We have reached the desert! The land is flat and dusty. The sky is blue. People grow cotton. And we can go outside without jackets.
Tonight is the last night of our time in Arizona where we got to visit with my sister Mary’s family. The thing I looked forward to the most was getting Autumn together with her cousins. There have been a few challenges, mostly to do with the need to share and hitting when sharing wasn’t happening, but overall it has been awesome.
We all had a great day at the Goldfield Ghost Town. It was a cheap, entertaining place to visit and really beautiful next to Superstition Mountain. The kids enjoyed dressing up as cowboys, watching a gunfight, and exploring the different places in the town. That night we went to San Tan Flats to eat “cowboy food” (as my sister called it). This ended up being burgers, potato cakes, and an awesome margarita. Everyone lit fires in barrels and listened to a guy sing country music. Very fun place to dine outside!
We also had fun around the house. Mary taught Clayton and I how to make espresso on her machine and we have had tasty lattes every morning (and most afternoons too). We also made a “volcano” for the kids by combining mentos and diet soda. This is something Autumn has looked forward to for a long time. It was a brief explosive volcano experience, but a lot of fun. Tonight we made a fire in their backyard firepit and ate s’mores. Bonfires are always fun, especially when none of the 6 children get burned or their eye poked out.
Thanks Broussards for letting us crash your house and relax with you these last couple of days!

It’s been a hectic few days here. With all the snow and ice making the roads crazy we had to delay picking up our car from the port. Today was the last day we could get it without incurring additional fees. Clayton and dad headed to Pier 18 this morning at 7:30am to make an attempt. Fortunately the temperature rose to 34 degrees, which meant that the ice had begun melting on its own and the salted roads were completely passable. They made it safely to the pier to get the car.





