Fun in sunny Arizona

I not so secretly want to move to Arizona so any chance I get to return there I TAKE IT! One of my dearest friends Charlene, aka Chuck, got married and I was asked to part of the wedding line. (To think our friendship started in the BYU-Idaho cafeteria over Swiss cheese...) My old roommate, and fellow special education major, Anna also lives in the Phoenix area so I asked if I could stay with her for the weekend. Anna has a son who is Rosalee's age so her life is just as crazy as mine which is nice because then I don't have to worry about my kids being in the way. Much to Rosalee's protest only Zeke and I went to Arizona this time though. Jesse and Rosalee went to Utah and stayed with my sister-in-law while we were gone so Rosalee could play with her cousins. Thankfully the flight from Salt Lake to Phoenix is short so Zeke slept the entire time. I (like always) was nervous the entire flight but I had nice people next to me who talked to me and kept my mind off of being terrified. (I love to travel but DO NOT like to fly!)

When we landed in Phoenix it was 6 pm but it was 20 or so degrees warmer than Idaho. I was excited that we had to wait on the curb for my friend so I could enjoy the heat. As you can see, Zeke didn't mind the heat either!

Again I didn't take a picture with my friend Anna, but at least I kind of got a picture of her son Braden. It was 100+ every day (FABULOUS!) so Braden filled up a pool for him and Zeke to play in. Zeke liked splashing in the water but didn't enjoy getting splashed. I was nervous to have him outside so much because his tender skin has yet to see some real sun.

On Saturday the 5th Charlene and Jose were married in the Mesa Arizona temple. It was a beautiful ceremony and thankfully Zeke behaved for Chuck's sister while I was inside. But good tempers don't last long... he was tired, thirsty (It was 106 degrees), and over it. So I turned him around to spare the world the face of an angry kid.
After the wedding we had a luncheon at the church and then I put Zeke down for a nap. During that I got to talk with some of Charlene's family and friends. Right before we took the pictures I decided to reapply my deodorant because I didn't want to be the smelly one. I wasn't thinking about the heat because I had left my make-up bag in the car.... When I grabbed my deodorant I opened it and a gush of white liquid sprayed ALL OVER my black skirt! I had 10 minutes to clean my nasty self up before the pictures so I pretty much panicked. By some miracle my skirt came clean and all was well in my world. I also felt better when I found out that Chuck's step sister's phone battery broke because she had stuck it down the front of her shirt during the pictures at the temple. Apparently boob sweat will break your phone. Who knew?

You know you think we're sexy!

The ladies

The bridesmaids with the happy couple

Showing Jose some love

The reception was decorated very elegantly and the food was fabulous. They had meatballs the size of a golf ball that Zeke and I enjoyed devouring. Zeke also entertained a few people with his upside down crawling and spinning on the floor. A Michael Jackson song came on and Zeke went crazy rolling and crawling all over the place. Some older man asked me how I taught my baby to break dance and it made me laugh out loud. Zeke fell asleep and while he slept, I danced the night away! Jose's dad takes the cake on best dancer though. He is outgoing and crazy- it was amazing! Charlene is going to enjoy having him as a father-in-law.

Good ol' traditions

I had to get one more picture of Chuck and me before the night was over.

Normally I can't do my hair and have it turn out cute. But to my surprise I got it to look EXACTLY how I wanted it to for church on Sunday!

While in Arizona Zeke perfected the army crawl! Anna's sister in law is from Brazil and I'm not sure if it was her beautiful dark hair and skin or the Portuguese she spoke, but Zeke was in LOVE. He would crawl all around the room after her and to her if I put him down. Then back at Anna's house he found some balls that he decided were fun to chase around the house.

I decided to stay an extra day in Arizona so I could go out to dinner with my cousin Bridget. Okay so it was partially her and partially because I didn't want to return to 65-75 degree weather... but I fly stand-by so I can do what I want! I went to a Thai restaurant with Bridget and her fiance Josh in Gilbert. Zeke ate yellow curry chicken and rice and was a happy baby. Josh also did a great job of keeping him entertained so I could eat and talk with Bridget.

Double bonus of staying late was that I got to see my friend Cory (from choir in junior high) before I left. He saw on Facebook that I was in Mesa and told me that he lived there. So after dinner with Bridget I went out to dessert with him and his wife. I had red velvet cake for the first time and was told that they use beet juice to color it red. (If beets tasted that good in Russia I would have stayed!) Zeke liked stealing Cory's glasses, spilling ice water all over my lap, and eating cream cheese frosting. If you ever go to Gilbert you must stop by Liberty Market and eat some cake!

Sadly I returned to Utah on Tuesday and froze while they turned on the air conditioning. (It was only 75 outside!) I did miss Rosalee and Jesse but I am even more convinced that the Phoenix area is the place for me. I keep looking for jobs there and praying that I can end up there. If you like me, you'll do the same!