Day 54

Wow-has it already been 54 days? Its still not halfway, but man does it feel good to type 54 instead of 24.

I just got back from a wonderful vacation to visit my parents and my sister's family in Arizona. It was long, but in a way not long enough. I could have used a few more days in the sunshine and with family before coming back to Germany. Although I think my husband will be glad to have our finances back on track now that we're home-haha.

I absolutely love it in Arizona. There's something about the mountains, the cactus and quietness of the area that calms me. We spent a lot of time seeing different things in the area-zoos, Old Tucson Studios, Tubac (arty town) and a walking/tram riding trip to Sabino Canyon to name a few.

My favorite thing to do there was visit the zoo. I LOVE that it was outside and they covered the paths with trees and different foliage. It was fun seeing the animals with Lucy. She's been to the zoo here in Germany, but its not quite the same. Instead of goats and lamas, we saw rhinos, giraffes, ant-eaters and monkeys to name a few. Lucy was facinated by the monkeys. When we first got there, one of the monkey's was talking up a storm much to Lucy and my nephew Carter's delight. He would swing around his home and hang on the fencing, chattering away. It was hard to tear Lucy away from him. She might have sat there all day if I hadn't distracted her with thoughts of the different animals she would see. I highly recommend the Reid Park Zoo.

As for Tucson itself, I love it. Its a pain to get around if you live outside the city, there are really only 2 highways in the area. You take regular street roads around town and the max speed limit on most of them was around 50mph on a good day. It got frustrating when it took 45 minutes to get to a store or sight, but worth it when you realize what a beautiful area you are driving in.

One of the neat things about Tucson is that there is art EVERYWHERE. You have to look for it sometimes, but you can't miss the beautifully decorated bridges or gardens. The park system is nice too. While I would've liked for more parks to be shaded, we found a few that Lucy loved! And the walking paths at the parks, beautiful and well maintained. Dogs are welcome at every park we were at except for Sabino Canyon (which was understandable being there was a threat of mountain lions and other natural wildlife).

All in all it was a wonderful trip. I was able to spend some quality time with my sister and her family before things get crazy with our second babies. I got some much needed Mom and Dad time to remind me how important they are to me (I've never forgotten, its just nice to be reminded how lucky I am). Lucy got to know her cousin and even taught him how to walk. Really, he was probably ready anyways, but trying to keep up with his older cousin pushed him to try harder-therefore I'll let Lucy take credit for it!

The trip was a great break in the deployment. I understand now why people do it. I wish it could have been a little longer and I'm sure everyone wishes slightly cheaper (the baby growing inside me NEEDED all those burritos, ice cream cones and Starbucks-thanks for stopping with me every time guys). It was well worth it and I hope that someday I'll get to do the same thing with both babies (plus a husband so I can show him the wonders of Arizona).

Thank you to my wonderful husband for the awesome gift. I'm grateful I was able to go and spend some much needed time with my family.

Thank you to my parents for letting us invade your house with noise, toys and chaos. (and for carting me around town to get some maternity clothes and food!)

Thank you to my sister and her husband for coming to visit. I feel so lucky that I was able to spend so much one on one time with "mister, mister" and to share a few pregnancy laughs with you. I can't believe the next time we see each other, we'll have more babies to share!!!