We made it back alive!

We had a fabulous time! I would highly recommend taking your children to Arizona. There is so much to see and so very different from the South. We literally had temperatures ranging from the high 80's to the low 30's! I am not a super outdoorsey person ( I had to buy new shoes with lots of tread for the trip) , but I had the best time hiking and walking across the state.

I have so much to share that I am going to break it up over a number of days.

We are going to start in Phoenix- the first two days we stayed with Paintboy's very best friend. He and his wife used to live here and we were pregnant at the same time. We don't see them often, but it is like "it was just last week" every time. Paintboy and his buddy are the same person, we are all so comfortable around each other; laughing, drinking and talking with ease. I love these people!
We went to the coolest Art Festival on Sunday. There was live Tribal music playing and amazing artists and merchants. The kids even seemed to have a good time. J was able to pick an orange off of a fruit tree and has decided to dry it and "keep it forever". So cute!
We headed home so that the little ones could nap and the big ones could swim. It was in the high 80's that day. C swam for 2 hours, off and on a raft. Needless to say, we had major scrapes on our belly. (More on that to come) Later that night we had a HUGE family dinner with some of their relatives: great food and tons of wine.

There are amazing saguaro cactus growing around Phoenix. We learned that they don't grow their first arm until they are at least 75 years old.( So you see lots of penii shaped ones in the new developments.) It is also illegal to transplant a saguaro over 12 feet tall; because it will die within 3-5 years. (once again, a LOT of penii)
Can you believe how HUGE this Saguaro is? C is almost 5 feet tall.

I thought they were all succulent and squishy. The lower part felt like bark with very few needles.

The boys thought this one looked like "a man holding himself".

All these pictures were taken right outside of the subdivision gates. There is so much land and space and then major development. It was very different. My friend is very excited because they are getting a grocery store in their development. The closest one is 20 minutes into town!
I have always lived in a city. I gauge where to live on a Publix, a Target and a Lowes/Home Depot. If they aren't within 5 minutes forget about it!