Visiting Arizona

This was a quick weekend trip for the purpose of attending a baptism, but we did that and were able to fit in a lot of different activities as well. Many marvelous memories were made.

One of the things Lynelle wants to be when she grows up (along with doctor, inventor, mom and many more) is an author. She's starting her craft early and excitedly shared the original, creative and inventive antics of Fashion Franny. Her brothers like building Legos and being silly.

We went to Burger King for dinner. Lynelle has a limited list of foods she likes and doesn't care for burgers and fries, so she had a bowl of ramen before we left. That way she could spend the entire time exploring her new "house" where the "helicopter" became her bedroom! I love that after reading Rule #1 - Kids must be supervised by a happy adult - she turned to me and asked if I was happy. I was!

On Saturday we helped prepare for the "after party," attended the baptism (read about that here), and enjoyed time with family. (I'm disappointed I didn't get a proper picture of her beautiful white dress, but she wore the exact same one her mom did for her baptism. We can't forget that important tidbit of family history. Note also that Little Ceasar's cheese pizza and sugar cookies with sprinkles are on Lynelle's list of approved foods. Oh, and Nerd's Gummy Clusters.) We ended the day watching tv with the kids while their parents went on a date.

On this trip, Lynelle was particularly excited to introduce us to her new rats - Popcorn, Peanut and Sunny. I was content to keep them at a distance, but it's nice to know they are well taken care of and loved.

Guess which brother likes to hide from the camera, which one likes to ham it up, and which one is too young to know the difference?

After church on Sunday, we took Lynelle to explore the grounds at the Mesa Arizona Temple. We discovered a lot of beautiful flowers and trees, including petunias, gladiolas, cabbage and kumquats. So unique and gorgeous!

Her favorite part was running down the wheelchair ramp!

We also spent some time in the adjacent Visitor's Center. Our favorite display was the model temple on the second floor, but the favorite room was the Children's Activity Area. In particular, Lynelle was entranced with coloring a picture on the digital screen. Isn't it quite colorful?

Later we had a delicious dinner. (Lynelle ate dinner rolls; we enjoyed pot roast with our rolls.) Then it was time to head back to our hotel so they could get ready for a normal week of work and school, and we could get rested for our return flight home. Looking forward to our next visit to this special family!