Alex has discovered that he can make popcorn in a pot on the stove that's far better - and far cheaper - than what we can make in the microwave. He's spent some evenings in recent months perfecting his technique, and by the time the Olympics commenced, he had become an expert. Elliott got to spend some happy evenings watching Dad make popcorn, inquiring about every step along the way - and then staying up an extra 30-45 minutes to watch some Olympics with us. (One night, he even got some ginger ale - heaven!) He especially enjoyed the diving and the running, and we all had a great time. Last night, I confess - I was a little forlorn when there were no more Olympics on.
• I suppose there's always more than that going on... right now, most of it parenting-related. Having a three-year-old and an eight-month-old makes for pretty intense parenting. In the middle of lots of diapers, lots of laundry, lots of picking up, lots of dealing with "whys" and "nos" and what-not, it can sometimes be hard to see the forest for all the trees. On the other hand, both Elliott and Kate really can be a lot of fun to be around, and (most of the time) just sitting around the table during mealtime can be pretty entertaining. Both of them continue to expand their areas of interest, a process that's pretty interesting to observe. Most of the time, parenting is fun.
• Our Fantasy Football draft is this weekend. Woohoo!

That's about it for now.... Elliott starts preschool tomorrow, so I'll post a story about how that goes tomorrow or Thursday.