such a fine sight to see

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