Family Trip to Arizona

My husband, Jim, and son, Bear, and I were lucky enough to spend a week in Arizona at the beginning of August. We went to spend time with grandparents, our nephew and brother and sister-in-law. Since photography is my hobby as well as my profession, my cameras are never far away...

We flew into Phoenix, said hello to the Saguaro cacti (one of my favorite plants) and drove to Flagstaff, about two hours away.

Once in Flagstaff, we settled into our family home at the Forest Highlands Golf Club (my in-laws love to golf!). Bear and his cousin immediately began to play. And play. And play.

Jim and I took a day trip to Sedona. The scenery was incredible; the city was charming. The highlight was our visit to Amitabha Stupa & Peace Park in the Verde Valley. For Buddhists, mindfulness meditators (me) and non-meditators (my husband) alike, the Stupa is an inspiring place to be quiet in nature with other people.

When back at Forest Highlands, my MIL treated Jim and me to a cooking class at the Canyon Clubhouse. Executive chef Keith Dary showed the class how to make seared mahi mahi salad with vinaigrette and butterscotch pudding. After the demonstration, the entire class sat down together and feasted on our preparations. The meal was delicious and the company quite jovial after a few glasses of wine!

On our last full day in town, we took the kids to the Grand Canyon Deer Farm in Williams, Arizona. This place is amazing. There are too many deer to count as well as an assortment of other animals including camel, wallabys, and marmoset. The adults and kids were fascinated by the wildlife. We all enjoyed feeding the deer and got a kick out of the eclectic souvenir shop. Each child went home with a noisy toy horsey to remind us of our fun.