Arizona

When the Grand kids turn 10, Grandma and Grandpa take them to a place in Arizona called Beaver Creek.  It was finally Cameron's turn.  He was really excited.  I wasn't sure if he would enjoy himself and even be OK to stay there so I decided to tag along and stay with the girls in Show Low so that if Cameron had any trouble I could be close by.  I should have known he would do great and not need me at all. The girls and I had fun hanging out in the city for a few days before heading to Show low.  We visited the new Gilbert temple.  We have been able to watch the progress of this temple each time we go to visit Ted and Alison so it was exciting to see it finally finished.  

 It was really hot and the girls were certain they would melt. They had fun at Aunt Noelle and Uncle Kurt's house.  We spent Sunday there and the girls were having so much fun with Kennedy and Olivea that they decided to sleep over.  I was able to go spend some time with my friend, Michelle while they played with the Fisher's.

On Tuesday we headed to Show Low.  I had no idea how beautiful it was there.  Grandma and Grandpa have a place there so we could stay and be in the cooler weather while we waited for Cameron.

 I surprised the girls with a horse back ride in the mountains.  They were so excited to be able to steer the horsed all by themselves.

 We rode through the mountains and through a little river.  It was beautiful and the girls were in heaven.  We went around a lake.

 These two little ladies LOVE horses.  They begged me to go back the next day so we went again just to pet the horses.

 One day we spent up in Snowflake, Arizona.  We visited the temple and drove around looking at old pioneer homes.

 We went to the cemetery and found the grave of John Hunt, one of Dave's ancestors.  His headstone says that he served as bishop for 31 years.  What a great example of service.

 On Friday we drove up to Beaver Creek to surprise Cameron on his last night.  The drive was beautiful.  I had no idea Arizona had such beautiful mountains.  It rained most of the time which just made everything so much prettier.

 Cameron was surprised and happy to see us and we were happy to see him.  He had a great time and loved introducing us to everyone at the ranch.  He showed us the snake that Garret caught.  He rode horses two times a day and participated in the rodeo on the last day.

 This is the main cabin where he ate his meals.

 Cameron and Garrett in front of one of the log cabins.  The names in between them are all of the cousins who have visited Beaver Creek before them.

 This is the guy who runs the ranch.  He played cribbage with Cameron every night.

 with Grandma and Grandpa at the entrance to Beaver Creek.

 This is the little cabin where Cameron, Garrett and Grandma and Grandpa stayed.

 After we left Beaver Creek we visited the Petrified Forest National Park. It was very different but very beautiful.  I am certain that dinosaurs once roamed this area.

We stopped at Bearizona on our way home.  It was a really cool place.  You drive through this park and see Bears, wolves, buffalo, big horn sheep and all kinds of other animals.  We thought it was really cool because when we were driving through a wolf peed on our tire.

We were happy to be home and glad that Cameron had such a great time.