{Post 1,494} Arizona Trip

My husband, 15- (then 16) year-old son, and I went to Arizona to meet our newest family member Wednesday AM.  I had not slept the whole night before (that is an unfortunate pattern), so I was dead tired when we went to the airport.  I usually dread flying with every fiber of my being, but both flights there were so smooth and relaxing (being sleep deprived has its advantages!).

I think green is God's favorite color.  It's everywhere.  Well, except in Arizona!  Grass is a rarity there.

Here is some stitching I did on the plane.  So glad I got the manicure scissors.  They made it through 8 flights this past week.  A good $4 investment.  I did want to go around the airport and the airplane yelling, "I have scissors!"  Somehow, I was able to refrain.  (It was not easy.  My husband thought I was nuts when I told him this.)

Our reason for going was to meet our newest family member, Jeremiah.  He brought his parents to church Wednesday night.  He is 3 weeks old and weighs a little over 8 pounds.  He is the cutest newborn!!  Here they are:

We spent Thursday sightseeing in the Catalina Mountains that are in Tucson.  Then Kimi and I went to a quilt shop, where I got these goodies.  The shop is the Quilt Basket, and it was featured in the 2013 Quilt Sampler magazine.  I remember seeing it way back then and thinking if I ever went to Tucson, I'd have to check it out.  Never thought I'd be there!  I got two new patterns and two FQs for my Grandmother's Flower Garden quilt.  I will make a blossom to commemorate our trip out west.

I am eager to make both patterns.  The smaller one is a mini, with the houses finishing at 3" x 4".  So cute.  The larger pattern is a 16" Swoon block.  That one is for down the road.

Some pics from the drive that AM...

Friday we went to Phoenix for some sightseeing, shopping, and a couple meals out.  We got back to the hotel just exhausted.  I slept all night every night except last night.  We were going to get up at 3 AM to leave for the airport, and I just could. not. sleep.  It was maddening!!  The time zone there is 3 hours earlier than here, which caused us a little adjustment or a million.

We had a fun family day yesterday with celebrating our 15-year-old's birthday (my DIL surprised us with a homemade Minion cake).  So Isaac is 16 now!!  Yay!!

Sunset in Tucson...my favorite time of the day.  The city is surrounded on nearly every side by mountains.  The colors as the sun sets are stunning.  These were taken just a few minutes apart as we drove the 5 minutes back to the hotel from my son's.

We had 2 more good flights today. We arrived in Charlotte nearly an hour early.  When does THAT happen??  Now we're adjusting to life as normal.

My own life has been a whirlwind these past 3 weeks.  Tuesday I'm taking one of my sons (who lives on his own) to get his wisdom teeth out, nursing him back to health, then I'm going to try for a few days of staying at home and developing a sedentary lifestyle w/o drama, birth, death, surgery, and flying.  Oh, yes, and sleep...lots and lots of sleep.

In-flight sewing on the way from Chicago to Charlotte...

Here is the progress I made on my GFG just on the trip...much accomplished!