The Arizona Desert, Oh I Have Missed You!

Along our road trip to California, we decided to make a stop in beautiful Scottsdale. I just love the desert! I mean, I truly love the desert. Wade loves green. He thinks grass and lush vegetation is utter beauty. I can go without the green. I think the brown desert sand, beautiful cacti, and a perfect majestic mountain view is just pure magical. And oh, I have missed it. My family lived in Fountain Hills from 97-2000. We all fell in love with the area. How could you not, when we were from Illinois, cold winters and flat land.

We stayed at the Fairmont Princess, an absolutely gorgeous resort. The first thing Wade checked into...the TPC golf course. He didn't get any pictures of the course, but we had a view of one of the holes from out our room window. And it was beautiful.

This little pond was right outside the room. And the golf course was just behind.


We enjoyed take-out, and hours spent in the pool. The pool had a waterslide, but we found out Emmy was too short to go down. Bummer. However she had fun floating around the pool on intertubes and posing for the camera.



















We had a great breakfast outside on the patio.


We even spent some time in Fountain Hills, our old stomping ground. We drove past our old house. Looks the same, just painted a smidge darker. I remember what a view of the 4 peaks we had out the windows of the side patio.








Then we spent some time at the fountain and got some cute pictures. They had a splash pad, and luckily we had a swimsuit for Emmy in the car. We got her changed, and she had a blast!


I'm obsessed with this horse. How cool is that!


















Even with all the heat, Wade had to talk her into running through the water.



But once she was in, it was hard to get her out.

Yee-Haw!

We took the kids and Aunt Chelsea on a wild adventure to Senora, Texas. We stayed at our good friend, Blaine's, family ranch. Chelsea and I are not the most outdoorsy girls in the world. But we were excited to get a breath of fresh air. We had a great time seeing Blaine, Michelle, and their new baby, Addison, as well as his parents, Jo and Mark. It was a neat experience and I thank Blaine's family for inviting us and allowing our crazy traveling circus of a family over.

Best thing about the outdoors...the food! Oh the barbecues were amazing! Blaine's dad and friends can grill! We had amazing breakfast tacos that were made on this huge BBQ contraption. It was hooked on a trailer and consisted of a bbq pit, smoker, deep fryer, wok, and warmers. It was basically a mobile industrial kitchen. Wade thought it was the coolest thing he had ever seen. Oh he wanted one of those so bad. The thing was huge!

We had a really fun time driving around their massive ranch. There were goats, cows, two types of deer, and antelope. I don't know which would be Emmy's favorite, the animals or the pool... And I have to tell you, I have the 2 most adaptable kids in the world. They've been doing great on this crazy cross-country road trip.

Driving lessons already?

I promise, we weren't going more than 5 mph.






Taking it all in

Chelsea's Graduation Party

These beautiful pictures were taken by Chelsea's friend, Liz. Amazing work Liz!

Congrats to the beautiful graduate! We are so proud of you! I can't believe that you're out of high school. How did that happen so fast? I love you so much! And I'm looking forward to see what lies ahead. I know that God has great things waiting for you. XOXO



Skylar and B-Man

Cheese!

See ya! Places to go! People to see!

Brenner loved riding on this car!