I'd rather be dead in California than alive in Arizona.

Don't worry about me based on the title of this post.  It's a quote from an Arrested Development episode that I watched last week, and I thought it was hilarious.  We are actually really enjoying ourselves here in Arizona...despite the ridiculously hot weather.

Last Sunday we didn't do much for the 4th.  We had a pretty normal day. It didn't include a barbeque, but we did have meatloaf which I think is a very American meal. That night we drove out to a cornfield by our house and watched some fireworks from the roof of Taylor's car.  It was still really hot outside (which you'll notice from our sweaty, sweaty faces)...

Also, my camera refused to take a normal picture, but we ended up with some real gems (see below...)

Yep, I'm married to this guy.  Love the face.

Although we're both pretty exciting people (right?), we have been getting a little bored around here.  We don't know too many people to hang out with, and it's way too hot to do anything outside while the sun is up (and even when it's not...).

However, Taylor and I saw a sweet event listed in the newspaper, and in order to be a little more adventurous we decided to go.  It was a scorpion hunt at Usery Regional Park.  We purchased our blacklight flashlight in preparation (scorpions have a chemical in their exoskeleton that glows under UV light) and ventured out Saturday night.  When we first got there, I was a little apprehensive because pretty much everyone there was either under the age of 11 or past retirement age. Regardless, we buckled down for the scorpion information session and then ventured out into the desert to hunt down the little beasts with our blacklights.  

To be honest...we really had a great time.  I learned a ton about the little suckers. For instance, don't plan on drowning a scorpion...it can live for a long time without air.  Similarly, don't plan on freezing it in an ice cube...it may walk away unharmed a year later after melting the cube.  On the hunt, we spotted 26 scorpions.  Most of them were the small ones (1-3 inches in length).  But we saw a few of the Giant Desert Hairies, which were between 4 and 5 inches long.  Sorry the pictures aren't good.  It was really hard to get a good picture because it was dark outside and we were shining the blacklights on them.

Above is a Bark scorpion.  Don't let its size fool you...these are the more dangerous ones.  These are the most common in Arizona...especially in houses.

Above is another Bark (or Striped Tail?). Although the picture doesn't show it very well, it is glowing under the blacklight.  They are SO easy to spot with these lights.

Above is a picture of a Giant Desert Hairy.  I didn't take this pic, but it's like the scorpions we saw.  Their stings are supposedly not any worse than a bee sting. The bigger the better with scorpions.

As soon as we came home we both insisted on checking the bushes in our front yard to make sure nothing was glowing.  Of course, the first bush we get to has a glowing light in the middle of it! Luckily, Taylor investigated a bit more and saw that it was just a piece of paper.  Thank goodness...I do not want those things in or near my house.

So if any of you come and visit us...we've got an activity planned for you! And don't worry, I only had one nightmare last night involving giant pincers coming for me.