I finally compiled all of the video footage from our trip to Santa Cruz for the 4th of July. It was so wonderful going back to our old stomping grounds and seeing all of our friends. New babies, new stories and new experiences for little man. He was so excited to see the beach, it was adorable. He didn’t want to leave that ocean. What I didn’t include in the video was him crying when we took him out of the water, hahahaha. I sure do miss those trees and the smell of the ocean. Miss it so much it hurts. And of course the people. They’re the best part. Love you girls (and guys!) so much. It was truly one of the best 4th of Julys ever.
My friend Heather put this photo collage together for me from the 4th. It’s the perfect example of our curious little toddler. This little 18 month old of mine is testing his limits in all kinds of new ways. He’s beginning to get easily frustrated too and wants to slap or hit. Not sure where that came from, but I guess when you have adults holding you back from doing things and going places you want to go or sticking your finger in electrical sockets or hearing “no”, you get a little upset. But more than anything, he’s just super curious. One little thing will lead to another. From dental floss and doggy doors to bathtub drains and fish bowls. His hands are everywhere. Keeps us on our toes for sure! And his little hands are starting to reach further too, including onto the stove! I felt horrible when I wasn’t on top of it one night until it was too late and he had touched a hot pan. Little boy got a small burn but it was nothing we couldn’t remedy fairly quickly with some ice packs and aloe vera. Time to start using the back burners. He’s my curious little boy and I love it. I just hope I can teach him patience and manners along the way.
Now for our day in Sedona! Our day together started around 1pm on that Saturday (after we had napped in the car for 45 minutes with the air conditioning on full blast, hahahaha). Temp was about 94 .. sun was blazing. I had read about some good trails from the girls over at Traveling Gold and thought that the Soldier’s Pass Trail / Brim Mesa Trail loop would be our best bet for scenery, plus it was “moderate”. However, we only made it about a mile in before feeling too overheated. Yeah, hiking in Sedona in July is not ideal. What were we thinking?! And this trail had so many weird twists and turns. Pretty sure we would have got lost if we would have kept on going.
Next stop was somewhere to cool off!! I knew of a little place creekside we could go to, right downtown. L’Auberge de Sedona is an amazingly beautiful resort/spa, but what’s nice is you don’t have to be a guest to visit their creekside restaurant or take advantage of the complimentary valet. Right between lunch and dinner, as they set-up for the evening rush, they open up their terrace for refreshing drinks and cheese plates creekside. You can step into the creek, sit along side it in one of their cushiony patio chairs or just lay under the trees. It was the most perfect place to cool down. We ordered a couple of cold drinks, played in the water and just enjoyed the afternoon. Perfect place to take a book, listen to the creek and eat a lot of cheese.
Last stop of our day date was dinner (duh!) – can’t go on a date without eating for most of it! I’d eaten at Elote Cafe before, and knew it would be a win for dinner. We got there before the rush and snagged a seat on the patio. I didn’t care how warm it was outside, I wanted to enjoy the view. And they had misters so it was a no-brainer (we all know how much I love misters ;)). I ordered the blood orange margarita and mole chicken enchiladas and Rob the carne asada. They home make their guacamole (amaaaazing) and vanilla bean ice-cream, all the way down to the caramel sauce! We ate so much we were in pain, haha. I literally almost fell asleep at the table (see picture below). Thankfully we went out to our car after, turned the air conditioning on high and took another nap lol .. BTW, I realized all this napping in the car, in the middle of the day with the air conditioning on full blast is not good for your car battery. It totally died on us the next day, trying to get back into Phoenix. All in all, it was a wonderful day date together. I always appreciate our little getaways and time to reconnect. As parents we’re finding how important it is to schedule dedicated time together, just us!
We just got home from a weekend in Cottonwood. It was one of the most tiring weekends ever for some reason. Don’t get me wrong, it was a wonderful weekend, just a lot of things to make us here parents tired. The minute we got to Cottonwood, our family took over (I love you all so much!) and let us escape to Sedona for the day. I’ll post more about that later, but the moment in this exact picture delighted my soul. Sedona was breathtaking, all day. Even in the 90s, the landscape was alive. So lush and green. I forgot how colorful the Sedona mountain ranges are. Driving back from our day together, looking over the yellow fields and ponds, watching the sun set behind the mountains as we made the 30 minute drive back to Cottonwood, was really special. In that moment I was so thankful for the hidden treasures of Arizona and for my life. For health and for all the goodness in people. I had the windows down, my arm on the window sill, the sun on my face. We drove that freeway in complete, beautiful silence, with such a common peace between us. It was like our souls were floating together in that drive. I know that sounds ridiculously corny, but it’s these moments I will remember forever. A day getaway together in the Arizona desert sun, just enjoying each other’s company and the splendor around us.
A friendly photographer took this photo of Jace over the 4th. And. I’m. going. to. frame. it. It’s the most perfect picture of Jace and his favorite thing on this planet. His blanket. And those blue eyes. Can’t handle it.