Too Little Time in Arizona and San Diego

Once the reunion wrapped up we headed south through Flagstaff to Ralph's sister's house in Arizona. We were excited to make this trip as she has been very busy over the past year building herself a big new house. We wanted to check it out and see all the fun things she has done. Because for some reason my camera never made it out of my bag while we were there, I snagged a picture of the house off of her blog for you all to see.

Really nice looking place, isn't it? We had fun taking the tour and seeing the details that she has added. The kitchen is great. Plenty of space for lots of bodies to work. We were able to satisfy Rachel craving for snickerdoodles by making some while we visited. The kids had fun running amok on the farm with Shanna and Kurtis. They gave Sarah a few driving lessons and were able to talk my kids into doing a little work with them. Nothing like bribing them to help change the water by letting them drive the truck out there. Janice and Matthijs drove out from Phoenix while we were there for a visit so we got to catch up with more family doings.

The kids would have happily stayed at the farm for a week, but we had more places to go and people to meet. Saturday we drove over to San Diego to check out our old neighborhood and visit friends there. You know, it is really strange, you can go on vacation for two weeks and come home and everything seems different, yet we have been gone for two years now and driving in felt like we had never left. The mind can play some funny tricks on you like that.

We stopped first in front of our old house so that we could visit with the Millers and our other neighbors. Nothing has changed. It is great to have friends that you can pick right back up with. The kids disappeared into the bedrooms for some playtime and Debbie and I talked a mile a minute. Ralph dozed a little in the chair. Of course, once the kids had played a little they raided Debbie's snack cupboard. Of course they remembered right where that was. Thanks for the snack bags with names for everyone.

We stayed with the Peters while we were there and got to see the new house they have moved into since we left. The kids were in heaven there as there were enough computers to go around and they all got to catch up on the digital world they left behind when we headed out on this trek. Lauren and Bailey picked up Emily and the three of them were inseparable the duration of the trip.

Sarah got a sleepover with her friends Nicole and Bethany. Steven spent a night at Jordan's house and William got a sleepover at Tanner's. Friends, friends everywhere. Monday we attended a traditional Family Home Evening at the Beach with the Rancho Bernardo Ward. It was a cold, chilly gray day but that didn't stop the kids from getting into the water. They were, however, glad for the bonfire to warm themselves back up.

And that wraps up our visits to the southwest. We definitely didn't have enough time there but that is the way it goes. We are so glad to have such great friends and relatives who give us a good reason to return. We'll be back to see you again in a few years!