On the Road Again...and Again...and Again...

Ryker liked watching the ducks through his binoculars.

Dax eating his pinecone

Arizona sunset

Dax let me cuddle the heck out of him for a whole hour while Hans and Cassi were sleeping in.

For those who think Arizona is all desert, EAT YOUR HEART OUT!

Watching the ducks

Isn't he going to be a heartbreaker?

Cassi, Hansy, Ryker, and Daxy

Ryker at the lake.

My three buddies.

Dax is into everything...I mean everything.

Ryker fell in-love with Uncle Brick after he discovered Brick can make practically ANYTHING out of silly putty!

I love Arizona. Brick laughed as I jumped up and down when we came into sight of the state line.

Purple fields in Fredericksburg, TX.

Burgs, we took this picture for you. How could we pass it up?

Yes, we are back in Utah, after a week and 2000 miles of black top. What can I say? The heat did us in, and the traffic, and the (ahem) crappy job. But, as Brick said when I asked him what we learned from this ordeal,

"We still like eachother after spending 50 hours in the car together."

Austin is beautiful, New Mexico is not. We saw Kevn and family in Colorado, the aliens in Roswell, looked across the border from El Paso to Mexico,

and crossed into my beloved Arizona on the way home.

We were even lucky enough to see Hansy and his awesome wify in Pinetop (which is also AWESOME!). We fell in-love all over again with the White Mountains, and with their adorable little boys, Dax and Ryker. Thanks, Hans and Cassi, for the great hospitality and company. I wish we lived closer, so Brick could at least get to know my big brother while he watched sports. We also visited with Grandma and Grandpa in St. Johns, which was such a blessing...Grandma Maxine looked great and seemed to be feeling better, but she forbade me from taking her picture because her hair wasn't done (She still looked beautiful to me!) So, while things didn't quite turn out as we planned, they seldom do, and usually it's because
God knows better than we do...
As NieNie, my favorite blogger would say, this is the beginning of God's "big plan" for us...
...It is so good to be back in beautiful Utah.

(For a great lesson on life, read nie nie's post: http://nieniedialogues.blogspot.com/2009/05/big-plans.html)