Arizona

Normally I wouldn't choose to go to Arizona, with me not liking the heat and all, but when you haven't seen your best friend in a while and she has a baby that you haven't met yet, you get on a plane and go for a visit!

On Saturday morning, Mom & Dad, took me to Salt Lake to catch my flight to Phoenix. Because of the wonderful hour time change, I left Salt Lake at 11:30 am and arrived in Phoenix at 12:03 pm after an hour flight! Since I was worried about flying and the anxiety that comes with navigating the airport and security, I only had a toaster strudel for breakfast. I actually did really well. I knew that when the anxiety was running rampant, I wouldn't be hungry, but on the bright side: I wasn't really sick! I thought about buying a snack to take on the plane with me, but I wasn't hungry. I should have. My stomach began growling part way through the flight (since anxiety wasn't an issue anymore) and since I was at the back of the plane, it was taking a while to get my cup of water and bag of pretzels. I looked out the window and thought, "That must be the Grand Canyon." Right after I had that thought, the pilot came on telling us that we were right over the Grand Canyon and were so many miles from Phoenix (I wasn't paying attention to the number). So I finally got a snack while flying over the Grand Canyon and seeing it for the first time from a bird's eye view. The flight was a breeze and I landed in Phoenix. Heather had come upon heavy traffic so she wasn't waiting in the airport for me but was only a few minutes and picked me up on the curb in her new car. Baby Carter was not happy that she stopped the car and was letting her know, but he quieted down once we got moving again. At this point I was starving, so we drove through Wendys to get lunch before heading to her apartment. We spent all of Saturday afternoon catching up and I got to meet Carter and help out with him. Sunday we lounged around and Heather & John taught me how to play "Play Nine" and so we played that for hours while passing Carter around. He turned out to be a good luck charm since whoever was holding him, did the best at the game. Their air conditioner stopped working and so Sunday afternoon the apartment got kind of warm, but someone was sent out on Sunday afternoon and fixed it so we had it for the hot day that I was there, Monday. Heather is a pastry chef and an amazing cook. Since I was there to help her husband with Carter (new dad and never spent time around babies), she made delicious cinnamon rolls. Then she topped the day off with delicious Parmesan chicken and rice! YUM! We watched a bit of "Sherlock" and crashed. I don't know why, but Sunday night by the time we went to bed, I was wiped. I crashed before Heather even finished doing the laundry right next to me and was so out that I stayed asleep the few times she and the baby came out to the living room. On Monday we had a slow morning and Heather enjoyed having someone to watch Carter while she got to take her time getting ready for the day. I loved it too! He was so smily and happy. In fact he was so happy that he didn't even cry when we put him in the car and he had to sit in a stopped car for a few minutes. We ran to the grocery store and then to Sonic for lunch. I must have still been on Utah time, because I got hungry before her and tired before her. (and she spends a good chunk of the night awake with the baby) We spent the rest of the day chatting, watching movies and playing with Carter. When John got home from work, we had dinner and watched a bit of "Sherlock" before going to bed. Then on Tuesday, Heather and I just stayed in with Carter all day relaxing. It was wonderful! We watched "The Fault in Our Stars" and had a wonderful day. I miss being able to sit and chat with her for hours. I'm sad she is so far away. She made her delicious spaghetti for dinner (she spoils me!) and we had one last night of watching "Sherlock", taking Facebook quizzes and laughing. On Wednesday morning (this morning), I woke up at 7 am to my phone ringing. It was my mom and Carson. They had the time difference in the other direction and thought it was 9 am. So after talking to them, I got up and started getting ready. I was so sick! Like we are talking an 8 or 9 on a scale to 10. I took tons of medication hoping that I wouldn't have any problems traveling. I played on the floor with Carter while Heather got ready and she took me back to the airport. By the time I boarded the airplane I was about a 6 and the drugs were starting to make me pretty foggy. So a lot of today has been foggy for me. It was a quick, uneventful flight and Dad picked me up at the airport. We then stopped at Farr West for a late lunch, which I didn't eat much of. I was hungry but my body didn't want me to eat very much. 

Carson was so excited when I got home. He was also quite pleased to discover that I brought him gifts. A green Arizona t-shirt and an airplane like the one I flew on. It makes airplane noises and winds up and races across the floor. He seemed pretty intrigued that I had been on an airplane like that. He also made sure to put his t-shirt on over his pajamas. It was a wonderful trip and I already miss Heather and her family! I just love them and I can't wait to see them again!

 Even when he was crying, he was cute!