happy happy mother's day! we are home now, from our four day road trip. chuck and i were discussing, as we (he) drove the many long miles there and back, why do some trips feel as though you've been away many more days than you actually are? it must be the amount of activity or perhaps even more true, the emotion in those moments...
we began in california, our home. our first destination was joshua tree, where we spent one night
took one long hike
and had a nourishing breakfast before heading further east
desert sights
crossing the colorado river into...
arizona!
we are headed to tempe
to ASU - arizona state university
welcome to the 2013 undergraduate commencement!
to see my youngest son graduate!!!
the tears started first when he text me a photo two weeks ago, a picture of himself in his cap and gown...
THAT'S MY BOY!
congratulations graduates!
my eldest and youngest sons (missed you erik!) ((my middle son is in nyc)
my boy kyle, me, jacob the graduate! and nicole
we took a zillion photos, i wondered if the camera could see my heart exploding with so much pride and joy
there was a lot of this, cheers! congratulations jacob michael, my son, now a college graduate. oh sigh.
the next morning, while the kids were at the pool, i googled yarn stores. only twelve minutes away, was tempe yarn!
i walked
yipee!
temps were in the high ninety's, so it was back at the pool for us too
and later in the day, the desert botanical garden in phoenix
we saw a cactus wren
amazing cactus displays
cute critters
and a funny roadrunner
next day, leaving tempe (still tears, is it ever easy to leave your children?)
we took the long way home, heading north first, towards flagstaff
and took another early morning hike
to agua fria national monument
can you see what's on these boulders?
hee hee, good camouflage tiny toad
can you see chuck too? we climbed all over these rocks and through the canyon
to see what we could see, but mostly to find this rock art. here there are over eighty six individual petroglyphs, which are symbols that were pecked into the rock surfaces with hammer stones. native american people have lived in this area for at least 2,000 years.
we spent three hours, by nine o'clock the temperatures were already nearing triple digits, so we were on our way once again
a stop for breakfast
a sudden rainstorm!
back across the colorado river
welcome to california
we drove along watching this train for many miles, as it made its way forward, all along thinking about my young sons future and all it holds for him.
thank you husband for all you give me, and thank you for coming along, it is always such a pleasure.
xxx lori