Flaming June ...!

Hi folks

As I mentioned last week, school's out for the summer here in Scottsdale and as Mr B was also away for most of this last week on a work trip, (including all of the bank holiday weekend **grrr!**),  Ethan and I found ourselves with not much to do and all day to do it in!

Not that we minded at all - we are both quite good as amusing ourselves and you will rarely hear either of us complaining we are bored,  each of us being quite happy with our own company.  (If I ever complained of being bored a a child my mother would say "only the boring are bored" or "I can find you plenty of jobs to do" so I quickly learnt to keep quiet and find ways to amuse myself!).

Consequently, once the mundane domestic chores were out of the way (sadly there is never a holiday from those is there?  Laundry, ironing & grocery shopping all still need to be done I have discovered) I spent several happy hours playing in my craft room this week, caught up with various friends over dinner and coffee and spent a very entertaining afternoon at the mall with my teenage comedian, where we shopped for birthday and Father's day presents for Mr B, before ending the day with drinks and dinner at his favorite Sushi place (no cocktails for me on this occasion though as my driver was MIA!).  We both have the same warped sense of humor and for some reason seemed to find everything amusing that afternoon, at one point laughing until we cried!    I'm not sure what we were drunk on but it truly was 'Happy Hour' that day!

We also have a couple of family trips planned over the summer and Ethan has two weeks of summer camps at school (they are called 'camps' here but in his case he is doing Media Arts, so in reality it is just 3 hours a day doing what he loves the most - designing and writing video games :/) so hopefully we won't have turned into complete vegetables by the time August comes around!

Phew!

Summer in Arizona is obviously very different from a summer in the UK and whilst the days are long and sunny, they are also searingly hot - too hot to do much outside (unless you can get it done before 7am).   The weather here this week has rocketed from the low 90's at the beginning of the week to 116ºF today (which is almost 47ºC in old money!), so for us it really has turned into Flaming June! I seem to recall that last year, once it got to June, it didn't really get below 100ºF again until early September.   A lot of people seem to clear out of the Valley altogether and head off for cooler climes until the worst is over, however, as that is not an option for us, I have come to the conclusion that you really just need to approach it like you would a UK winter, and plan lots of indoor activities (in the comfort of the air conditioning - I thank God every day for air conditioning!)

I have to say, I don't really mind it.  Traffic is light on the roads, queues are less at our favorite restaurants and everywhere is generally much quieter.  It is also a great opportunity to try all those new recipes that I have saved from Pinterest (providing they don't require the oven to be on for hours!), sort out wardrobes drawers & cupboards (quite frankly I am NEVER going to wear any of those chunky knitted dresses or the stack of opaque tights I brought with me) and of course get lots more crafting done (might even start on those Christmas cards ... sorry, didn't mean to scare you by mentioning the C word).  Thankfully, there are also lots of new films coming out over the summer so it will be a great opportunity to cross some of those off our 'must see' list.   We all love going to the cinema (or the movies as it is referred to here) so it's a great family night activity for us.  So far on our combined list we have:

• X-Men Apocalypse - Ethan and I prepared ourselves this week by catching up with the first two in the Trilogy
• Suicide Squad - more Superheros ... not sure it will be my cup of tea but the boys choice
• Star Trek Beyond - as above!
• Independence Day: Resurgence - unbelievably, Youngest hasn't seen the first one yet ... a miracle in itself as Mr B used to watch the DVD at least once a month **tuts and rolls eyes** so we will have to get that sorted first 
• Ghostbusters - can't wait to see how the ladies do!
• Central Intelligence (anything with Kevin Hart makes me laugh)
• The Legend of Tarzan - not sure about this one either but prepared to give it a whirl
• Me before You - although not sure I will be able to fit enough tissues in my bag for that one ... or that it will be the boys cup of tea, lol
• War Dogs - er, hello? .... Bradley Cooper 
• Jason Bourne - Matt Damon!! ... 'nuff said
• Finding Dory - well, you just have to don't you?
• The BFG - it's Steven Spielberg - what's not to love?
• Alice Through the Looking Glass - who doesn't love a bit of Johnny Depp?
• The Secret Lives of Pets - looks hilarious (see trailer below)!

What's on your summer bucket list?  I'd love to know what you're all up to, let me know!

Have a great week and if you need me ... I'll be sat in the fridge!

TTFN

Bev x