Still Remembering November

We made it to AZ! After a shaky start in Vegas, we pulled into Morgan and Christa Johnsons' house around 4. The kids were so excited to play because they each had a cousin their own age: Lucy and Sarah are 7, and Will and Elliott are 5-ish. They began to enjoy the beautiful Arizona weather and sunshine right away.

Lucy tried roller-blading for the first time, and she was hooked. Any chance she could get, she was asking me, or Mike, or Gramma to go out and watch/hold her hand while she roller bladed. The only thing she has on her Christmas list this year is rollerblades. I love this picture...check out the palm trees in the background...c'mon! Arizona is so great!

Elliott loved playing on anything he could get his hands on. A cul-de-sac and great weather are the perfect playground for kids.

Here are the girls...Lucy and her cousin Sarah.

While I either slept or cooked, Mike took the kids out to...guess what?....GEOCACHE! It was the Johnsons' first time caching, and Lund got quickly hooked. They had some high adventures, and even got a night cache in.

The Johnson's swing set and trampoline were a huge hit too. All you safety-conscious people out there are probably freaking out at the thought of jumping off the swingset onto the tramp, but it is a family tradition, and Lucy enjoyed every second of it. 10 kids, a dozen grandkids, and not an injury yet....knock on wood.

I love Lucy busting a move on the wii game in this picture. The girl has moves.

We happened to be in Mesa for the Temple Christmas Lighting ceremony! It was super-crowded, but it was so great! So many memories of walking those grounds with my family when I was a kid. Here is the whole gang, photo courtesy of a missionary taking a picture using Christa's camera .

Even though Sarah was closer to Lucy's age, Lucy is crazy about hanging out with older girls. Cassidy was so patient with her little korean shadow, and Lucy and her cousins had a great time.

Another home-town favorite of mine....Mesa Frozen Yogurt!!!! As a kid, I would ride my bike there with my sister, Heather, and we would spend our entire allowance on frozen yogurt and Mrs. Pacman games. We got to go there twice on this trip, but I could have eaten there for every meal...amaretto with yogurt chips...YUMMY!

Here we all are enjoying the delicacy!

Pappa even took a go at Ms Pacman. Funny how enough of his money (in the form of our allowances) went into that machine to pay for all 10 kids' college educations, and he still puts more money into it. It really is a fun game!!

I was also able to go out to dinner with some highschool girlfriends of mine, Michelle and Sara. What fun! I wish we had more time to go through old photo albums, meet families, and reminisce. They are great girls...friends like that make it tempting to return soon! Thanks Christa for coming with me and enjoying the company and good food!

On the ride home....back to the cold, and our real lives, we stopped to photograph some natural beauty in Arizona. THIS my friends, is a Saguaro cactus (sa-war-o). They are tall, beautiful and EVERYWHERE!

Back on the road...heading to St George for an overnighter with my college roomy, Anne Jackman, and her hubby, Mike's pharmacy classmate, Travis Jackman.

Headphones on, sunscreen up, we are ready to go!