arizona in april

noa and i travelled to arizona to defrost, visit family and friends, and experience a little county fair. i was so excited to leave the cold and enter the warm or hot even. the first two day were devestatingly disappointing as a cold front moved in and the temperature was in the 70's. but it turned around quickly, and i enjoyed a few days of 90's. where to begin.... mimi spoiled noa right off the bat. she took her to the grocery store sprouts and bought her everything in the store- just in case she might have a craving for this or that etc. she also introduced her to a snack cup, and it didnt take noa long to figure it out and become quite attached. lola played really well with noa, and noa even says lola (which has to be one of the funniest things to see and hear- her tongue sometimes fogets to stop and comes out lolalolalolol). she really fell in love with rhett, though. she loves babies, and maybe she realizes she is bigger. well, actually, he is technically bigger even though he is 9 months younger. he must seem like a big teddy bear to her because she couldnt stay away from him. and you can understand her because rhett man is so smiley and cuddly, you just look at him and he laughs. then there is mimi's hopped up, chromed out, and strobe lights underneath golf cart, which noa could not get enough of. it would be an understatement, to say noa loved riding in the golf cart. we went to the county fair, where i showed pigs and dairy cows for nine years. it was easily one of my favorite experiences as young person. i could write a book about milking cows at dawn, fresh upside down lemonade, water gun fights, fair crushes, the annual dance, cleaning pins, washing pigs, clipping cows, boys roping girls as they walk by, green sweaters, showmanship, testing the rides for the "carnies", kissing behind the barn, holding hands on the ferris wheel, and all the people. so, my expectations were high and naturally disappointed. the fair grounds seemed a bit dead, but some things never change. i probably knew half of the people there, maybe more, maybe less. noa enjoyed all the sights, sounds, and smell of course. she most enjoyed a little train ride with dawn, lola, and grace. she was so stimulated, she took a nice nap in the afternoon in the shade in her stroller near a picnic bench across from the indian fry bread. the days grew hotter, so we headed the fountain on main and cooled off. noa fell in love with papa and mimi. she was fixated with my dad. she would say papa papa papa and look for him. she followed him, wanted to sit in his lap, go outside with him. she definitely likes her papa. but her and mimi had a few laughs as well. and if we had stayed one more day, i think she would have preferred her over me. the night before we left, we got to see jeff and monica. they were busy all with the fair as she is the lamb superisor. we saw them in the fair of course as well. they took noa and i out for dinner at a very cool restaurant, and the food was delicious. it had an aquarium and flamingos outside. the restaurant is next to the wildlife zoo, and it was great to see little ben and grace again. noa did not take her food this time, so no tears were shed- only silly grins and smiles. and i must not forget to tell you about my lovely saturday. as facebook takes over the world, i decided to test the waters recently by just barely dipping my toes. it turns out that is enough to be sucked in. for efficiency purposes, i wrote on my wall when i would be in arizona. well, a friend from college who also happens to be from az but currently lives in colorado saw my note. this friend realizes i will be in az during her baby shower so she invites us. naturally, noa and i are not the type to turn down an invite that involves baby shower games, good food, and socializing with old college friends. well, the day did not exactly go as planned. it will suffice to say that my day involved getting lost in a hummer in the middle of nowhere while low on gas, and noa removing the cell phone from my bag and putting it in my friend's bag, and finally a three hour round trip drive in the hummer with a hungry and restless baby to retrieve the cell phone.