Summer Recap: Arizona in July!!!

In July, we headed out west to the true "Sunshine State," braving a couple cross-country flights with a toddler, long airport delays, and 116 degree weather to welcome my little brother Robert home from his 2 year mission in Porto Alegre, Brazil. It was fantastic to have the whole family together again, and Rob loved meeting his 4 new nieces and nephews almost as much as they loved meeting him. Welcome home Rob!!! We're so proud of you!
The Ryan clan, together again...

Rachel was in heaven playing with her cousins Marc, Abby, and Ella, cuddling with Grandma and Grandpa, wrapping Uncle Rob around her little finger, reveling in all of Grandma and Grandpa's toys, and mastering the art of walking as she tried to keep up with Marc...

After the long late night flight, the 3 hour time difference, lots of play time, and her refusal to take a nap that first day, our little ladybug was finally sufficiently tuckered out, so she found a quiet spot on the floor in the study to catch some much-needed zzzz's.

Daddy thought it was a pretty good idea, so he joined in...

But before long, Rachel was ready to play again, and she quickly decided she LOVED the swimming pool.

Then Andrew and Rob decided it was time to expand her musical repertoire by teaching her the drums. This girl loves music in any form, especially when it means she gets to bang on something, but I think it will be a few more years before we enjoy listening to it as much as she does!

Thanks Mom and Dad for hosting all of us for such fun weekend. It went way too quickly.
But the fun didn't stop there--Rachel got to play for a few extra days with Grandma and Grandpa (THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU Mom & Dad!!!) while Andrew and I went up north to Sedona, AZ to spend a couple days with just the two of us (OK, 2 & 1/2 of us, but who's counting) for a little "babymoon"/5-year anniversary trip. We enjoyed the stunning red rock views, the peaceful and rejuvenating ambiance, and especially the freedom of traveling and eating out without our little sidekick.

We also enjoyed finding our "center" in the "magical" labyrinth at our Bed & Breakfast. For those who don't know, in addition to just being a really beautiful and peaceful place to relax and hike, Sedona is supposedly the site of a high-energy vortex and is thus known as the capital of the New Age movement. It's filled with labyrinths, psychics, magic crystals, alternative medicine, spiritual healers, and all other things mystical and beyond. We got a kick out of it the whole time. In fact, it turned out that the chef at our B&B was also a spiritual therapist, and when she saw that I was pregnant, she offered to do a "muscle reading" to determine the true gender of the baby (we hadn't been entirely convinced by our first ultrasound when the doctor told us to "keep our receipts"). In addition to recognizing my strong "chi" (or energy in New Age talk), she told us that all 3 of her "readings" came back with the same conclusion--a baby boy. She apparently has only been wrong once in a few decades, so we'll see -- but we're still planning on pink, especially since our most recent ultrasound confirmed this is indeed a baby GIRL.

We finished off our little get-away with an African-style safari in the Arizona desert, where we got up close and personal with the animals....

(this was my favorite--a very pregnant zebra, ready to deliver at any moment--it's how I'm feeling right about now!)

The giraffes were friendly....

The zebras were not...

And the tigers just wanted their food...luckily Andrew was brave enough to dole out the meat...

All in all, we had a wonderful time in Arizona!