Pinetop and Tucson

Michael taught a couple of classes at a conference in Pinetop last week. Since the hotel was paid for and it's about 30 degrees cooler up there, Spencer and I tagged along.

We're getting really good at traveling with a kid! Michael had to get up early to go to his classes, so in lieu of daddy's body we made a little guard rail out of chairs.

I didn't take very many pictures on this trip. We mostly hung out at the hotel pool. We did go for a nice little walk in the woods one day. I managed to capture that moment. How long should I keep Spencer's first pine cone before I throw it away? There was a banquet the last night of the conference. Spencer was the only baby. He did a great job. Ginger went back to my parent's house while we went to the conference. The day that we left for Pinetop the air conditioner in our house broke. We decided to go straight to Tucson instead of coming home for a day in between trips. This is going to be a little round-about and random, but stick with me and it will all come together in the end. When Nick graduated from high school my mom had a little empty nest syndrome. She and my dad became a Big Couple with Big Brother's Big Sister's. Their little brother was Daniel. He was the ring bearer when Michael and I got married. Daniel and his family moved to Arkansas last December. He had been paired with my parents for 7 years. Daniel and his family were in town last week so my mom and dad had them over for dinner on Saturday.

Daniel is now taller than both my parents. Hard to believe that little brother Daniel will be getting his Driver's License next year! Daniel's real little brother, Matthew, loving on Ginger. Daniel's mom, Jennifer, Daniel and my mom. My dad has a Yalta Conference bench on the side patio. He's very proud of it and likes to show it off to guests. It took me years to not jump and gasp when I walked by the window overlooking that bench. When he first got it, their dog Geech would bark and growl at it. Seeing it here in this picture I realize that it is really creepy. But then again, the real picture was pretty creepy too.