Mary Poppins style

Yesterday was a wonderfully cool, somewhat overcast day here in Arizona, with even a few sprinkles here and there. I like sunshine, but I love being able to open the windows instead of paying for the air conditioner. (And they've started charging even more, now that summer is upon us, "due to majorly increased customer demand." Sigh.) And it was even nice and breezy!

So in the afternoon, we grabbed one of our kites and headed to the park across the street from us. And here are the pictures to prove it!

But first, since I uploaded them in the wrong order and don't feel much like trying to change it, some random pictures.

One of Jamie's things lately is getting ahold of Daddy's ankle socks, and pulling them on, all the way up to his thigh.

Sesame Street: an everyday occurrence at our house.

He also enjoys putting random things on his head.

Just for kicks, a shot of my cherry tomato plant I've been growing on the porch. Look at all that red goodness!

And now, the kite pictures.

Quickly preparing for liftoff.

The sad/funny thing is, Jamie gets so mad when Daddy has to run to get the kite in the air, and tears after him, yelling and fussing!

The kite is a little speck on the top right.

Letting Jamie hold the reins...but he was way too busy for that.

After being there a little bit, I noticed a rainbow! It's arching right over our apartment complex.

I think this one is my favorite. Not bad for a point-and-shoot, eh?

Then I noticed a DOUBLE rainbow! It's hard to see, but there's another one right above the first. So beautiful!

All done. Jamie brings the fallen kite to Daddy.

Packing up.

Taking pictures, and being too lazy to run with the kite, means I have to work harder to get myself in there. Jamie was totally wiggling to get free here; that's why he looks ticked.

So that was our nice little kite-flying excursion.

And in other news, we'll be in Nor Cal very soon for Rob and Michelle's wedding--the date is finally set! I don't think it's been released to the general public, though, so mum's the word until the invitations are out. But we're so looking forward to sharing our crazy, fun little chatterbox with family again for a little while!

(Also, you can bet there will be pictures posted of Jamie in the TUXEDO Rob found for him for the wedding! Holy cuteness, Batman!)

Note to self:

If you're ever feeling sorry for yourself for stupid, material, worldly reasons (or just any reason, really), take a look around.

Not at the people you're jealous of; or, if you do look at them, go deeper than their polished appearances, more stylish clothes, beautiful houses, multiple shiny cars, etc. You might see the hard things they are quietly dealing with, or how long and how much hard work it took them to get where they are.

Look elsewhere, too. It won't take long at all to realize that you {and I mean ME--this is a note to myself!} are incredibly blessed. You're in decent health, you have a husband and son whom you love more than you thought possible, who are both also very healthy for the most part. You have a place to live, food to eat, people who love you, and the knowledge that your Heavenly Father and your Savior don't care one tiny bit where you live, but what your soul's looking like.

A quote I really like goes something like this:

"If we could all throw our problems into one big pile and then take a look at them, when we could see what problems other people have, we would scramble to grab our own and take them back."

I am so ashamed right now. A little while ago, I was being really stupid--feeling sorry for myself about things that don't matter. I'm really glad I looked around the blog world (which I'm so grateful for) a little bit, so I could be reminded of how INCREDIBLY BLESSED I am, and of a few people struggling with serious trials whom I can include in my prayers tonight.