The rest of the ‘story’

     The rest of our Arizona adventure was fun and we enjoyed more lovely weather. If the Phoenix area wasn't so massive and congested I'd consider moving there but 4 million people is about 4 million people too many!

Cousin fun! Charlie couldn't get enough of her cousins. She wanted to stay at least 10 more days!

Brock's mildly embarrassed that I captured this moment in a photo but how cute is this!?

Christmas lights at the Mesa Temple, very pretty!

Lunch at a yummy Mexican restaurant! Eating outside in December, unheard of!

Proof that Isaac drove in Arizona. (It was a little scary!)

Ringing in the New Year! (New York time.)

Last day for fun in the sun with the cousins.

And Greg finally got his wish and we got to pick our own oranges and grapefruit. $7 for a 5-gallon bucketful, pretty great deal and very yummy oranges!

All the kids loved this activity. It was a great way to spend our first day of 2018.

We had a division at lunch, the Panda Express eaters at one table and McD eaters at the other. Is that fast food discrimination?

Went to a cool 'park' with lots of trails and this fun play area.

It's the Usery Mountain Regional Park in Maricopa County. Lots of cool cactus.

Heading home we stopped and took a gander at the Glenn Canyon Dam near Page Arizona. Pretty impressive.

    Coming home was bitter sweet. We had so much fun in Arizona and couldn't have been happier with the weather and spending time with family but it was also nice to be home in our own beds. The kids were excited to get back to school and see their friends and with the mild winter we're experiencing they've actually been able to play outside a little bit more then usual. 

      Charlie really has some sleep issues. She's up multiple times in the night and then needs a nap in the afternoon. It's a vicious cycle that I hope she grows out of soon.

      I also treated myself to new bedding to start our New Year. So far I love it and it's always fun to have a little change.

       Basketball season is upon us and I've got two boys playing this year, Carter and Brock. Our first games are tomorrow and both boys are excited. January's not my favorite time of the year but this mild weather is making it a little more bearable but I do hope we get some snow soon so my husband isn't overly stressed with water shortage this coming spring and summer. Pray for snow!