Once Lorelai's play was finished, the rest of our April was...pretty nice, actually, and not too busy! The weather, for one thing, has been absolutely delightful.
Usually April is a "transitional" month, meteorologically speaking. Sure, it has its nice days, but more often than not the temperature hangs around north of 90 degrees for at least a few weeks. Not this year, though! It's the last day of April, and with one or two exceptions, the daily high temperatures have remained firmly in the 80s, or even the 70s! There were even a few rainy days. Highly unusual weather, but I didn't hear anyone complaining. It was so nice to be able to spend a little extra time in the great outdoors, before the annual retreat indoors to the siren song of the air conditioner.
Lots of pretty flowers are around, too! Hooray for spring!
The only downside to such a warm, pleasant April? Even more pollen and dust in the air than usual! My allergies have been pretty strong this year; most mornings I wake up stuffy-nosed and dry-mouthed. However, I will take this temporary (and minor) inconvenience in exchange for some beautiful outdoors time.
We've already had one trip to Madera Canyon this month; we had a picnic up there on Good Friday. This last Saturday, we discovered a heretofore-hidden part of Madera Canyon that we'd never seen before, thanks to some tips from local friends.
Right at the mouth of the canyon, there's a parking lot that leads to Proctor's Trail, a low-key, paved hiking trail with several historical sites and informational signs sprinkled throughout. But a small dirt path that branches off the Proctor's Trail leads hikers down hill, towards the canyon's runoff stream, which has a dramatic flair this far down the mountain...
...namely, a small waterfall! I haven't seen a waterfall in many years, and had no idea I would see one in moisture-deficient Arizona. It's not a large waterfall by any stretch, but it's still pretty. And it's easily approachable; our family was able to wander right up to it.
Our girls all packed their swimsuits, anticipating a lot of aquatic frolicking. However, most of them were too scared to get all the way underneath the water. Perhaps the mere reality of a nearby waterfall left them shy and overwhelmed?
Adding to that, the water was still pretty cold, and it wasn't a hot day (well, not by our standards...the temperature was in the mid- to high-70s at the time of our hike).
Brrr...chilly!
After a while, though, Lorelai and Celeste were each brave enough to get up close and personal with the waterfall, and at least get their heads a little bit wet.
Aurora was content to hang out farther downstream, tossing pebbles in the water and wading around. While Nathan rested creek-side, reading, the rest of us had fun for several minutes getting our feet wet.
We didn't stay too long at the waterfall, but we are definitely planning on a return trip. It was so fun to discover a new spot in a canyon we've visited so many times! Per our friend's request, we have tried to not publicize the waterfall's location too publicly; it's a spot that could easily be over-run by too many people. In fact, another family showed up for a visit just as we were taking our leave! But hopefully people will be polite and careful when visiting, so this spot can be enjoyed by many visitors for a long time to come.
That same week, I had another outing, this time with Celeste and her first-grade class. During mid-April, all the older kids at the charter school were busy with standardized testing, so the younger kids were sent off-campus for several field trips to keep the noise level down. One day, Celeste and her class walked to a nearby park and spent several hours playing outdoor games. The next day, however, the class took the bus up to Tucson (with me along for the ride!). They visited the Mini Time Machine Museum, a fun little museum that features dozen of miniature houses, stores, and other buildings.
We didn't stay too long at the museum but the kids all seemed to enjoy it. We were admitted before the museum's official public opening, so our school had the run of the place. I attempted to keep track of Celeste and a few other kids, with mixed success. There was a lot of running back and forth from one exhibit to the next. I also had fun helping the kids find all the minature "fairy" dolls that were hidden in random places throughout the exhibits. I think the Mini Time Machine Museum is a little over-priced, but still really delightful to visit...I really admire all the craftsmanship on display.
But museums, educational and fascinating they might be, can make rowdy first-graders a little restless. Too much "shushing" and too much quietly lingering in galleries had some kids ready for action. They were lucky, then, when our group stopped for lunch at a city park not far from the museum. There was a large playground there for the kids to play around on, and that playground included this awesome contraption, which is best described as a cross between a merry-go-round and a climbing gym.
As you can see by the above picture, lots of adults were excited by the merry-go-round too. That bearded man is Mark, our school's executive director/jazz band leader/bus driver/all-around kid at heart. Some of the dads who'd chaperoned the field trip also got into the spirit, giving the kids an extra-fast ride.
I'm sure that some of today's helicopter parents would have a fit on this playground, but all of us loved watching the kids delightedly scream and spin. And don't worry...nobody died! Nobody was even hurt! One little girl was hanging halfway out of the merry-go-round by the end of the trip, but she managed to hold on and everything worked out in the end.
After this exciting day, Celeste was pretty pooped. However, she was so happy and grateful that I'd tagged along for the ride. I haven't been a regular presence in her classroom the same way I was last year...I never got a regular volunteer time set up. Hopefully I'll be able to be a little more involved next year, when all the girls are in school (gasp! It is finally starting to feel real for me.). For now, I am glad we were able to share this fun day together, and I hope we will both remember it for a long time.
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