Arizona

Our visit to Grandma's in Arizona was WONDERFUL! I'm so glad we made the decision to go out there and see her. I hate leaving and miss her terribly again already.

On the way there we had a connection in Minneapolis. The plane was late getting to Indy and was delayed arriving in MN so that we literally had to run through the airport (picture me holding Nate and Michael pushing the stroller with all the bags loaded on it) to make our next flight. But we did, and that was probably the worst of all our traveling. Which was surprising, because I thought it was going to be a disaster traveling with a baby. Nate did so well. It took more work to keep him entertained and I was exhausted by the end of the day, but with only one minor melt down the whole time, it was amazing. So if anyone asks, you can fly with a baby, just be prepared!

We spent a week there. We didn't really go out and do much. One, it's just too hot, especially for little Nate, but most importantly, we just wanted to spend time with Grandma. We played Scrabble and card games, ate good food (really good food and too much of it--I think I gained 20lbs!), and had good conversation. Michael has never been out west and I wanted him to experience some of it, but he took one look at the landscape and said that it was everything he had been living for the last year and so it was fine that we didn't do any sightseeing.

We went to my cousin's hockey game one night. One afternoon we went to an art gallery. And we spent one of the days down by my Uncle Nicky; he cooked burgers on the grill and we went swimming in their pool. Desperate to make Nate a water baby I put on his swimming trunks and we went in. The water was as warm as bath water and so I thought he would love it. But we got in and he started fussing. I think it might be the sensation of all that water. So I took him to the edge to sit on my lap and slowly introduced him to the water, dipping his feet, then hands, then lowering myself so his butt was in it. Before long I had him back out in the pool, swishing around in the water. He really liked it. Success!

All in all, it was a wonderful week and exactly what we needed. Just some time to get away from our daily life and stresses and visit with Grandma.She makes everything good.