Summer Storms

In El Paso it is on a very rare occasion that we see rain clouds and have storms rolling in. However, it never fails that once we reach the mid to late summer season, we see some isolated storms come through this city that we live in. They say the sun shines on average 302 days a year here, which would be the reason behind us being referred to as the Sun City.

When the storms came through during the first few days of this week, the kids became frightened by the sound of the rumbling thunder. To me, I saw no big deal in it and opened all windows and doors, allowing the wind to blow through the house and to let the smell of rain take over. Then it hit me, the kids are not use to the east coast storms like I am. They have never known it to really storm.

Of course, after all the storms and rain that has come through every evening and night, not only have the kids found it entertaining to run outside and splash in puddles, Kevin and I have had a blast taking the XTerra out on some easy riding trails just to ride through the water. Nicholas has now discovered that he can make some mad puddles in the backyard with the water hose... Needless to say, we have caught him "wheeling" while on his bike! I guess the genes run through thick in him with a mom and dad that love to get out in the muddy puddles with 4 wheeler's and big trucks!!!

The last photo is the one that stands out to us the most. While we were out driving, we noticed the storm had a very red tint to it. It was very odd and of course we had to take pics!

Fun in the Sun at the Rio Grande

Over the weekend, we found ourselves staying around the house, trying to get little things done that we were behind on. Kevin had CQ on Saturday, so needless to say he was gone for about 26 hours while on his 24 hour duty. During this time, I was able to complete the real estate course I have been testing out and able to get everything turned in. Sunday night, after being cooped up, I had to get out. Breanna and I decided to go on a 2.5 mile walk to the river. The one perk about where we live is how nice this area is and the fact that the river is literally a walk away! While we were down there, we found a really good place to let the kids run and play in the water and possibly cook out.

On Monday afternoon, we took the kids to the river to let them splash around. We didn't realize how shallow one area of the Rio Grande is until the girls went running through it. Nicholas was even able to run all through it with half his body staying above the water. Perfect place for them. The area we ended up at is under a large bridge, so it kept Kev out of the sun. Since he was diagnosed with skin cancer, we try as much as we can to stay out of the sun's strong part of the day. Typically, it's never an issue, which is good. For a little over an hour the kids had a blast and there wasn't anyone else on the side that we were on. At the other side of the bridge area there were a few people. The guys over there got in the water and it ended up being a little more than waist deep on them...adults. Needless to say we kept the kids on the side that we were on. The girls played all over the river, hopping from island to island, while Nic stayed close to shore...if not on shore with me and Kevin. He did, however, decide to go to the middle on some land and pee in front of everyone. This kid leaves me at a loss some days! Lol. He is just so different from the girls.

Of course, when it came time to leave they all wanted to stay, so we promised them if they could behave this week, we would go back on Saturday. As of right now, we are planning to go back Saturday afternoon with food and the grill to stay for a couple hours. A few friends may be joining us as well this time around. A perfect way to spend the day before surgeries in the next couple of weeks!

**The girls decorated the second set of photos and changed the color**

El Paso Sandstorms

We had some terrible sand storms the week of the traumatic tornadoes that hit so much of our country, which is why I did not say anything about our sand storms. We had winds that were up to 75mph, and sadly, it's something that we tend to be use to in El Paso. It doesn't happen all the time, but often enough that most of us know how to handle them. Driving in the winds is terrible and there is no going outside. It gets so bad, Breanna will call me on the bus to ask me to pick them up at the bus stop.

Kevin managed to take some pictures from his phone while sitting in his car on post. Thankfully, our houses out here are made for this kind of weather. About the only thing they are made for! We learned in February that El Paso houses are not made for the cold! lol. When we have the real windy days, everyone stays inside and limits all outdoor activities. Bre has to really watch out because those days put her asthma into full swing. When I say sandstorms, I mean the wind is so strong you can't see but a couple feel in front of you. The sand hurts and burns when it slams into your skin and you find sand in places that you never thought sand could land! 

The biggest downside to it, is that it kicks Kev's PTSD into full swing. It brings the flashbacks from Iraq. They had sandstorms all the time. El Paso is the worst place to be for these guys returning from war! It really angers me that they allow them to come here after living the hell they lived over there. There are too many things in El Paso that remind our troops of being deployed! However, I will save that topic for another blog! Probably on my other site.

Family Fitness Fun

We have finally put our walking shoes on this week! The Biddle Family is now on the path of taking evening walks. The best part is there is a five mile walking path in front of our house/neighborhood. I will have to post a picture of it at a later point. We have 2.5 miles on our side of the hwy and 2.5 on the other side. In one direction is farm land and the other in the Rio Grande. Both are great areas to walk!

On Wednesday night we all walked 1.9 miles in towards and through some of the farm land. On this walk we spotted an owl, which the kids had a fit over! Other than that, there was not a lot of scenery or anything to special to mention.

On Thursday evening we decided to take the Rio Grande Route and I am so glad that we did! It was so nice to walk along the river. Next time we go we are going to walk to other direction of the river. Last night was perfect walking weather with the exception of the wind at some points. The kids loved being near the water. Nic and Bre stayed in trouble for throwing rocks constantly.

Out & About in El Paso

After spending most of the day at home today, we decided we all wanted to just get out. As we did yesterday, we just got in the truck and started driving. This time, staying in the area we live in! We started out by going to Sunland Racetrack & Casino to see the horses they have. We stopped at the stables across the street from the Casino and let the girls pet the horses. We have done this before and for the most part, the horses are all very friendly. Breanna and Caitlin fed them carrots and laughed the entire time! It was cute.

Following that we turned down a road that we have never been on before out here. One of the highways. We ended up at some historical land marks as well as the border. It was pretty neat! We were able to get right up to the new border fence they are putting up and able to see the Rio Grande from where we stood. As you can see from the pictures, there was a point that Kev and I were each on one side of the fence! We saw Mexicans playing in the Rio Grande... in our opinion it was a little too chilly to even consider that one! Not to mention there is no part of us that wanted to get in that anyways! Lol. We were able to get some pretty cool pictures of Mexico being as close as we were.

We drove through downtown and found a couple museums we want to eventually check out. Maybe in a few weeks we can! Driving home we saw some houses that we wanted to get a closer view of up on the Mountain tops. We drove up there and were able to get an amazing view of El Paso and Mexico. I bet it would be a very pretty view at night with all the lights! Something to check out later on.

After our driving we walked through Pier 1 just for fun then headed home to cook dinner.

By the end of the evening we were all exhausted and the kids were arguing over everything. It was a busy weekend for them!