At the beginning of the month, Darren was asked to cover a conference in Arizona and invited us to come along. After a long & dreary winter, I was excited to make plans to head to the Valley of the Sun. Darren attended graduate school in Phoenix, and it was our home for nearly two years. It was a place completely different than we had ever known, and we came to love the city and the surrounding mountains & desert, though departing upon Darren's graduation to move back to the Midwest felt as if we were returning home. Phoenix was a place full of excitement & hope as we made plans for the future and worked to achieve our goals surrounded by new experiences and new friends. We were excited to show the kids the city and share some of our favorite things about it with them. Nearly our first stop after we got off the plane was the Desert Botanical Gardens.
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| A hummingbird in the succulent garden. |
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| A Chihuly exhibit added to the desert's magic. |
Welcome to the desert, kiddos! I love the desert landscape. Driving around the city, Darren & I found our eyes drawn to every cactus and blooming tree, the mountains rising up all around us and the palm trees reaching towards the endless blue sky. We had missed this view. The kids, too, were fascinated by the plants & trees so different from what we have back home... but what they first became aware of was the heat from the blazing sun and the dryness of the desert. This, too, was unlike what they had ever known. We walked the dusty trails and searched for butterflies in the cool mist of the butterfly garden. We followed hummingbirds and watched for lizards, stopping frequently to rest in the shade and slurp cool water from drinking fountains. This was the perfect beginning to our time in Phoenix.
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| Darren & Kyrie talking with a docent in the butterfly garden. |
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| Resting in the shade. |
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| Desert quails nesting. |
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