15 Things to Do for Labor Day Weekend

Still looking for something fun to do this long weekend?   

It's going to be a HOT Labor Day weekend in the Valley with highs over 100 degrees. Of course, there is still some fun to be had. Here are a few ideas:

Greater Arizona: 

1. Snowbowl Scenic Chairlift

The ski resort is open for the summer. Take a ride up the mountain and see the beautiful views over Arizona. There is even a Groupon and 15% off that with promo code FUN15. Super deal. 

How to Make Chips and Salsa Like a Boss

Writing and images by Marily

Donate Your Hair! Plus a Reader Spotlight

I've never been much of a fancy gal.  In fact, I only had a brief stint of highlighting my hair and paying for haircuts before I just went back to my natural boring ways.

Then I had four girls.  And as my oldest set of twins got to be about 7, they started noticing salons.  They started asking to go to salons.  I started having to tell my girls that we can not afford to go to said salons.  Then one of my oldest girls (technically THE oldest by 40 minutes) was ready to cut off her long hair to donate it.  And the rest of us, including myself, were ready for shorter, easier, healthier hair.  Now that I'm a mother to 5, I REALLY needed to simplify somewhere and hair was it.  I knew it was time to treat this occasion as special and this was no time to mess with my old DIY ways.  It was time to go to the professionals.

Thankfully on our I Heart AZ Friends Facebook page a dear reader of ours, Megan, posted about her haircut specials at her own private salon.  We love supporting our readers and this was a deal so good that I could afford.  Megan specializes in women's cuts, but was running a children's back to school special and was kind enough to extend her specials to all 4 of my girls.

All five of us headed to Megan's salon on a Saturday morning for our new look.    

Megan cuts hair at a location called Signature Salon Studios near Higley and Southern in Mesa.  It is a large building with several small salons that each beautician can privately rent.  This set up was perfect for my crew.  Salon enough, but more private for our crazy bunch.  And I loved that Megan is able to set her own hours.  If she needs to start a color at 9:00 PM on a Wednesday night she can.  This is perfect for women who work or can only sneak away from the kiddos in the evenings.

I loved how Megan knew how to work with my Elsa's natural soft curls.

Lucy watching Megan cut it off!

Read more about Megan and places to donate hair after the jump.

Exploring Arizona: Wupatki National Monument and Sunset Crater

Writing and Photos by Kathryn.

Arizona is full of history and places to explore.  Today I want to introduce you to Wupatki National Monument and Sunset Crater.  These are places that I remember going to as a little girl and now I get to take my little girls there as well.  If you are headed to Flagstaff, these national parks are just a short distance away and worth the 30 mile drive.  Entrance to the two parks is available for one fee.  Individuals 15 years and younger are FREE.  Those 16 years and older are $5.

The Arizona Good Neighbor Project

Being a good neighbor has been on my mind a lot lately.

Photo and words by Kathryn

I didn't grow up in a typical neighborhood.  About 75% of my neighbors were one, two, or three generations older than me.  There were not a lot of kids for me to play with.  I'm pretty sure the house across the street was a drug house and my closest neighbor was a bull that lived in the field my great uncle owned.  My sister and I named him Cupcake. 

Children's Museum of Phoenix

This. This is the place to take kids in Phoenix. Last week we got the opportunity to take our little people to the Children's Museum of Phoenix. Can you think of a place more fun than this? 

Images by Kathryn

Hopefully, if you have kids you have been to this award-winning museum. First of all, an air-conditioned, three-story, steampunk treehouse climber complete with a flying bathtub? Yeah. It's got that.  

School Preparedness Packs

Image and words by Kathryn

When I was in the third grade I remember lining up on the field of Emerson Elementary with the entire school because there was a bomb threat.  I remember trying to picture what a bomb actually looked like and wishing I could just walk home.  That was 24 years ago.  Nine and 10 years ago when I taught school at Lincoln Elementary we had a few lock downs as well.  One of my first graders had to use the bathroom.  When I showed him the bucket in the closet that we had for bathroom emergencies, he could suddenly hold it longer.  Thankfully the lock down did not last long and I got that boy to the bathroom ASAP.

We live in a incredible time.  There are many fantastic advances that make living wonderful.  There are many loving and outstanding people in our lives.  I love life! 

But, danger and nightmarish moments are still part of this world too.

Arizona Rodeos: A List of Events, Carnivals, and Parades

Written by Marily 

September is the month of the rodeo, folks--just look at this list. If you live in Arizona and you have never been to a rodeo, then it is high time you tap into the Western heritage of this place and get to one of these events. 

There are a ton of rodeos that happen in our state.  Many of them include so many other activities in conjunction with the rodeo that you really don't even need to see the main event in order to have a good time. Think parades, carnivals, Native American pow-wows, live music, and tons of fun for the whole family. 

Here is the list, separated by the month in which it is generally hosted annually:

January
Tohono O'odham Nation Rodeo and Fair (Located 3 miles west of Sells, AZ)
Held at the end of January/beginning of Febrauary yearly. This is an all-Indian rodeo that includes a parade, traditional Native-American games, pow-wow, free carnival rides, live music, and much more.

Family Pictures at Superstition Mountain Museum

Photography by Zeffler Photo. Writing by Marily.

A few weeks ago, we took a drive down America's oldest highway and met up with our photographer at the Superstition Mountain Museum. I hope as I share these photos you'll bear with me while I also include a bit about myself and why I write for I Heart AZ, in case anybody cares. I haven't done much writing about myself on here, but maybe it's time I do just that.

These boys-of-every-size whom I adore are such a big part of what makes me who I am. They contain much more energy, fearlessness, and wit than could ever be contained in a series of photos, of course. They are funny, talented, and yes, busy. Sometimes the chaos and noise in our home is invigorating...sometimes not.

This guy is Mark.

Favorite Places: Get Your Nom On At Nami

We are excited to be starting Favorite Places where every week we share a great location from somewhere in Arizona. This week's spot is one of Cailin's favorite dessert spots, and maybe it will become one of your favorites too.

Writing and images from Cailin Koy, blogger at Sassy Dove  and Mommy Dove.

Other than the occasional ASU-adjacent bohemian stint you find in Tempe (inevitably tucked between Buffalo Wild Wings and Native New Yorker), there are few places in the Phoenix metro more hip than those gracing Roosevelt Row. Just north of this urban Mecca near 7th St. and McDowell is nami (lowercase by design), the kid sister of local favorite Green. 

Nami's fare is coffeeshop-chic for the underground set and blends breakfast with dessert; locally roasted coffee, scramble-stuffed burritos, donuts, cupcakes, and decadent ice cream treats make up their daily menu. Did I mention all that stuff is vegan?

10 Things to Do for the Ultimate Phoenix Experience

Written by Marily

How do you get the Ultimate Phoenix experience? A nice mix of city, desert, and good local food. Plus a sunburn. Yeah, you'll need one of those too.

Read through this list to see how ULTIMATE of a Phoenician you are. And if you are coming to Phoenix for a visit, then this list is a great place to start. We are giving prizes to those who have done 8 or more items on this list.*

Although these supreme dust storms can be a bit destructive, they are pretty cool to experience and could make an epic selfie backdrop if you can catch a pic with a giant cloud of dust. "Tut, tut, it looks like dust." I'm pretty sure that's what Winnie the Pooh said when he visited Phoenix.  And don't question the fact that the word haboob was virtually unused in Phoenix until about 4 years ago. If you can't catch a haboob, experiencing a monsoon rain storm is also very Phoenix. 

And by the way, my husband hates that I am using the word haboob that he says a local weatherman made up. He nearly refused to read my article unless I took it out.