2010 was supposed to be the year our family went to Disneyland to celebrate Eliza's 8th birthday. Instead we spent 5 wonderful days with Grandma and Grandpa in Arizona and all agree that our spring break was way better than Disneyland. We arrived on Wednesday night and were amazed to discover that Mom and Dad had arranged for us to stay at the next door neighbor's empty house. A bed for everyone, two bathrooms, a big screen TV and a GOLF CART! We were so spoiled.
On Thursday we picked grapefruit and oranges right off of Grandpa's tree for breakfast! Then went for a swim, packed a picnic and headed to the desert for a hike among the cacti. To our great surprise and amazement Grandma joined us for the entire hike to the waterfall and pteryglyphs. The desert with all the cacti blooming and the sky so blue challenged my bias that the Palouse wheat fields are the most beautiful place in the spring. After our hike we visited a nearby Ghost town (no ghosts spotted) and enjoyed ice cream cones. We had inteneded to pan for gold, but ran out of energy. That night we were privledged to attend the Mesa Easter pageant at the Mesa temple. It was a powerful testimony of the Savior and the music and presentation were breathtaking. I was a little surprised at the informality of the audience. We were (much to the teenagers horror) the ONLY ones there in church clothes. Everyone was packing pizza boxes or picnics. It was an event about the Savior at the temple. Picnics and flipflops? Really?
Friday we went to the Hall of Flame, a museum about fire engines in Tempe. It may not have been flashy and showy, but it was very interesting and educational. We grabbed lunch at what we remembered to be a fabulous Mexican fast food restaurant called Filibertos. Not so much. For old time's sake, Grandpa took us to the LDS family Service office where he works and where we picked up Wilson when he was 10 days old. I remembered the driveway as clear as day and the secretary remembered our name. We spent the rest of the afternoon at the Sonoran Desert Museum. I think the kids most enjoyed the butterfly pavilion where beutiful butterflies and moths would land on you if you stood still enough. I loved the edible garden and the diversity of cacti was incredible. It was a bit tortuous for some of the little kids (and Grandpa) but it was Tony and Grandma and my favorite.
Friday night Grandma and Grandpa and the kids stayed home and dyed Easter Eggs while Tony and grabbed a delicious greek dinner and visited our old apartment. I was shocked at how horrible they were. The visit was unsettling because we didn't get to see any of our old friends. We've lost track of them and it's been too long. Without the people, the places we visited were hollow memories. The most amazing thing to me was that we lived and worked in that big, traffic infested city with one car. What were we thinking?
The Easter Bunny came on Saturday morning and delivered baskets to all the kids which he hung in the orange trees! We watched the first session of General Conference, swam then grabbed lunch at In N Out burgers and spent the rest of the afternoon at the Mesa Market. This was probably Cooper's favorite part of the trip. Rows and rows of stuff and things all within the $5.00 budget. Cooper and Wilson settled on new wallets while Max and Marcos chose Power Ranger action figures that broke the minute they were out of the plastic packaging. Cooper babysat the little boys that night while Grandpa, Dad and Wilson attended the priesthood session and Grandma, Mom and Eliza had a girl's night out. Eliza bought a real-live-working camera with her birthday money and devoured the lavish attention her Grandma poured on her.
Sunday we watched the two sessions of conference and enjoyed the most lovely Easter dinner together. Mom converted us to her lemon pie recipe which will be an annual tradition for sure. That afternoon Grandma and Grandpa took us to Fountain Hills, a town outside Scottsdale. True to it's name, there is a huge water fountain in the middle of a small lake surrounded by a beautiful park. At first, we were disappointed to see the park so full but we were soon thrilled to hear at least 5 different languages being spoken and see all shades of skin color. Max and Eliza came running up to introduce their new friends. Max was thrilled that they were black like him. Just as we were getting ready to leave, Eliza's new friend cautiously said, "Can I tell you something? Some of your children are black and some are white like you." Then she waited for a response. I explained that all of the kids in our family were adopted. She asked three time in a row, "but what about the white ones? " It was the most beautiful, candid conversation and I loved having the discussion in front of my kids.
Monday was our last day. We spent the morning swimming, packing, and going for our last rides on the golf cart. Grandma and Grandpa will be coming home in a week so it wasn't as hard to say goodbye. I loved seeing my parents in such a relaxed and happy place. I know my mom needs to be there. We have missed them, but the day we got home it was freezing cold and snowing and I was so grateful to think of my Mom warm and relaxed and doing missionary work with her pool friends. What a blessing to be able to remember happy times living in Phoenix and make wonderful new memories with my kids and my parents.
