Grammy & Papa Time

I am a few weeks behind, but I wanted to post on our trip to Safford to visit my parents for a week. Since we only have one vehicle and because of Blake's hectic work schedule, it has not been possible to visit them since we moved back to Arizona from Portland. They only live three hours away from us and yet we might as well have been across the country - besides the fact that Evie was able to spend a week or two with them by herself and they were able to visit us here in Phoenix when my mom was spending so much time at Mayo with her surgeries. Blake drove the kids and me to Globe where my mom met us and drove us back to Safford with her.

We had a great time relaxing and enjoying some time away from the busyness that is our home in the Phoenix area.

 Evie spent loads of time on 'her' swing that Papa hung for her when they first moved into their house... 

 ...and Jackson got his turn every now and then! 

We visited the chickens that live down the road behind Grammy and Papa's house.

Evie and Jackson helped Grammy fill the bird feeder.

The kiddos got new sunglasses from Grammy and Papa!

Evie took her walks with Papa down to their ditch and found fun 'treasures', like they do every time... and Jackson was able to join them and see what all the talk was about! We ate good food (including a homemade lemon pie using our lemons!), played with chalk, went to the park, watched movies, and even built a tent with chairs and blankets in the living room!

I got to spend some quality time with my wonderful friend, Andrea. We had a yummy lunch at a Mexican food restaurant I have not been to since I was in high school, walked around downtown Safford, and grabbed some coffee at Starbucks while we browsed through fun magazines. It was the perfect girlfriend time that I have been craving for the last couple of years. Afterward, Andrea had the sweet idea to take beads back to Evie so we could make bracelets.

Evie loved creating her own jewelry and getting the chance to play with Andrea, too. I am very thankful for my friendship with Andrea, as her encouragement brings me much joy as she speaks Christ's love into my life.

We also had a blast playing Wii, which Evie has just about mastered and tends to win every time. This girl cracks me up! I had to catch her on video playing tennis...

Our visit was a much needed break! I am thankful we were finally able to make it happen.