Back in Arizona!

No lies, that was the fastest 6 weeks of my life.  I can't believe it's already over.  I was really broken up over it the last week I was there.  But how do you tell your husband that you've been gone 6 1/2 weeks, and if you could, you'd stay another 2?  Well, clearly I told him, and I think overall we got a laugh, but really it was time to go home.  (Also, my sister-in-law is getting married on Monday, and they already bought my ticket to the wedding from Phoenix, so there was no point in trying to stay...).

It was exactly what I needed.  I love Fairbanks during the summer, even when it rains most days (frankly, you don't see a lot of rain in Phoenix, so that was kinda a special treat in and of itself), and I really love spending time with all the family.  I actually stayed at my in-laws mostly, but spent many of the days with my family.  I'm so grateful that they are willing to share my time without making me feel guilty at all.  It makes the whole trip so fun without any guilt or stress.  I loved having people to talk to during the day, I loved the cousins and aunts and uncles Clara got to spend time with, and I really loved being able to walk outside without melting.

Clara learned so many new things from spending time with her older cousins and aunt and uncle.  She is talking WAY more, she seems (at least at this point) more willing to share, and in general she picked up some great big kid habits.  I wish I could promise I was headed back next summer, but at this point we just don't know yet.  But I'm hoping my mom and family will come down in February or March to visit US, which would be super fun (and, frankly, that's totally the time of year to get out of Alaska and come to warm Phoenix!).

Now back to real life!  Ok, mostly. As I mentioned, we are actually headed back on a plane on Saturday to go to Salt Lake for Kaitlyn's wedding, and then we get back on Tuesday morning.  And then 6 weeks later we're having a baby... so who knows what "real life" will be after that.  I'm in the process of trying to deep clean the house and getting things organized before little Lucy makes her appearance.  But the next few weeks are full of anticipation and excitement (despite the 112 degree weather... yuck), so I'm sure they will go by quickly!!