Trip to Arizona

The third week of March, the boys and I went to Arizona to visit Grandma and Grandpa.  Brent wasn't able to join us because his cows were in the thick of calving season and they needed their midwife there to help them.

Brody was eager to go, and the night before we left he climbed in the suitcase and announced he was all ready to go!

 Brent took us to Ogden and helped us get luggage checked in, but 

I was nervous about how the plane ride would go-- flying alone with my two little ones.

Surprisingly, it went well without any hiccups on the way down.  Brody was content snacking and watching a movie, and Ryker slept most of the way.

On the way flying home, it went mostly well . . . Until Ryker pooped and I had to resort to changing him in the plane bathroom.  There is nowhere to change a baby in that itty bitty cubicle. I had to balance him on a tiny shelf with his head crammed in the corner, and he DID not like the loud whirring noise.  He screamed through it and by the time we were done, we were both sweating. 

Grandma and Grandpa were super excited to see their grand babies.   They hadn't seen Ryker since he was a newborn, and you know how fast babies change in 3 months.

Brody was thrilled that it was so warm, and we could eat outside at the restaurant.

Brody got to celebrate his birthday yet again.  More presents and more cake!

At the park by Grandma and Grandpa's house.

Walking around down town Wickenburg.

 Brody was hesitant and didn't want to get to close. Is it real or not?

Now I can't remember the name of this place but it was a Catholic Shrine with lots of cool statues in town called Yarnell.

Brody had recently watched the movie, "The Lamb of God" so he knew the story of Christ's crucifixion, and recognized the meaning of the statues. 

The frog rock.

World Wildlife Zoo in Phoenix.

I wasn't sure whether Brody would stay interested at the zoo, but he loved every minute of it.  He RAN to each exhibit and never got tired of looking at the animals. 

He would point and talk excitedly about each one.

An animal lover through and through.

We heard, "Yook (look) it's a - - - - " (elatedly) many times that day.

Riding on the sky coaster across the zoo.

Before we arrived, my dad jokingly asked Brody if he wanted to trade in his brother for a turtle from the zoo. He was mortified when my dad suggested it, but he must have given it some thought later on, and decided trading Ryker for a zoo animal sounded like an OK deal.  As we were riding across the zoo, he spotted a giraffe and said, "Mom I wanna take that giraffe home and leave Ryker here."

However, I know him and I know he would have missed his baby brother terribly.  

You can't see them very well, but we were visiting the flamingos.  Brody was trying to look like one.

Brody's all time favorite thing about the zoo was feeding the giraffes.

Ryker was a trooper and was his usual happy, content self.  He wins the best baby award. I seriously have never been around a happier, more mellow baby in my life. How did we get so lucky?

We love our Ryker boy.

Thanks for the fun visit Grandpa and Grandma!

On another note, Ryker hit the 4 month mark at the end of March.
Just a few pictures of this cutie.