Catch Up - Arizona (Tucson)

(So blogger is really acting weird as I am trying to do this post.  Sorry if it comes out funny)

WE MADE IT TO TUCSON!!!

We arrived in Tucson after dark and ate at one of Colby's dad's favorite places, "Sauce."  IT is a yummy thin crust pizza place.  So I had to wait till the morning to see all that Tucson has to offer.  The first weird thing I noticed about this colorless dry place was there were "sticks" on the mountains.  It was so funny to me to see cactus on the mountains.  So weird but kind of cool.

Colby's dad (Jim) is renting a completely furnished apartment and it is very nice I must say.  This picture is taken off the deck. 

Eden loved the hardwood floors and was a busy bee running around them at every chance she got. 

 The end result..............

   

But she loved it so it was worth it to wash her feet 3-4 times a day.

The apartment is on a golf course so Eden went frolicking with her Aunt.

So beautiful!

A lot of our time in Tucson was spent catching up with some of Colby's old friends from high school.

These two cuties, Brynlee and Blane, belong to Todd and Megan McGee.  

Colby is friends with Todd.  They are a great family.  Him and Colby have some crazy and stupid things they have done together.  For example in the middle of the night he and Todd and a couple other guys went to the golf course they lived on and collected to huge coolers full of golf balls.  Then they went to a street in their neighborhood and dumped them all down the road.  They waited till a car came and then they saw a nice little BMW turned on to the road and they hear: blllllllllllllllllllllahllllllllllllll....donk donk donk donk donk bleeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh as he drives over the top.  So they had their laugh.  The next morning they headed off to church and there was not one trace of a golf ball.  Then after they arrived at church a brother in the ward was complaining that his work called him in at 5:00am saying there were golf balls all over the road and he had to climb out of bed to clean em all up.  Whoops!   

We also saw Colby's old friend Marissa and her husband Kenneth.  I have noticed something funny about Colby, he has really short friends.  Not because he is tall but they are just short.  Colby always made fun of Marissa and that she should get a handicap sticker for her car because she isn't above 5'.  

Our last full day there Colby and his mom drove me down "memory lane"

This was Colby's first job.  Bagging groceries and gathering carts at Fry's.

Colby is a tire guy.  He has worked tires for about 5-6 years and this is where it all started.  Discount Tire.

The church they used to meet at.

This is something that really surprised me.  This is where Colby went to high school.  Canyon Del Oro (CDO)  This place was huge!  IT felt like it was a little college campus.  There were entire buildings dedicated to one subject!  The is crazy to me!

Their old house.  Colby went and talked to the family before we got there and they were the nicest people.  In fact he said that they named the fridge in the garage the "Johnson Fridge" because they thought it was the nicest thing that they had left it there for them after they moved out.  

There are blossoms in Tucson!!! I was thrilled!

The trunk is green!

This is wash that Colby used to go 4-wheeling in with his beast.  That is what he misses the most; washes right off the main road that he could go four-wheeling in.  We were in a mini van and nearly high centered trying to get out of it.

 That night we drove up Mt Lemmon and hiked around.  It was so beautiful and amazing to see the sunset from up there.

Yes she is sitting on a ledge, but Colby is hiding right behind her.

One thing that I think is awesome about tucson is they have a lighting ordinance or something.  They are not allowed to have any lights pointing upward towards the sky.  Star gazing there is huge and the stars look amazing no matter where you are because all lights are pointed down.  You don't have to drive out to a field or away from the city.  You can see them anywhere.

Last, the morning we left I finally saw havalinas.  Apparently there are these wild pigs that roam free.  As we were at the pool there were about 10 of them taking a morning nap.

It was a good trip.  I am really glad I got to see where Colby grew up and spent his "rebel" days as a teenager.  I do wish that we could have got out and saw more things but it was still fun. 

The entire trip really threw off Eden's schedule.  For the first couple weeks we were home she would sleep in till 10:30 or 11am.  Many of you may think that would be heavenly but I felt like much of my day was wasted because I would sleep in too.  But we are back to normal now.  Yeah!!!!

Catch Up - Easter

Yes, yes, I know I am a little behind.  But better late than never.  For Colby's break we spent it with his family.  Half the time was spent in Denver and the other half was in Arizona.  

Just had to throw in this picture.  Eden loves to play with my night stand and take everything off it.  It is very fun to clean up may I just add.

Anyway, back in March Colby's school held an event called "Hare in the Air."  Usually the Easter bunny comes in a helicopter and lands in the parking lot.  However, it was freezing!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  So the event was held inside which made it very crowded and very chaotic.  

But they still had a few animals outside for the kids to see.

Many of you may remember when the tornado hit the St louis airport.  Well, we were fortunate enough to take off exactly one hour before it hit.  I remember the pilot saying we had to go a little further east and north to avoid a storm.  I had no idea what was coming though.  I did see some intense storm clouds and lightening from above.  Little did I know what was going on below them.

We arrived in Denver with no problems and spend Easter Sunday with Colby's family.

The Easter bunny delivered!

Colby and his brother had a little fun with Eden while she ate.  All i have to say is I really hope she gets them back someday.

(Play dough)

I must say that I was very impressed with this little girl when it was time for the egg hunt.  We had to do it inside because it was so gloomy and wet.  But she got every single one - with a little assistance -but she picked em all up and put them in the basket.

Colby and his dad then left tuesday morning for Arizona.  Colby's dad bought a business down in Tucson, where they used to live, and it needs a bit of a pick-me-up.  So Colby went down to help him out.  Eden and I stayed in Denver and hung out with Grandma, Aunt Kelsey and Uncle Riley.  Of course the beauty of Denver is that my best friend lives there so obviously I got to spend some time with her and her kiddos as well.

(Part two to come soon.  I hope!) 

Time for Reflection

It is tradition that after Conference on Sunday afternoon we take a post conference walk and discuss our impressions and what we feel we need to change and do better on.  We headed over to Longview Park and walked on the trails.  It was so perfect and beautiful.  Perhaps a little too much windy but we dealt with it.

We couldn't resist and took a view pictures of Eden.  She was so in awe of the water falls.

Cannot go to a park without swinging on the swings!

We were really humbled and amazed at the close of Conference.  The Spirit was magnificient and it touched our hearts.  The different facets of our lives that are in need of change or more diligence quickly soared to the surface.  We realize that many of those improvements are difficult when you have children; but we have also learned that if we do not learn how to do it now we never will and then it will just get pushed aside into the corner untouched till the kids are grown up and gone.  They spoke of sacrifice and diligence.  We know that as we put the Lord first and love Him and honor Him - he will make those impossibilites possible.