Arizona and Utah 2013

Last week we took a trip to see family in Arizona and Utah. We were gone for 10 days. Ryan and I were a bit nervous about the length of driving time we would have to endure with a 6-month old baby. But we figured there's a first time for everything! We left on a Thursday afternoon (my mom came down that day to help watch Maya while I scurried around getting everything ready - thanks Mom!) and drove the 14 hours to Phoenix. Ryan was awesome. He must turn into some sort of machine while he's driving. He made it to 4 AM before he needed me to take over. And Maya. Our dear sweet Maya. She slept just as if she were in her crib. It was nice to realize we had nothing to fear regarding the drive.

Maya took her morning nap on Grandpa Berne one morning so I could take a shower.

Ryan's mom and stepfather own 2 Great Danes named Penny and Sam. They are basically ponies. Maya was very curious about them.

Maya has started sticking out her tongue a lot. I think she likes feeling those little teeth.

Ryan's Grandma was so sweet with Maya. 

Maya got to interact with all sorts of kinds of dogs on our visit!

I love this picture. 

Maya went swimming for the first time! We weren't sure how she would react since she hates baths so much, but she could clearly tell the difference. The water was a great temperature, and she just loved splashing and swimming with us!

She was so happy! I'm sure this was her favorite part of the whole week. I'm glad we were able to swim 3 of the days we were there!

Cute little splashing baby!

I told Ryan we need a pool in our backyard. Surprisingly, he said no.

Maya also got to meet her 101-year-old great-great Grandma. Seeing them interact was precious.

She loves sharing our water.

We had to run to Target to get Ryan something and we saw this suit and sunglasses. How could we resist?? Right before I took the picture Maya stuck her little leg out. This girl knows how to pose already!

Oh that tongue....

She loved the wind chimes! 

We were in Phoenix until Tuesday night. We left after dinner (about 7:30) and headed to Salt Lake City to see my side of the family. Driving through the night again was a little bit more difficult the second time, but we made it in one piece. We arrived at my grandma's home around 7:45 AM. Ryan had done most of the driving again, so we all took a day to recover.

I came back into the room and saw this. Haha!

At Papa and Sessie's house we spent a little time outside. Sessie was surprised that Maya didn't recoil her bare feet from touching the grass.

We had a lovely time at Papa and Sessie's.

Maya liked to spend a little time with Grandpa every morning.

The day before we left we invited all of the family close by to come hang out. Everybody came, minus just a few cousins (who we missed!). I was so glad that people took the time out of their day to come see us. This is Maya and Colton, my cousin's little boy. Maya had her first sharing experience. I think she did all right. :)

We drove home on Sunday. Maya did great driving during the day, too. We are so glad we had the opportunity to take this vacation! We loved seeing everybody and can't wait to do it again!