We Wanna See ALL of Arizona

We decided to fly to Arizona to see our newborn nephew Graham "Gramster" Peter Robertson. No Christmas stress in March, and we get the bonus of seeing both sides of the family: little Graham Cracker's parents are my sister Emily, who married Dave's cousin James.

First stop: Phoenix, to see Dave's grandparents (Grandpa was sick):

and pick their oranges.

Quick stop to see my aunt & uncle & a cousin,

then we drove down to Tucson, AZ to see the new baby.

Jessica was not as good a traveler as when she was 4 months old. She loved the airport shuttle bus, but couldn't keep still on the plane, and slept only an hour the whole day. On the drive to Tucson, she decided she would angry scream (not cry) most of the way there. The last hour I hopped in the back seat with her and pulled out every entertainment method I knew to stop the shrieking. After realizing purchasing 2 seats with Continental doesn't mean they will be next to each other (thank heaven for people who will swap), & that Dad doesn't pack what Mom wants for traveling, subsequent debates included "OK, you get to do it next time." and "I love you. I love vacation. But I hate travelling."

Anyways, Jessica was thrilled to play with cousins Henry & Wesley & so many toys, and slept great once she had a pack & play. We all took a hike through Sabine canyon with our families, plus James' brother Jay & his girlfriend Jessica (who braved the Robertson insanity for a weekend.)

Besides being windy, it was a great day to hike. I love saguaro cactus, and Jessica didn't burn.

After, famous Sonoran hot dogs at el Guero Canero: bacon-wrapped, spicy bean-smothered deliciousness. Sadly, it was without my brother Chris, who recommended the joint in the first place, but was 2 hours too late. We got him a double.

Saturday night James' sister Emily & her husband & kids drove down from Utah on their way to Florida. (Yay, we now have family in the state!) We celebrated James' birthday, ate delicious food, and we all slept in the same house. (Good people; too bad we couldn't make ourselves stay up later! We blame Eastern time.) The fifth family was Robertson cousin Sharon & her family, who live in town and joined us for the baby blessing. 

James did a wonderful job, and I got to transcribe. Em went up to the pulpit with the other testifiers and spoke strongly about her love of God and her family. Ahhhh.

My sis & I both deal with infertility. She has several years of waiting before and between her kids. So we are very glad for her.

Sunday afternoon, we drove to Yuma (near the California & Mexico borders) to see Dave's sister & her family, & Dave's brother & wife who were picking up their kids after a company trip to Vegas.

We went from Tucson's "everyone has a lawn of rocks" to Yuma's "everyone has citrus trees in their backyard." Yuma is the lettuce capitol of the U.S., apparently all thanks to the Colorado River. 

The wind thwarted our trip to the camel farm, but we still enjoy lots of talking, Gumbo, fruit, trampoline time, music, and laughs from Danny & Karen's description of the most expensive place to vacation. Jessica loved the dog, new toys, and 7 little cousins.

Melanie took me letterboxing, a hobby she introduced me to. We found 2 new stamps hidden in the old railway/mission part of Yuma. I'm up to 15 finds now, and I can't wait to get to Utah in April & find some more.

We drove back to the Phoenix airport after only a week of vacation, and happily, Jessica was not so crazy on the way home. We love you AZ fam; thanks for the good times.