Spring Break in Arizona

The Terry family made our annual trek to Arizona for spring break this year. We weren't able to leave until 7pm on March 31st because Karlee had dance lessons and they had a competition coming up. So with already a late start it made for a long night. And to make it even more exciting we had snow from the Utah/Idaho border until we reached Richmond, UT at 1:00 a.m. The last hour of the trip was the worst. The snow was so bad we couldn't see where we were going. I'm sure one of the reasons we survived it was that Tanner and Karlee were praying non-stop. Tanner was especially freaked out by it. Although once we had safely arrived he didn't think it was that big of a deal. Zak, was the smart one and slept through it. Needless to say, Layne went straight to bed and was out like a light. That kind of driving is so stressful. We have decided that driving at night is not worth it.

The next day we made it to Mesa around 5pm, which was just in time for the kids to get in an hour of swimming. It is so funny that as soon as we pull into the Leisure World gate everyone takes a big breath and just feels the joy of the warmth and relaxation coming our way. Karleen, Jake, Jon & Lissa were also in Arizona for spring break, visiting Ted and Kaylee. They came and sat in the hot tub with us for a little while then we all went out to dinner together.

The next day we pulled out a couple of trees that had died when the water system had broken. We didn't have to prune the fruit trees because the lack of water had kept them from growing much. So the work end of our trip wasn't too bad.

We all enjoyed going on several bike rides around Leisure World. Karlee and I took a ride around the lakes. Grandma's bike was a little big for her. It took some practice stopping. She almost went in the lake when we stopped to look at some baby ducklings. But by the end of the ride she had it mastered. The boys hit some golf balls at the driving range and we went to the movies one afternoon.

Layne and I like walking around the golf course at night. It is so peaceful and the blossoms from the fruit trees smell wonderful. On our way back to the house one night I tripped over a rope that was stretched from a tree to the ground to help keep it straight. I went down hard on my shoulder. Layne said he tried to hold me up, but it's not like I'm a little rag doll that he can just yank up. But I do appreciate his efforts to try and save me.

On Saturday they had an Easter egg hunt at the clubhouse. They had games like toss the bean bag. But they were really targeted for younger kids. But Karlee did a few of them. Then they had the Easter egg hunt divided by age group. They went from age one through 10. The one year olds took the longest. By the time they got to the ten year olds the eggs were gone in about 60 seconds. But I thought that was really neat for the community to do that for visiting grandkids.

The time went way too fast. We were only in Mesa for three days. Taking two days to drive each way really cuts into the rest and relaxation time. But eight hours a day in the car is all I can handle. Layne was stubborn and only let me drive for about and hour of the whole trip. But even when you are not driving, just sitting that long is enough to make you crazy. So I can't imagine doing it all in one day.

It is always good to get home and back to your own bed. We were so lucky to have missed one of the worst storms of the winter while we were gone. It snowed over six inches while we were gone. That is Idaho for you.