This past weekend we were able to go visit my husband's sister and her family who live in Thatcher. The main point of the visit was to go to the Gila Valley Temple open house. Unfortunately for my children, the highlight of the trip was something much different than that.
The temple was spectacular! There was one room that literally make me gasp when I walked in. It was awesome to be able to walk through it with our children so they could see how beautiful a temple is inside.
It's when I go to Thatcher that I realize how urban my children have been raised. I grew up in the same town that I am now living but alot has changed in 30 years. Growing up I remember finding frogs after each Thunderstorm. Living on a acre, I probably spent the majority of my time outside in the trees--mostly reading. Sometimes we declared war on the big red ants and spent hours sitting atop buckets and bikes digging through their hole to find and kill their queen. We even poured gasoline down the burrow and lit it. I don't think we ever did find her. Bugs and bees don't bother me. All of our neighbors had horses, chickens, and other barnyard animals. We usually had a dog and a cat and even once had a pigmy goat.
My sister-in-law's house is a playground for my children. They have a cute little dog and chickens. There is a big playhouse on stilts in their backyard and you can even find frogs in their sprinkler regulator. They have ATV's and a lake down the street where you can go swimming. We've gone camping up Mt. Graham and spent time fishing too.
Thatcher is a land of continual wonderment for my children. It is for me too but for a completely different reason.
This most recent trip they took us crawdad fishing.
I love this picture with my 3 oldest children sitting in the back with their arms raised in happiness.
The net just completes the feeling of the picture.
This is a canal that runs through the middle of Thatcher.
Here we are back at the house. They are trying to find the biggest one.
This guy won. He's practically a lobster!
Of course we had to eat them!!
Probably the first time the kids have caught, cooked, and eaten their meal.
After boiling them, we cleaned them and then sauted them in garlic and butter.
They were surprisingly excellent!
On our way home.
This darling just had too much excitement for the day.
Look at his little skinned knees and the ball clutched in his hand!
Sigh.
4 comments:
We wanted to take our kids through the temple open house, but alas without relatives to stay with the hotel prices kept us at home. But crawdads? Who knew? And that picture of #4. So sweet. He is a tank.
There's nothing like small town life. I often think of packing it all up for an acre of land and a gigantic garden.
Wish now I could have come with you! It looked like a lot of fun. Instead I had a delightful day at the Museum with your mom. Loved it. Love her, Love you. :)
I spent a lot of time outside in the same backyard--I, however, still have a fear of cockroaches and scorpions...and frogs. What happened there?!?
It's fun, though, to see that your kids appreciate the outdoors in Thatcher. They are so cute!!
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