Arizona Trip

We had so much fun on our trip to Arizona over Spring Break. It is a sixteen hour drive from here to there, but after we made the trip for Thanksgiving in 2010, we figured we could handle it again, as long as we stay for a week or so. We took the Northern route this time, though, through Amarillo and Tucumcari, NM, which were our stops on the way home and there, respectively. We met up with our friends, the Lelands, for a quick dinner in Amarillo. They were so great to meet up with us at a restaurant right off the interstate with about 10 minutes notice!

After dinner, we continued on to the Blue Swallow Motel, in Tucumcari, which is the cutest little vintage roadside place. Right on Route 66, which has been bypassed by the interstate (just like Radiator Springs in "Cars")! We loved it and hope to go back on our next trip through NM. The next morning, we continued our trip West, and once we were in Arizona, we found Petrified Forest National Park, which involved a quick detour through some really amazing terrain.

Painted Desert

 Newspaper Rock

 Cool petrified tree with really thick bark!

 We arrived in Mesa that evening, and the cousins commenced Cousin Fun.

 Ethan and Audrey are about six weeks apart.

 We all went crazy for the little baby boys who live in Mesa. Henry, above, and Elliot, below.

 We went to an Angels game with everyone, and later in the week, Neal took Parker to a Rangers game. I joined them for one more game on Thursday.

We loved spending time with the adults, too! Steph's car is super awesome, and Emma LOVED sitting in the front middle for a quick ride from her house. Neal and Mike both had car maintenance to attend to one afternoon.

 My parents each made time to come be with us as well. Bramma is so good for hugs and cuddles.

 Audrey's birthday was on Sunday, the day we would be arriving home, so Stephanie and I baked up a big, tall, chocolately cake and we celebrated at the Parker's house before the kids camped out for the night.

Our last full day in town, we took the kids to a local rec center so they could try rock climbing. They loved it and went at it full force for a good two hours!

Elliot and Ginger are moving to Boston very soon, and we are so glad that we made the trip to see all of our Mesa cousins before they separate and all six of us Parker kids are again in separate locations. :(

Springtime

 Playing catch with Pa at the park.

 Padres practice

 Pollinating the cherry tree out front

Rain and sunshine at the same time. We were hoping for a rainbow when we saw this kind of light outside, but were satisfied with the beauty of the contrast in the sky.

Eleven

Today, Audrey turned eleven. I felt bad that her birthday was so un-special. We spent the day driving from Amarillo to our house, hurried off to church, then hurried off to rent a car, and hurried home for bed. However, Audrey was cheerful and happy and didn't seem to mind. We celebrated with her cousins in Mesa last Wednesday, and have plans to have a little party with some friends here in town after the State DI competition in April.

There are so many things I love about Audrey, and it is so amazing to me that she is now eleven years old. Not that she seems younger than that, or that I feel old (I don't!), it's just that eleven is an age I remember so well, and now my little girl has reached that age. Of course, I have all the worries any mother has, that I'm not teaching her enough (she can't cook or sew!), or that she is annoyed by me or thinks I don't understand her life, or that she'll distance herself from us as she gets older. But Audrey is such a great girl, I ought to have more faith than that. She is strong, determined, independent, intelligent, considerate, and sensitive. I know that twelve will be downright unbelievable, so we shall all enjoy eleven and I will try harder to be the mother she deserves.

Other birthdays:

10

9

8

7

6

5

Grateful Sunday

Cousins out for Mexican food in Mesa last week. We had so much fun all together.

This week has been overflowing with blessings and I am so grateful for the happy moments that make up my life. I am grateful that:

• we arrived safely in Mesa, Arizona last Saturday and safely home today. Apparently, we barely made it, because as soon as we got home and unpacked the car, Neal headed out in said car to pick up the dog, just a few miles away. On his way home, he called and said that he was sure that something terrible is wrong with our car, and it puttered home. We are having it towed to the shop tomorrow and will await their diagnosis. But Neal thinks it involves the words "transmission" and "undriveable." Isn't it such a blessing that we made it home? That we were able to attend church? And that we had a few moments to pick up a rental car before putting the kids to bed tonight? I'm calling them blessings and deciding to be grateful.
• we were able to spend time with so many people we love over our Spring Break. Elliott and Ginger and their five children; Mike and Stephanie and their four children; my mom and my dad; Shelby, Julie, Walker and Claire; and Ed, Rebecca, Cater and Callie. We are so blessed and loved every minute of our visits.
• we were able to spend time driving through parts of our beautiful country. New Mexico, Northern Arizona, and the drive between Wichita Falls and our house were all so beautiful in such different ways.
• healthy bodies. It is such a blessing to be able to go through life and have our bodies do what we ask them to do. I am so grateful that my family enjoys good health.

girlies

Audrey and her friend, Julia, watching the shenanigans during our girls' night on Saturday. They eventually joined in on the dance game and had a blast. I'm so glad they have each other to climb trees and trade books with. Every girl needs a friend like that.

Grateful Sunday

Mama and Audrey, Fall 2001 in Tyler, Texas. We took this photo on the upstairs porch one morning before church. We had gone up to Tyler for the weekend, I guess. Neal's mom passed away on March 1st, 2003, just before Audrey turned two and Parker was born. We miss her so very much and always think of her this first week of March.

This has been a long week. We have a lot going on, and some things have been getting me down a bit, so it feels good to make a grateful list. I wish I was blogging more than I am right now. I know that our daily life doesn't seem interesting to write about (or read about), but I know that one day, I will wish I wrote more down. I've been contemplating getting back into journaling lately, and really mean to one of these nights. There's something about writing that helps me evaluate my life. Anyway. . . today, I'm grateful for:

• my sweet children, for being observant and intuitive at the right times. They are such good fits for me.
• some time with Audrey and our girl friends last night. I really want Audrey to be close with the LDS girls her age. There are more than half a dozen girls in her primary class, and they are all wonderful, but they rarely get to be together because of school and everything else! I planned a little girls' night out for us; we went out to dinner and then played some fun games back at my friend, Laurie's, house. It was so good to get them all together outside of church and to help them bond a bit. We hope to do it again sometime soon.
• time in the temple. It was so needed this past week, I am grateful when I take the time to be there. And I'm glad I could bring a friend along this time, too.
• the scriptures and the insight I gain from reading them. I am trying to do better about making personal scripture study a habit, I really want to be better at it because I feel like I am missing out on blessings by neglecting it.