Tucson Area

      The Hamilton's landed in Tucson Arizona for a couple weeks to spend time with my mom and party like rock stars at the Full Time Family Rally and the World's Best  Road School Rally. There were 50 adults and 80 kids that descended on this newly bought KOA and lets just say that the staff here was not ready for this many families. The retired people that loved this campground before it was a KOA were less than pleased about the fact that 80 kids took over the place. For those coming through this area the Lazy Days KOA is not a real kid friendly park as of yet. 

At the Full Time Family Rally we had a great gathering on Friday night called the Road School Roundup and a wonderful dinner play called Terror in Tucson that Jacob, Aiden and Laura all had parts in it. 

Nicholos Read

ADHD Aiden

Jumpin' Jacob

Red Eye Mitchell

Jacob was was the gun slinger Red Eye Mitchel, baddest hombre in the Arizona Territory. Aiden was the wealthy shop owner owner Nicholas Reede and Mommy was the town doctor and all were suspects in the murder of a wealthy land owner in town.Laura had a booth with ThirtyOne products and had the chance to meet some amazing people that were also vendors or that came through. I was able to spend time with a wonderful family that sells Doterra products, (www.mydoterra.com/shineessential).  They have me all oiled up and ready to go!!! We have already fought off migrane, allergies. an infected cut and a sprained wrist with their products! No Chemicals needed!
I also had a chance to meet with THE RoadTrip teacher! The actual Roadtrip teacher MaryBeth Goff has created amazing site based study guides. Teachers, you know that parent who pulls their child out for a week of school and wants you to provide all the work before they go? Never Again!!!! IF they are going to Niagra Falls, they can go online and download the study guide and create a fantastic lap book. Great learning pieces, fantastic content and fun too! She has dozens of locations ready for download. And, if you are teaching about a monument such as Mount Rushmore, MaryBeth Goff has done all the legwork for you! Make your life easier and CHECK THIS OUT!  http://www.roadtripteacher.com/. I also got a chance to join the RoadSchool Moms Radio Show, my first radio appearance, pertty cool. http://ultimateradioshow.com/sho-hosts/roadschoolmoms/

During our stay in Tucson we were able to witness a Red Lunar Eclipse and the moon was so bright coming up over the KOA. 

That was a fun viewing party! Especially the pumpkin Pie Moonshine! 

Our first outings in the Tucson area were to the Desert Museum and the Saguaro National Park. As hot and dry as these two areas are, they are remarkably beautiful with stunning views of the Arizona desert.  At the Desert Museum we were able to see the predatory bird exhibit where they had them fly over your head so you could get a real up-close look. There were coyotes, Javalinas, (which are not pigs), lizards, turtles and more. The kids also learned about the prehistoric times in Arizona as well as caves and rock formations in the state. This was a great learning park for the whole family.

      I am absolutely amazed by the stark beauty of this area! The way things have evolved and adapted to survive here is fascinating! This is the time of year to be here, it's in the high 70's and the flowers are blooming. It's gorgeous. We have seen an amazing variety of birds, including tiny quail that live all over here and run around with babies in tow. We have become acutely aware of the snakes in the area, giving any potential hiding areas a wide berth. We have learned to identify 6 main plant types in the area and have done a lot of learning about how plants use energy and create food. 

 The Saguaro National Park was a wonderful opportunity for our family to see this giant cactus along with all the other cacti in one area. The boys were able to earn another badge and certificate here and were able to show off all the parks they had been to.

Nana and Papa were able to join the family on another outing to the Sabina Canyon where we saw a little different landscape, including water that people hike up to and play in! It was a bit stagnant this time of year but I imagine a couple months ago it was really fun! We saw Saguaro Cacti that were close to 225 years old! It was fantastic! We saw Barrel Cactus, Ocotillo, Prickly Pear, Palo Verde and lots more.