ashdown get together

My parents came into town a few weeks ago for my brother's graduation. We had originally planned to go to Cancun, but planned to stay and play in Arizona because as you can imagine, money is tight for grad students! My parents were gracious enough to give up their beach vacation for the desert. Unfortunately, my little brother was not able to come down, but we did have the rest of the family together, which was great. First, we spent a few days in Tuscan, where my brother, his wife Elizabeth, and daughter Harper lives. They had planned a little day trip to an outdoor wildlife zoo. We were able to see some wild cats, humming birds, too many reptiles, and an assorted other animals adapted to live in the desert. It was hot as you can imagine, but the babies did so good in their strollers, munching on their veggies. It was fun to be able to see that there are so many animals who live here.

After Tuscan we made a trip to Sedona. I already mentioned when Ben and I made a trip up there about a month ago. It was just as beautiful as before. I loved the red rocks with the dark green trees. It is such a different climate up there, with such different scenery. We spent some time swimming, barbequing, staying up late laughing at games, eating a ton...and going to slide rock! The much anticipated slide rock. I was so excited to go. We were warned to have grungy clothes, as they would be ruined from the rocks, so we stopped at a thrift store and loaded up on grungy clothes, including some sexy Coors beer swimming suit shorts for Ben. We were just trying to fit right in with the crowd. We stuck the babies in the pack n' play on the side of the river. They loved playing with their toys (still learning how to share) and watching all the people go down the river. Come to find out, we were overly grunged out and would have been completely fine without the clothes. The water was so stinking cold, but sliding down the rock was so fun! It almost took a slip on the rock to actually get yourself in the water, or in my case Ben to hang on tight to. 

We stayed at the river for so long. The babies were completely exhausted. As you can see, Macee fell asleep in the baby carrier on the walk back to the car. It cracked me up!

We were in Sedona for two days. We spent the rest of our time together in Maricopa, staying at our place. We had a barbeque with my cousin's family and uncle. It was great for my parents to be able to see them and catch up with their lives. We swam and played disc golf. My parents were nice enough to take on both of the babies so we could go on a date. It was a much needed date. We saw Hunger Games, and completely loved it. Ben and I also planned to see the Sea Life Museum. It was really neat. There was a variety of sea life to look at. Macee really loved watching the fish, as you can tell from the picture.
The babies are finally old enough to really notice, and want to interact with each other. It was so fun to watch Macee look up to, and watch Harper. They played great together, until sharing became an issue or Macee realized I wasn't close. She's had a mamma's attachment issue lately. It is amazing to realize how different two babies can be from each other. They are five months apart and are at similar stages, but their temperament is completely different. Macee is a wild woman. She lives large, moves fast, and gets what she wants by being as loud as possible. Harper stops to breathe. She notices details, stays calm, and is content with anything going on around her. It makes me wonder how there can be such a big difference when they're cousins!

It was sad to see my parents leave and to know that the next time the family gets together will be in a long time. Brady and Elizabeth will be moving to Seattle, so planning times together will take more work and money. However, both babies were ready for their schedules to be back to normal with their own cribs. Macee had a hard time recognizing and getting used to grandma and grandpa, because as I mentioned before, she has an attachment issue to me. I think that was hard on them, but I do still know she loves them! It was much better when we could be home and Macee was in her own environment with the change of people around her. We will be seeing grandma and grandpa again in two months and I can't wait to see what stage Macee is in then. She just might be walking. I'm so glad we were able to get together and can't wait to see everyone again!