Even the birds are bumpin'

Congratulations Arizonians, if you were here all summer you survived the HOTTEST summer in history. As my grandma would say, it was hotter than the hinges in hell.

So put away your oven mitts, it is now safe to put your hands on the steering wheel without the looming fear of singeing off your top layer of skin.

Please pat yourself on the back.

I was very pleasantly surprised this morning to find that at 8 o'clock it was only 80 degrees. Yes, 80 degrees. So I scooped up my little chap and we took a stroll down to the park across the street to play Nolan's favorite game; find rock, pick rock up, pretend to eat rock and run away from mom. 

He always loses. 

I decided on the way back to post a list of our top 4 summer destinations. Now is the time to go, Dante's inferno is cooling off and you don't have to cry in your car while getting pummeled in the face with air the temperature of your hair dryer.

 Things that don't include staying inside the air conditioned apartment and feel sorry for ourselves.

1. Splash pad

Ahhhh, doesn't this look refreshing?

Our favorite splash pad is at the Scottsdale Quarter. There is a lot of seating, it is almost completely covered in the shade and with Starbucks and Truefood Kitchen at arms length you can walk around and dream about the day your toddler can go into a restaurant without having a nuclear melt down. 

Or just order take out.

But seriously, we love this place. Hence it being #1. 

2. The Children's Museum of Phoenix  

There is this amazing deal at the Scottsdale Public Library called the Culture Pass . If you are a library card holder (( FREE )) you are able to check out a pass and get two free admission tickets to the Children's Museum of Phoenix or any of the other locations that I've listed below. 

• Arizona Historical Society Museum at Papago Park
• Arizona Science Center
• Cave Creek Museum 
• Deer Valley Rock Art Center
• Desert Botanical Garden
• Desert Caballeros Western Museum
• Phoenix Art Museum 
• Phoenix Zoo (excludes ZooLights admission)
• Pueblo Grade Museum
• Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art

The Children's Museum is amazing. Your little tyke can run around into different stations building forts, riding in a pickle car, running through a noodle forest, shop in the "grocery store", channel their inner Picasso in the art room or climb up the giant tree house littered with all kinds of recycled materials. 

Not only do they get to interact with other kids but it wears them the F out. Two thumbs way, way up. 

3. Scottsdale Public Libraries

Free is the word here. They also offer a ton of classes for the kids, most of which conflicted with our naptime :0( At any rate, they have awesome sections for kids and tons of books for them to chew on... I mean read.

4. Scottsdale Aquatic Center

I have a few things to say about this place; the first is their awesome pool. It is shallow enough for little kids and has some kind of crazy-awesome spray contraption that you control by a wheel. I can't explain it but click here to go their website. They also have a water slide and splash pad for the kids.

Next is the high dive, I won't get into that because I don't do that kind of shit anymore. However, if you have older kids they love it. CANNON BALL!!!!

Two words-- LAZY RIVER. They have one. All I need is a mojito and for my son to be older so I can just kick back, relax and get my tan on. 

The only downside to this place is that they, understandably, only have weekday hours while the school age kids are out on summer break. When school kicks back up you're left high and dry and must venture to the community pool that smells like old people and used band-aids. 

The shirt isn't a suggestion, it's a command.

Well, that's all I got. My monster is sleeping and I need to take a shower. I hope you have found this post extremely riveting. I'll leave you with the lyrics of my favorite musician/rapper/poet Atmosphere.

 If you haven't heard his music do yourself a solid and Google him. Then buy his music. Then go to a show.

Okay, now I'm really leaving.

All of a sudden, I realize something
The weather is amazing, even the birds are bumpin'

.....

Sunshine, sunshine, it's fine
I feel it in my skin, warming up my mind
Sometimes you gotta give in to win
I love the days when it shines, whoah let it shine