Arizona here we come, right back where we started from...

END OF SEPTEMBER... Curt had a Masters' Colloquium in Phoenix,  
so we took advantage of that and took the kids out of school and headed to the desert to stay with Kevin & Brooke.  Curt was occupied with his Masters stuff, 
so we were pretty much on our own...  NO PROBLEMO.

First Stop:  Searles.  

We hung out and swam all day... and then Malisa and I were obedient big girls and went to the LDS Womens' Broadcast together.  I had to get my fill of Cafe Rio that night, and then ran into my good friend, Chanda.  Later in the week, we squeezed in the best brunch ever... {Gilbert Farmhouse} and inhaled their amazing apple cider pancakes. And then I had to introduce her to this fabulous boutique right under her nose in her own neighborhood.    

So  good to keep in touch with Missy & her fam.

We had dinner at The Ricks one night... 

one of our favorite families from way back when we first moved to Gilbert.  

Loved catching up with Dave, Lynette, and their darling kiddos.  

My kids still ask to go back and hang out with the Ricks' clan.

And we spent a lot of time with one of my long-time friends, Dannielle, and her fam.  We've been friends since we were five, and have gone through different seasons of life together, including crazy adolesence, first dates, BYU, newlyweds, first pregnancies, etc.  I love it when forever friends can just start back up where they left off the last time....  and I didn't even get a pic of us two... shameful.  We spent some time at her house... 

Alexandra adored the dog, of course.

 The kiddos were introduced to 'just dance' on the wii... 
and we all enjoyed watching Izzie's awesome hip moves

We went to the Goldfield Ghost Town.. super great place when it's not 110.

We spent HOURS in Linda DiPadova's resort pool (Dannielle's Mom)...

 complete with pina coladas served poolside.  Dreamy.

and sadly, only saw Kevin & Brooke for a few hours even though we crashed at their house.  Kevin is busy in Dental School, and Brooke was out of town most of the time.

 We were able to visit with my 100-year old great Aunt Julia... the only living sibling of Grandma Williams.  She's hilarious... but the little ones were a little frightened. 

 

She is blind, but still whips out these crocheted purses... made from plastic bags.  Pretty impressive.  She told us how she learned the art from her sister, Dessie.. and I made her repeat it on video.  She got a little perturbed and then told us to 'scoot.'  

Got that on video too.  Oh, to be 100 years old.


UPDATE:  I just learned that Aunt Julia passed away this morning (1/11/11)... how grateful I am that I had the chance to see her once more.

Of course, we had to get a picture in front of the lovely Arizona Temple.  

Because there's several now in Arizona, is it now called the Mesa Temple?

 Why does Vivie ALWAYS make that face?

and just to squeeze a little bit more into the week... I had Lynette arrange for a lunch with some oldies, but goodies.   No, we're not that old... but we were buds back in the day when we were first starting our families.  SO sad I didn't get the pic until after our friend, Teresa, had to leave.  We'll have to plan another one soon. 

I realized just how many amazing friends and influences I have in Arizona.  I still didn't even get to see a few of them like Jamie Sherwood, Whitney Sims & Robin Adrian... not to mention all of our dear friends in Tucson.  

Guess we'll have to make it back to the land of the sun again soon!

What are little girls made of?

**update 9/2 at bottom**

I {love} it that my Alexandra  is as girly girl as they come...

But what makes her even more lovable is that she is not just made of 

sugar & spice & everything nice...

She's also made of snips and snails and puppy dog tails... or lizard tails will do too.

For months she's been on this 'I need a pet' kick.  She looked long and hard for a sand crab at the beach this summer.  She stakes out our backyard and runs after any creeping thing {except spiders}.  She even tried to talk me into adopting the cat that strolls through our yard... Almost anything goes.  She's been on the hunt for months.  And today was her lucky day.  The look on her face, thrill in her voice, and dance in her step was priceless-- after she caught her very own baby lizard.  She was so proud of herself for finally accomplishing this feat, and rushed to get its new home all ready.  Now, I have to make sure she doesn't sneak her new pet lizard off to school tomorrow the same way she tried to sneak it into the public library tonight.

**update 9/2**

Lizard was bleeding.  Lizard died.  Lizard was buried.  There were tears.  

Lots of them.  And now she needs a new pet.

Talking about the lizard being out of pain and 'in heaven' 

just wasn't comforting enough to her, 

'because, mom... it just hurts me right here (pointing to her heart) 

and right here (pointing to her eyes as she's crying).'   So profound.

She loved this little lizard she just met the best way a six year old can love anything... except maybe a playdate with Caleb Hendry ...remember this cute boy? 

Because she told me that's the only thing that will make her feel better.  

Um.... I have no words for that.