Our hot, Hot, HOT Arizona Trip

I couldn't find the camera for the first week of the trip, but it can pretty much be summed up by this cartoon...

And this picture I took with my phone...

It's amazing how easy it is to forget what 120` really feels like, especially with the weather we are spoiled with year round in Santa Cruz. I was also helping my parents get situated in their new place which meant lots of lifting boxes and furniture and loading stuff into trucks and unloading it at D.I., the dump, or the storage unit in this heat. I think I lost 2 pounds in sweat alone. It wasn't our most relaxing trip to Arizona, but we managed to squeeze in some fun times too.

Uncle Rod's and Aunt Cindy's Sealing

We were lucky that Robert's Uncle Rod and Aunt Cindy's sealing ended up happening while we were in town so we were able to attend. It was beautiful. The sealer was the mine and Robert's old stake patriarch and had given both Robert and me our patriarchal blessings. The spirit was amazing, as it is in every temple sealing.

The Phoenix Zoo
Yes, we even braved the zoo in the heat. We got there early in an attempt to avoid the worst time of the heat, so it was just 100` instead of 115` ;)
Lydia once again loved petting the goats in the petting zoo.

By the time we got to the monkey walk Lydia was already completely pooped from the heat.

The monkeys were pooped too :)

My Mom's Car Accident
One day I was out and about running errands and, while stopped at a stop light at a major intersection (Gilbert/University), I looked at a text Robert had sent me and it said that my mom had been in an accident, she had called my little sister Aubrie, and Aubrie was on her way. I called Aubrie to find out where the accident was. She said Gilbert and University. I looked up and sure enough, there was my mom. I raced the fire truck to the scene and was able to be at my mom's side minutes after the accident happened. Talk about tender mercies.

My mommy's car is the one in the middle.

The driver of the red car must have been texting or checking the radio and didn't notice that traffic had stopped at the red light and slammed into my mom without slowing down at all. He ran into her so hard that it pushed her a full car length forward, making her smash into the truck in front of her, sandwiching her car. Miraculously she walked away from the accident with just a stiff/sprained neck and some bruises. It could have been so much worse, especially if the air bag had deployed. So thankful to still have my mommy in one piece!

Aubrie's 18th Birthday
My littlest sister has entered adulthood!!! Weird!! It makes me feel so old! We celebrated by having a ladies' night at Matta's Grill.

Lydia Being Cute As Always



Richardson Reunion
Thank heaven for this reunion! It was the one time in the over 2 weeks we were away that we were forced to just relax and have fun with our family. It was up north too, so we got to escape the heat for a bit.

Bubbles with Aly

Robert and I performed for the talent show. They liked us so much they had us do an encore performance of it the next night. We're that cool ;)



P.S. I think our little word mess ups and Robert's breaking character to laugh at Lydia laughing at us at the end makes it that much better :)

Painting with cousins

You can't handle the cuteness!

And again :)

Water relays on the patio. My team lost, probably because
I kept trying to take pictures the whole time ;)

  

Cute girlies

Potato sack races

Three legged races

There was even a toddler race AKA contest to see which
parent has the most command over their toddler.

We lost...

Rockin the shades

Alayna and Aly being cute

Minute to win it games

"Does this Kleenex box make my buns look big?"

Q&A with Grandpa and Grandma

Late night games of Ticket to Ride

Before heading back to Mesa after the reunion we visited my oldest sister and her family in Pinetop.

Parachute fun.

Mary's Birthday Observed
Back in Mesa for 2 more days, we celebrated this little one's upcoming birthday with Robert's family.

Lydia was much more excited about the presents than Mary. So much so that I think Mary assumed that the whole ordeal was for Lydia.

We finally got tired of Mary being so tidy with the cake and told Lydia to smash some in her face. Lydia was happy to oblige. Mary was not a fan of the feeling of the frosting on her face.

The Journey Home
Then on Tuesday we started the trek home. We got off about on time and were making great time when all of the sudden several miles north of Santa Clarita our car started overheating, rattling, and steaming. We pulled over to the side of the road and opened the hood to let it cool down for a bit. We decided that after letting it cool down some we would try to baby it to the next town and get it looked at. After maybe 5 minutes more on the road it was steaming again, rattling worse, and dying. We coasted onto the shoulder of the I-5 and the car completely died and wouldn't start again. And wouldn't you know it, we were in an area that we had no cell phone service. We sat there helpless, watching semi-trucks narrowly miss sideswiping us as they drove passed us. I was about to go into a full fledged panic attack when an angel of mercy, AKA a highway patrol man pulled up behind us. He was able to push our car with his patrol car to the next exit and into the parking lot of the Vista Del Lago Visitors Center where we waited for the tow truck that he called for us. It was actually a fun little place that had a bunch of interactive displays about California's water supply. Under different circumstances it would have been a fun family afternoon :)

Meet Al - The Tow Man

So happy to not be stuck on the side of the road anymore!

Al towed us 20 miles back to Castaic, CA where we waited for about 3 hours at a gas station mechanic while they replaced a radiator hose that we had blown, a radiator cap that wasn't holding any pressure, and a thermostat valve that was stuck. $600 later, we were on the road again.

Napping after quite an ordeal

We finally made it home in one piece after a long, not so relaxing, but memorable trip to Arizona.