It is really crazy to me that within a 3.5 hour flight, we can be transported to a different world. We left Chiberia, our wintry home, and a few hours later arrived in the desert.
It's almost impossible for me to believe that this world exists at the same time ours does.
And that things like this actually grow and are not just from movies and pictures. Okay, so this was my first venture into the real desert. Tucson, AZ!
Last year in the middle of our Polar Vortex winter, we were posting pictures of our -15 degree temperatures: our car getting stuck in the 5 feet of snow in our alley, water particles from my breath freezing on my scarf, etc. etc. Meanwhile, Dan and Autumn (in Tucson) were posting pictures of themselves doing really warm things, like swimming in waterfalls. "Next year," I declared, "We are going THERE in the winter." It was my first time expressing any desire to visit the desert. But now I am certainly glad that I did! We had a lovely time getting warm in AZ, but especially, getting to spend lots of time with the "other Iversons."
Dan and Autumn arranged a babysitter so we could go out to eat with our high school/neighbor friend Kali (Smedley) Hoenes, and her husband Taylor. They are just delightful people to be around. We had a grand time.
We went to visit Colossal Cave and had a picnic lunch. Outside. In December!
The cave was really a fun tour, and a cool thing for our boys to see, little explorers that they are.
Here you can see that we are the two mirror-image families. They have the 3 girls, and we have the 3 boys. Autumn is expecting #4, and it's a . . . girl! I'm really hoping that is not an omen for my future... Anyway, the boys were apprehensive about going to an all-girl house, but they turned out to be quite entertained and happy to be there!
Henry thought the phrase "96 years young" was hilarious and worthy of a picture next to his handsome self.
New Year's Eve: Warren Miller ski movie and the first card game of 2015. Henry is totally not tired as he joins in the late-night fun.
I loved all the attention I got from these girls! The first thing Sadie asked me was if she could see all my clothes. Then the girls watched me do my hair and makeup, checked out all my jewelry, and made recommendations. And then...fingernails and toenails! I have never been such an object of positive attention in my life! The boys couldn't care less about what I wear...
"The good guy king is shooting the bad guy king!" The boys managed to find lots of ways to play with girl toys.
A lovely tram ride and walk down Sabino Canyon.
Two of my favorite boys enjoying the scenery.
The boys taught the girls that you absolutely must throw rocks in the water every time you see water. Which was a lot.
Fun at the Trail Dust Town. The boys loved the Wild West stunt show...lots of gunshots, fighting, and stale jokes!
Every kid wanted their picture as a cowboy. Why will they never smile like this for regular pictures?
Oh, wait. Yeah, that's usually about what I get from Henry.
Magic tricks by Uncle Ben (the Great Bendini) were in high demand.
Our kids didn't appreciate the wonder of fresh-picked oranges from the backyard. I did!
Sam had a moment of anger and needed a time-out. He managed to destroy my scriptures while he was there. :(
On Friday of our trip, duty called for Ben, and he had to head to Boston for the annual Economics conference. So we stayed in AZ for a few days without him.
He definitely missed out on the day we went to the ostrich farm! We got to feed all sorts of animals - deer, goats, ostriches, lorikeets, ducks, donkeys, prairie dogs, etc.
It's kind of scary to feed this hungry, aggressive animals, especially if you're a city boy.
Ellis would run up and dump a handful of feed into these tubes (but only the ones that didn't have ostriches nearby), and then run away really fast. The ostriches were fiesty (and can reach over the fence a little bit), so it was understandable.
The other coolest part of the ostrich farm was riding a MONSTER TRUCK!!! We got a cool desert tour and did some crazy off-roading. The boys loved it all.
By the end of the trip, the Iverson girls and boys were all best friends. They had combined girl and boy forces and were playing an imagination game that involved fairy dust, enemies, kingdoms, gems, gold, and mega train tracks. We miss Audrey, Sadie, and Hailey!
On the last two days of the trip, the boys and I drove up to Gilbert to enjoy a little bit of time with our friends, the Yosts. We miss being only two hours away from them in Boston/Connecticutt! But it was lucky that we got to spend time together, and the kids picked right up where they left off with playing. We had a great time at the Phoenix Zoo enjoying PERFECT 70-75 degree weather - the warmest days of our trip! The sun felt so heavenly . . . in a weird, twilight zone sort of way (Is it legal to feel like this in January?).
And just like that, we were back at O'Hare, ready to find our luggage and hurry and unzip it to find our coats . . .
because we needed them! Chicago welcomed us back with a 3-degree high. Quite the contrast! We got back Tuesday night, and then school was cancelled for Wednesday and Thursday due to the extreme temperatures. Seriously, can that 75-degree zoo day and this really be happening at the same time? It blows my mind. But I have to admit, the snow was beautiful, and January Christmas lights look MUCH more appropriate here than they do in Arizona. Just sayin'.
