Arizona desert in the spring

Last week my mother-in-law was in town for a few days, and you better believe we took advantage of the free babysitting. Her main goal was to sit at our house and hold the babies she rarely gets to see, and our main goal was to get out without holding any babies like we so rarely get to do, so it worked out quite nicely. Claire loved the visit and was especially excited about her "special bed!" which is a blow-up mattress on the floor of our walk-in closet where she sleeps when we have company. Ah to be two years old and excited about sleeping on the floor of a closet.

On Saturday morning we all went for a little walk in the desert. (Remember when we discovered this desert just a few blocks from our house? Posts here and here.) I think I need to plan a hike in the desert for our next date night, because I've been getting frustrated that we don't get very far with three young kids in tow. Even so, the tiny amount of desert we encountered was gorgeous.

The walk to and from was the best part for Claire - empty roads waiting to be run on, flowers waiting to be picked, and plenty of adults available to swing her around.

We're just reaching the time of year where the Sonoran desert blooms, and I honestly think it's so magical. Almost every small bush we encountered had flowers and new growth peeking out at the ends, and there is a tiny layer of something that looks like bright green grass covering the ground. 

Lincoln was a very very sad baby and spent the entire (short) hike cuddled up grabbing a handful of dad's shirt.

This was when Claire decided it was time to stop and play with the rocks on the trail, and we all indulged her for a few minutes as other groups walked around us.

Now we're thinking about date night this week without a free babysitter. And we can't find a good excuse to make treats if we're just going to be sitting around by ourselves eating them. It's no fun. Somebody else better come visit quickly. 

when Arizona babies get a white Christmas

I absolutely love the snow - for two weeks of the year, and when I don't have to stress about icy commutes or spend 15 minutes scraping my car windows in sub-zero temperatures, that is. Visiting my family for Christmas was such a treat because we got to experience how absolutely gorgeous snow is, and then escape to our sunny state just when shoveling the driveway became a daily chore. Talk about the best of both worlds!

It's also fun for my Arizona babies to experience such a drastically different climate. The twins are way too young to care, but Claire was in heaven.

 ^^Belly laughs all around when she figured out what a snowball fight was.

Matching cousins under the Christmas tree (thank you Aunt Kathy for their darling matching pajamas!)

And speaking of cute matching pajamas, a few more snapshots from a cozy winter night with everyone playing Jackbox games by the tree:

 ^^bubbles with grandma!

^^I love seeing my babies doted on all day every day.

When we do Christmas cookies, we really do Christmas cookies. It's a huge + crazy + fun process of making everything from scratch in one big marathon day, and then we eat ourselves sick and spend the next week finding people to give plates of cookies to. This year I totally copped out (read: had two sick twins) and only did the chocolate dipped cinnamon bears, but I'm still thinking about the Oreo cookies and the peppermint white chocolate bark.

Winter break, you were so good to us. We played, we ate way too much, we experienced snow, and we got to see both sides of the family. And then we came home and remembered how nice it is to not share your room with children. We can, like, cough in the middle of the night without living in mortal fear of waking the babies. It's nice. ;)

Same time next year? :)

that perfect fall leaf window of time

When cheap plane tickets are available, and when you have a very nice aunt who offers to help you with the babies on the flight, there's really no choice but to go visit your family for a few days. I'm just getting back from a weekend trip to Alpine, and let me tell you - it was so nice seeing the fam, eating all their delicious food, and getting help with the babies.

Something I didn't bargain for? The gorgeous fall leaves. I swear there are two weeks of picture perfect fall weather in Utah County every year, and I got there just in time. In fact, right when I left it had begun to snow on the mountains and the perfect weather window was closing. 

I made my siblings promise we'd drive up the canyon and take pictures. If you missed it on my Instagram story, it turned into a car dancing, music blasting, windows down fall leaf adventure. And of course I documented it. ;)

And now I'm trading fall leaves and extra helping hands for those old familiar cacti and seeing my husband again. Assuming I can make it through another flight with two babies and a toddler without losing my mind or looking like the craziest traveling circus there ever was. ;)

that red rock charm

This weekend, to celebrate my brother John coming home from his mission, my dad took the whole family on a little weekend retreat in southern Utah. It only fueled my obsession with the gorgeous red rocks of the St. George area. But seriously, I'm obsessed with them. I have hundreds and hundreds of pictures, and I can't bring myself to delete any of them.

When we got to our rented cabin in the woods, we realized there was no Internet or cell phone service. And honestly, the lack of communication with the outside world was one of my favorite parts of the trip. We had no choice but to put down our phones and computers and be together. There was plenty of time for yummy meals and long hikes, swimming in the pool and overflowing the hot tub, and bonfires and movies late at night.

I also made a conscious effort to put my camera away for most of the trip. We did the most gorgeous hike on Saturday (Kanarraville slot canyon - so much fun!), and I deliberately left my camera at home for the hike. Part of this was practical; we were wading through rivers and scampering up and down rocks, and I didn't want my camera to get damaged. But the other part was just that I wanted to experience that day with both eyes open, not with one eye on the camera. It was a good change to appreciate the beauty just for me - not for a picture.

I did bring my DSLR along for a smaller hike to Cascade Falls. I just can't stop with the red rock pictures!

Claire and John - she wasn't too sure about him when we met him at the airport at midnight, but now that he feeds bottles to her in the mornings and sings her Spanish lullabies, she's quite fond of him.

So much bromance during this trip ;)

Thanks Ross and Krysti for an amazing weekend!

What are your favorite hikes in the Cedar City area? 

Sam and I are thinking of squeezing in one more trip before we move.

P.S. See last year's trip to southern Utah with my teaching team here and here. I miss my teacher friends so much!