the sunshine state

with justin gone about 3 weeks during the month, i've been looking for ways to escape the lonlines. last month i used his time away to visit my sister in arizona. she just had a baby in december then came to vegas right after, so this was my first time seeing her at home [my second time seeing her]. technically, natalie is the first zobrist girl born [not that the other two aren't loved; but this is the first one that has our zobrist girl genes in her. so watch out boys in 2030, natalie campbell is going to have some massive boobies] and it's fun to see how much she looks like my sister.

not a fan of crackers

let me say this, i love anna but she is not my favorite sister. she has been known in the past as my arch-nemesis due to some unsavory, terrible-sisterly things she has done in the past [flowers in the bathtub, convincing me to take blame for her, tattling on me, tricking me, beating me up- to name a few] but we still have a great time despite our past battles. she has two boys who are even more wild and crazy then landon - and he absolutely adores them. i can confidently say they are his favorite cousins. they had video games [which are banned from my house - he didn't even know what they were], a trampoline, a dog [well, a semi-dog. she has a death scare while i was there then died after i left- thank goodness. i don't do feelings. ESP for animals], and a whole room full of little legos. talk about boy heaven! they run wild, had weapons, costumes, treats- it was landon's paradise. and my nightmare. natalie and the youngest boy have six years between them so anna has forgotten how to baby proof. she'll relearn fast enough!

thank goodness for my swagger wagon! it fit all 7 of us! look at porter hamming it up for the camera. on the first night, landon sleep-rolled under the crib and the boys thought it was hilarious so he tried to recreate it several times. and here landon and nick are dressing up with my aunt gert in the background.

on our first day there we went to visit the zoo. it was a holiday so the boys had school off [and so did the rest of the state- but luckily a zoo is so big you don't notice the giant crowds. plus we got there early, by the time we left at lunchtime it was getting more crowded]. the az zoo was the first one i had ever gone to so it has a soft spot in my heart - and it was nothing like i remembered. we all had a blast! some highlights- monkeys swinging on trees, a giant 'spider' web made from rope the kids climbed, 'milking' the cow [water came out], the petting zoo, the paddle boats we saw [and landon keeps insisting we are going back for those with daddy], a zebra- white with black stripes, and some delicious snacks of course!

the second day was more chill. we ran to kneaders for breakfast. apparently anna's part of arizona is mini-provo [near the new gilbert temple]. this was great news to me because i had been craving the kneader's french toast! we later grabbed some sandwiches and picked nick up from school and hit the coolest park! arizona sure knows how to make them. it had a giant 'barn', a zip line with a chair, a swing with a chair, tons of seating - and all covered! vegas could learn a thing or two. porter loved the swing!

the boys playing video games - porter swinging - porter unsure of natalie - the mesa temple

the next day anna watched the boys so i could go to the temple. thankfully i called before and figured out the [close] gilbert temple was closed so i went to the mesa one. how beautiful! since it's so old i didn't think it would be so ornate but man was it big and beautiful! again vegas, get your act together. that afternoon we picked the boys up early from school and went to a kid's museum. it was a huge hit! they had a great toddler zone, a fun big kid zone, and the wendy's bbq salad i got was so good i'm still thinking about it.

porter happy shaking a tube - landon riding a horse in his gear - our construction workers - porter and noah hard at work. 

our beaver boys - porter in a tube. there's also a video of me squeezing in that tube. nothing makes you feel giant like SQUEEZING into a tube made for kids. fisherman landon [he is really excited to camp and fish with daddy this summer]. these pics are out of order- from our drive home. a stop at bk and landon getting comfy in the backseat.

our last night there we met my aunt suzie for dinner at macayos [of course!]. the kids were insane and our waitress was new but we had a great time! a balloon artist even came around making the kids things - it was a great ending to a great trip! i hadn't been to arizona in so long and even though she isn't my favorite sister, i still love her and we have a great time together.

but really, i'm not coming again anna until you can guarantee no dogs are going to die. bc i don't do feelings.