Rachel's Root Beer

For those of you who do not know, I brew beer as a hobby. Rachel is always curious as to what I am doing and always wants to help. So for the fun of it we decided to try out brewing some root beer for the family. We took the simple route by using a root beer extract that you can purchase at any home brewing store and are quite happy with the results.

First Monsoon

We received the first monsoon storm today and it was awesome! We were pounded by wind, rain, and hail for at least an hour and we loved every minute of it. The temperature dropped from about 103 to 64 in a matter of minutes which was a nice break from the summer heat. For those not in the know the monsoon as it is called is the annual summer storm weather pattern southern Arizona experiences. We receive about half of our annual rainfall during this season. Wikipedia has a decent explanation of the monsoon, feel free to check it out here.

After the rain we decided to take advantage of the suddenly cool weather and ate and played outside. The girls hopped in the jeep and cruised the backyard for a bit. Check out Erin's new bulldogish smile, what a character!

Dog Blogging

It isn't everyday that Sam gets mentioned on TFC but I thought I would post on his recent happenings. Specifically, I wanted to mention that he seems to have new life since we moved back to AZ. My sister Sarah is staying with us along with her dogs Daisy, Rusty, and Rex and Sam loves the company. We have long suspected that Sam needed a friend but due to various reasons (moving, et. al.) we refrained from adopting another dog. Now it is apparent that once Sarah takes her pack away we are going to have to adopt a friend for Sam. Nevertheless we are loving the new, or depending on your point of view old, Sam!

A Family Photo

Thought I would post a pic of the family taken in Boston Common right before we moved.

Changes Everywhere

It is surprising for us to be back in Vail and to see all of the changes that have happened while we were away. New roads and new schools are everywhere. Best change, in my opinion, is that now we have a Nico's Taco Shack which, for those who are not in the know is a local mexican food joint that has the greatest food. Vail even has a sit down restaurant, a Dairy Queen, and a Quiznos now! How our little suburb has grown!