Safford/Alpine

This past weekend we made our way to Arizona. We drove south and then headed east through Virden, awed by green fields nestled in brush-speckled hills. It was simply beautiful and calm and peaceful. If Rus could be paid to blow something up there, we'd move. :) We ate a dinner of sandwiches and chips and then moseyed the rest of the way to Safford. The minute we walked into Clint and Nicole's house our kids disappeared for the night - Bekah and Jacob ran off with Marcy and Merry and Beau claimed a big ride-in car in the backyard and guarded it from Marshall. Rus drooled over Clint's baja bug and I chatted with Nicole about her new job. It was like the good ol' days in Flagstaff...there were just five more kids in the mix.
The next day we pried our eyes open at 5:15 am AZ time (6:15 NM time), thanks to Beau, with plenty of time to play, eat breakfast, and say our goodbyes before Clint and Nicole left for work. We got all dolled up (amid Jacob's protests), to go to the Gila Valley Temple Open House. Whenever a new temple is built it is opened up to the public for several weeks before the dedication. That way non-members and members alike can see the beautiful rooms in the temple and get a better idea of what goes on there. All of the temples are exquisitely decorated, and the Gila Valley temple was no exception. I was in awe of how it could be simultaneously ornate and simple...Bekah and Jacob enjoyed it, although the cookies at the end were probably Jacob's favorite part. Bekah loved the chandeliers.
Here she is in a ridiculously fun and fluffy skirt I made her...After the temple we changed clothes and headed out for lunch with the pink haired, short cut Emilee at SuperWok, where the adults enjoyed and the kids suffered through the all you can eat buffet. Then we said our goodbyes (Rus said his "check your oil/radiator/fluids"), and headed north to Alpine. The boys slept, Bekah got car sick, I took a nap, and Rus put up with all of us.
In Alpine we met up with our favorite Hartmans (because they came): Clay and Mary, John, Tom, Dave, Stacie and their kids, as well as Stacie's parents and sister at the Mortensen Cabin. It was a completely relaxing weekend, I think because we were disconnected from everything, we were in good company, there was a tree swing that Bekah and Jacob loved, and Beau would wander off and explore. Oh and we were surrounded by chocolate, sodas, chips, and cookies. Rus and I are still detoxing from that.
Bekah and Jacob both figured out how to jump off the picnic table and onto the rope swing. It was pretty impressive.They played great together until they were just too exhausted to keep up with the niceties. Then they both would storm into the house, saying, "Guess what!! Jacob/Bekah was mean!" I finally made them both sit and hold hands and they were furious...I told them they could get up when they said something nice about each other. So in their crying, angry voices they said, "I love you!" and "Me too!" That's when I took the picture, and that's when Rus rushed them off to beat sense into them somewhere else. It was hilarious.And now because I am running out of time...here are a bunch of pictures Rus took in Alpine. He did a pretty good job, don't you think?!
Thank you Hartmans/Mortensens for the wonderful weekend!