A great visit home

We had a breathtaking trip home and as always we wish we had additional time. We felt a bit like global nomads as we stayed with various family, friends, Uncles, Aunts, and cousins but it was great to see them – and even greater that they made such an effort to care for us (even giving up their own beds – that was much appreciated Shayne, Efrain, Ted, and Maggie). In each place we were surrounded by lots of love and Zee along with Vanessa and I enjoyed all the extra attention we were extended. (To view a plethora of photos from the trip click here)

We spent our first few days staying with our good friends and making reconnaissance missions to see Vanessa’s step mom, my sister and Zee’s cousins before heading up North to spend a few days with my parents in beautiful Prescott. After eating the best homemade Mexican food at the Eagles Nest (aka my parents place) in the Southwest we then made our way North to Lake Powell.

We spent about four days on a house boat on beautiful Lake Powell which spans Arizona and Utah. What a magical place. There were ten of us on the large boat equipped with stove, kitchen, appliances and A/C. It was even equipped with a slide on the back of the boat which provided lots of entertainment. My brother-in-law also had his ski boat which made for some pretty amazing wake boarding at sunset. We explored canyons, swam, and relaxed. Our last night on the lake was interesting as a storm blew in and gave our boat pretty good shaking. The boat radio was quite busy as fellow boaters radioed in for help as they were knocked into rocks by the strong winds in the dark of night. Mayday was the word of the night. Fortunately for us we had anchored in well and suffered no damage. It was a great way to spend a week with family in one of the most attractive places in the world.

After our boat ride we caught some shut-eye at my parents nest in Prescott, AZ and stopped by to visit Vanessa’s sister and brother-in-law which included more of Zee’s cousins before continuing on to Mule Creek, New Mexico, a small town near the AZ border with a population of about 100 people. Billy the Kid, of Western gun fighter fame, used to hide out here and his little shack still stands and is within walking distance of Vanessa’s parents abode. It is a very quiet and picturesque place with not much to do but relax in a hammock, read, hike, and watch the hummingbirds feed (just what the body needed). We were joined there by Vanessa’s brother and wife and their son Ryder from San Francisco who is not much younger than Zee. It was nice to for the boys to catch up We threw a nice pre-party for Zee’s upcoming 1st year old birthday this Sunday

After the trip we drove back to Phoenix where we stayed with Vanessa’s good friend who is planning on getting married in December (which means we will be back) and they had lots to talk about in regards to the big day. Our final day was spent at my sister’s house and my parents, and Uncle Max came down to visit. Zee was passed from one loving relative to the other and he wore an adult sized grin the entire day. The day was filled with lots of coffee, great food, family and interesting conversation – the kind of days I long for.

Did I tell you we even went house hunting??? More later.