the best things in life are free

I did a little research online and found out that every first friday of the month is free at the Phoenix Children's Museum (Thanks Target!). So we picked Jared up from work, braved the heat and the crowds, and ventured downtown!

It was certainly an adventure. It was 110 that day and we had to wait outside for about 35 mins before getting let in. I've never appreciated the shade as much I have living here! In Utah, shade was more or less just about getting the sun out of your eyes - but the temperature didn't really change that much. HERE it's a stark contrast if you can step into a shady spot. All the sudden that intense heat baking down on you is gone!  It was funny to see everyone huddled together in the shadow line from a tree, and even people sitting in shadows from the road signs.

We've learned the heat isn't quite as bad as we feared. The mornings and evenings aren't bad at all - its worst from about noon to 7pm. It's definitely uncomfortable when it's THAT hot, but even Jared has agreed it's more manageable than being in the cold. It's uncomfortable but not painful the way freezing temps are. Different ends of the spectrum! And we've lived in both extremes - pretty funny!

When we finally made it in, it was luckily not too crowded since they were monitoring how many people were let in at one time. Emmett immediately saw the tricycle car wash station and he was off!

(These two were taken with my ancient phone, so no judgment!)

He found a couple friends - one to drive and one to ride in the caboose with - and was in heaven!

Next we played at the mail station

and in the tree fort

This air tunnel shot little koosh-type balls through and then out. It was one of Emmett's favorite things.

He got to meet the Utility guys - Electricity and Water (we sure love our water!)

Then he played some more, cooked some "Mac and Cheese" in the kitchen, and put in a little time at the ice cream stand. Gotta make a living!

Lastly came the room we spent majority of our time in: the car room.

Even I have to admit this room was pretty sweet. I understand why Emmett was so enamored. The top left picture is a tower you could climb to race cars down a looping track. Driving the motorcycle and filling up the gas were also favorite past times. 

I love the anticipation on his face as he sends his racecar out out of the gate!

All in all the museum was a success. And for free?! Even better! I'm sure we will return soon :)

some like it hot

Lucky for me, I'm one of those people - because we sure got HOT! And I've actually been loving it so far. We're just coming up on the real scorch season, so it hasn't been too bad yet. Though I do say my prayers daily neither my car or my air conditioner goes out! Haha.

We've been settling into our new home in Gilbert, AZ well and are beginning to feel more like its "home". Especially now that I've located the basics - Target, TJ Maxx, HomeGoods, Trader Joes, the community pools (even though we have our own!), the library etc etc etc. And the best part is everything I could want is within 5-10 minutes! (Besides Nordstrom Last Chance, which is AMAZING - its about 30). It's crazy how many amenities/activities are here.

Here's a brief look at our cute little neighborhood. The house is still a work in progress, so you only get to see the outside for now!

There's little lakes all throughout our subdivision where you can feed ducks, fish, or float if you have a pontoon boat. Here's the one right across from us.

and a little glimpse of the neighborhood. Greener than you pictured Arizona, huh?

Emmett loves walking to the lake and just hanging around. Im having a bit of a difficult time convincing him we don't need jackets and boots anymore... Guess this little guy isn't very used to summer! Despite the heat he'll still sometimes insist on leaving the house with a jacket or his Hunter boots!

Our first weekend here we hit up a local Peach Festival which was tons of fun! There was a little farmers market, U-Pick Peaches, every type of peach delicacy you could imagine (From peach chipotle, peach syrup, peach salsa and grilling sauces, even peach gummy bears!), Pony Rides, and even their own bakery.

At the bakery you could buy baked peach goods and homemade peach ice cream. We tried a peachy cinnamon roll which was sooooo goood. It was like peach cobbler and a cinnamon roll had a delicious baby. Our friends, Terry and Whitney, tried the ice cream and said it was amazing as well.

Of course we had to ride the wagon out to the farm to pick some peaches!

Emmett turned out the be best little worker of all! He sure put in a hard days work under the sun ;)

These peaches were incredible - quite possibly the best I've ever eaten. So big and soft and juicy! Here's our peach train.

After a strenous twenty minutes out in the fields, a tired red-faced litte guy rode back on the wagon with a bagful of fresh goods!

(No, he's not sunburnt just hot - partly due to the big rubber boots he insisted on wearing!) 

We had so much fun and will definitely be returning next year!! Although next year I'm planning ahead and going with more money to spend! I'm still kicking myself for not buying the peach syrup for my Sunday morning pancakes! 

This post is getting really long so I think I'm going to end it here, but be expecting more AZ adventures soon!

the ending of a chapter

Writing those words are so sad! Life in little Provo, Utah has been such a happy, wonderful chapter in our life, and to say moving on from it was hard is an understatement. The past few months have been such a blur - A whirlwind of phone calls, doctor appointments, moving boxes, family get togethers, excitement and tears.

Here's a look our "final pages" in Provo, if you will.

 

When Uncle Jake came down for a visit, we spent a morning up at Bridal Veil Falls. Couldn't leave without saying goodbye to the beautiful canyon! 

*Also, somewhere up that mountain lies the remains of Jakes skinny corduroys, which he naively decided were great attire for climbing up the falls.

Before we knew it, our little house was all packed up, and everything we had to our name was shoved in the back of a truck.

It's so weird knowing your entire life can be contained in this:

Since Jared and his parents headed down a couple days ahead of Emmett and I, we said our final goodbyes to our home.

After a quick kiss and a "See you in Arizona", I cried watching Jared turn the corner in our Grand Prix for the very last time.

 

(yes, I documented it)

I am so grateful for all the friends, family, and members of our church who helped make this move possible. Between the quickness of the move and my pregnancy, we wouldn't have been able to do it without you!!

 

Emmett and I got to spend a couple days at Gramby's house before our flight, and Kaity and Rusty even came and stayed too so it was a grand ol' party.

We decided to go to Hogle Zoo on Saturday.

There's no shortage of pictures - last day remember??

 

 

There was a LEGO exhibit going on while we are there, and the top two pictures are a couple of their displays. They were pretty cool! The trick was convincing Emmett he couldn't ride that Polar Bear... he was pretty upset about that. He was also into the "Scuba Steve" outfit more than any of the animals... Go figure.

While we are/ have been excited for our new chapter, closing one is never easy. Thanks for a wonderful few years Provo!