Our Refuge from the Sun

We have made it to Arizona, unpacked and moved right in. We are renting an apartment here in the greater Phoenix area and really really appreciating the air conditioning! It has been such an easy move with no real hiccups. Our movers delivered the goods, everything was in the same condition as went we saw it last (except our dvd player, which was quitting on us in Utah and seems to be rejuvenated by the Arizona sun). I have really appreciated having Mike around to help us settle in. We are now exploring the idea of some little day jaunts to help us soak up the rest of the time before Mike begins his job. Most of these will need to be indoors however because it is over 100 degrees a good portion of the day and we haven't quite adapted to the heat.

These are some of my favorite little pieces of our new home:

Fancy bathroom fixtures, fancy blinds, cute night lights and a washer and dryer

Before the movers came we lived in the apartment for a few days and Annabelle helped me with our first loads of laundry. She then proceeded to 'play laundry' for the next few days. I did laundry again yesterday and Annabelle forgot about this little in-home-luxury, so when I asked her to help me with the laundry she ran to the door and put on her shoes . . . I think we'll eventually get used to it!

Here are some of my favorite spaces:

 

   

Craft Corner in the Master Bedroom (thank you Mike). TWO bathrooms, I don't know what to do with all the space. New kitchen counters, fixtures, appliances, floors and cupboard faces! A dinning area that is NOT over carpet. And finally and an area I owe to Keri Anne (my good friend who lived below me in Provo) who came up with the idea, a reading nook! Now I just need to start a new book, any suggestions?

We have met a few of our neighbors and attended our new ward twice. Our new ward is very welcoming just like any regular family ward except that there seems to be several more young couples than usual, which is great for us! Annabelle thoroughly enjoyed attending nursery our first week (she hadn't really seen toys in a week) and she gave her version of her life history to the nursery leader, when I picked her up the nursery leader told me: which states all of our relatives lived in,  that pineapple gives Anna diaper rash and what kids attended nursery in our previous ward. 

We're excited to be here "in the real world" and are grateful with how smoothly the whole process has gone.

Arches National Park

Hurray for camping at Arches National Park with our friends the Lees! This post is so much easier to write about than saying goodbye. This camping trip we took 'on our way' to Arizona actually eased the leaving process since we didn't have to say goodbye to absolutely everyone before we left! We camped just outside of Arches for a few days and enjoyed all sorts of weather :) but best of all we did some amazing hikes . . . with THREE kids. Way to to go Chris and Sara for putting up with us. 

So here are some highlights of the trip - there are tons of pictures, so enjoy - or just scroll past if you aren't really all that interested.

(If my slide shows aren't showing up - just close the them with the 'x' in the corner)

These are my Favorites of Annabelle and Benny

On our last day of the trip we had rain so we decide to take to explore Moab a little bit and found this amazing Park just as the weather began to clear. It was a Rotary Park but in one section there were all these GIANT percussion instruments. It was so much fun.

 

We all (adults and kids) just kept playing and playing on them. It was so much fun it was hard to stop yourself from running from instrument to instrument to try them all out. I seriously think it was the absolute BEST public park I have ever been to! Sara noticed a little plaque on one of the instruments that gave this website - check it out! Seriously - if I ever have funding for a public park at my disposal, I will be installing these.

Our last adventure in Utah was awesome. Check back later this week and I'll have an update with how the move has gone on the Arizona side of things!

Saying Goodbye to Provo

I guess I have kind of been putting off writing because I have wanted to post about our last weeks in Utah but I didn't actually want to talk about it. Is that weird? BYU was always just a stop for us but as I should know by now (from moving 6 times as a kid), that you get attached! Of course we miss our wonderful friends and ward but surprisingly I am also feeling like I miss being on campus and in the bubble (yes I am admitting that). I miss knowing where I am, I miss my routine. We tried to carry on with doing fun and new things before we left Utah so in between getting organized for the movers and cleaning the apartment we went to the SLC temple (we'd never been) and of course we had to try J Dawgs before we left. It was a good thing that we put J Dawgs off until the end or else I'd be eating there with every excuse to eat out I could think of.

 

(speaking of which I know this isn't flattering . . .)

It was great but kind of hard to know that we were saying goodbye as we saw our friends that last week. But it was wonderful and relaxed and the move could not have gone more smoothly! Thanks to all of our wonderful neighbors and friends that watched Annabelle for endless hours as we cleaned - you more than likely saved her life as I mixed toxic chemicals in the bathroom, resulting in a change of color for our tile! We'll miss it, but on to our next adventure I suppose.

Anna's Newest Accessory

Annabelle's newest accessory is purple, will most likely be very expensive, was custom made for her, draws lots of attention and limits her wardrobe to tops with large armholes!
Annabelle broke her arm Saturday evening while we were visiting with grandparents here in Utah. She barely fussed after she fell off of an exercise machine so I was surprised when Mike said that he thought she had broken her arm and without even asking for a second opinion was strapping her into her car seat.
As it turns out Mike was right and her arm was a little crooked! The entire car ride and almost throughout the hospital visit Annabelle never cried about her arm - but doctors and nurses sure made her furious!

Her ulna and radius are both broken in what is called a 'green stem fracture' which means that her bones bent and must had to be bent back (she was out for that part) and are now in a splint - or as she told everyone at church a "spleent". Later this week she'll get a cast on.

She seems to be adjusting well and has still been using her left arm. If you ask her about pain she'll either ignore you or tell you that it only hurt a little bit. She is still just as independent as ever - she insisted on putting on her own sandals this morning and pulled up her own pajama pants for bed this evening. She has been fairly patient with me trying to get shirts off and on and making her wear a bag over her arm at times.

Our Latest Trip

Thanks to our generous neighbor with a spare laptop, my sanity and easy access to the Internet has been restored! I hadn't quite realized how COMPLETELY dependent upon the Internet I have become. So here is the promised travel log from our latest and greatest adventures:

Dinosaur National Monument

On our way out to Colorado we decided to make a stop along the way and Dinosaur seemed like a great spot for some exploring and camping. Unfortunately a lot of the park was inaccessible and there wasn't much shade, so after enjoying a quick hike and lunch we decided to continue on and find elsewhere to camp.

As many times as we have driven between Utah and Colorado we have never driven the scenic route from Dinosaur across the northern part of Colorado - we just kept driving and driving, enjoying the hills and antelope - Annabelle slept and we arrived in Steamboat, CO for dinner around 8pm. It was definitely too cold to camp (still snow on the ground) and Anna was wired so we pressed on made it to Colorado Springs about 1 am, set up a tent in Mike's parent's yard and slept! Annabelle thought it was so funny and when Jake (Mike's brother) discovered us in the morning he informed his Dad that there was a bum sleeping in his yard. Correction from my mother-in-law: 3 BUMS!

Off to Arkansas

After a few days of relaxing with the families we left for Arkansas. We have been wanting to go out since we were married (nearly 4 years ago) so that I (and now Annabelle) could meet Mike's paternal grandparents and Uncles who live out there. Uncle Stan and Aunt Sue welcomed us into their home. The trip was SO wonderful :) We spent loads of time with Mike's grandparents and were able to visit with all three of his uncles and their families that live out there. We were spoiled with good food, fun with cousins and an overnight trip to Stan's lake house.

Annabelle warmed up to several relatives, including Grandpa Sherwood who administered 1st aid for a stubbed toe!

These pictures are from a BBQ at Uncle Karl's. Look how GREEN Arkansas is!

These cute cousins totally made Annabelle's day - they shared with her and entertained her and even put up with her bossing them around :)

We spend part of Mother's Day at the lake house and Annabelle and I had our first ever rides on these 4-wheelers!

The lake level has risen quite a bit higher than normal (Note the sign in the background).

It was a blast . . . and of course totally safe.

Despite a storm the threatened a tornado we were safe and even got to try out Sue's new fire pit.

Our Sherwood hosts took their duty seriously and made sure we had a wonderful time. This is Stan, Sue and Allie with us, out by the ever approaching water edge - Look how high the water is, usually those trees are growing out of dry ground!

We loved playing 'Grandma Sherwood Rummy' with Grandma herself.

We have adopted one of Grandpa's sayings into our home and it can be heard several times a day: "We pinch bare bellies and we spank bare bottoms" - Annabelle loves it and still encourages belly pinches.

Back in Colorado

Relaxation, time with family and rock climbing with friends took up the rest of our time in Colorado, but we felt that there was ONE more adventure to be had - so after longing to on several previous trips we FINALLY hiked to Hanging Lake (which is found on I-70 about 1/3 of the trip from the Springs to Provo).

The trail was only 1.2 miles each way but it was really steep, but totally worth it. The hike followed a river up the mountain side and little water falls could be seen as we ascended the trail. At the top is a lake sitting at the top of the falls. A boardwalk allows you to walk between the lake and the falls.

The lake is also supplied by water falls that fill the almost glass looking aqua colored lake.

Our trip was amazing, a perfect mix of relaxation and adventure!

More Adventures

. . . and a broken computer! Well after getting Mike and I through school it seems that our laptop has given up! We are going to try to get the hard drive recovered or whatever it is that you do to get your photos and music off. BUT despite that we had a really great last two weeks in Colorado and Arkansas :) Maybe I'll bring my digital camera to this wonderfully air conditioned and free computer lab later this week so that I can write a proper update. We are happy to be back in Provo. Our next adventure is going to Arches/Canyonlands in 2 weeks - anyone who wants to come along is welcome!

Zion and Bryce Canyon National Parks!

Our 2 months of traveling and fun before Mike starts his new job has begun! We have started off with a trip to south western Utah. We LOVED camping down at Zion National Park, for those of you who have never been there: I highly recommend it - at least on a weekday in April or May! We were able to camp just inside the park - even without a reservation - in a nice and clean camping spot (except for the INSANE amount of caterpillars). We spent 2 and half days hiking in Zion Canyon, Kolab Canyon and a little bit on the east side of the park.

This is at Canyon Overlook just on the east side of the tunnel in Zion.

Annabelle getting her feet wet up in the stream from the upper 'Emerald Pool'

The most popular area of the park (Zion Canyon) has a shuttle so you don't even drive yourself around you just pack a bag for the day and hop on for free. The shuttles come VERY frequently and you can travel either up or down the canyon from each stop. IT was so convinient and Annabelle loved riding the bus.

"It's hard to catch your breath when everything is so breathtaking"

-Tia (I was frequently out of breath)

On the way back to Provo we did a hike in Bryce Canyon and were so glad we made the stop. It was really different looking from Zion - and MUCH cooler too.

Bryce Canyon has lots of pillar looking formations that are called 'Hoodoos'.

Each of the areas we visited were really diverse and so we felt like we were really seeing something 'new' with each hike. Annabelle was a champ, hiking the safer sections of each hike and putting up with being in the carrier a lot of the time. She LOVED camping - on the way home she said "Daddy, I need to sleep in a tent one more night." Annabelle also befriended the caterpillars before our trip was through and would wake up each morning dying to get out of the tent so that she could go play with them.

This night after dinner Annabelle was chasing me with caterpillars trying to put them on me. When bedtime came around I found about a dozen of them crawling all over her shirt - she had placed them there and watched them crawl around, she couldn't have been happier.

We are excited for more adventures to come!