Last Friday, V and I embarked on a big adventure. I was pretty nervous about it as the time for our departure grew near, but kept telling myself that all adventures have their difficult points on the journey ... this adventure was me taking a 1-year-old on a plane by myself, and I knew I would have challenges. We were leaving at bedtime, after all, and V had the worst cough. I would have a squirmy baby, but only a tiny space on my lap. Plus, I hate flying and get nervous at any bit of turbulence. But I also knew that the destination was worth it: Arizona, to visit the Chunglunds!
I need to explain how important the Chunglunds are. Back when I worked at SRF, Nina was one of my co-workers. We bonded over things like knitting and dogs, and when she left SRF, we stayed in touch. A short time later, we found out that both of us had applied for a planner position in Duluth. I moved to Duluth first. About the time Matt and I were packing to move north, Nina and her husband Gus had just adopted little Carlton Rover (aka Carl). I was thrilled when I later found out that Nina had also accepted a position with the City -- how lucky that I would get to work with this awesome friend again! On her first day with the City, Nina announced that she was pregnant. And within a matter of weeks, I found out that I was pregnant too ... other than Matt (of course), Nina was the first to hear of my news, and I clearly remember our whispered excitement that day in my office where she reassured me that no, my pregnancy test was NOT wrong. Our due dates were two months apart, and as it turned out, we both had baby girls. I do not know how I would have made it through the misery and uncertainty of pregnancy without Nina by my side. Working in the same office, we were able to share our daily stories of back pain and morning sickness. When Juliet was born, Matt and I watched Carl for the weekend. When Victoria was born, I was texting Nina at 5:40 in the morning to tell her the news. Here is a picture of Nina and I with our girls at Super Bowl last year (so Victoria was about two months and Juliet about four months).
This pic was also taken right before the Chunglunds moved to Arizona. Despite the allure of the frozen tundra, Nina had an offer she couldn't resist. I wanted to cry every day for a week when she told me the news, and I swore we'd remain friends despite the distance.
Here we are with our kiddos today:
They are so big, right?
We flew out on Friday night. V was great on the plane (several other passengers even commented to me about it). She only cried for about ten minutes or so right before falling asleep, then slept for about half the flight. We arrived in Phoenix, and there was Nina right at the airport waiting for us! She had even saved their infant car seat for us to use on the trip. At their apartment, I settled V into the pack and play in Juliet's room, where we were sleeping for the weekend. She had woken up enough where she tried really hard to get Mommy to play with her, but finally fell asleep ... to be honest, I was amazed she was that happy to fall asleep in a strange place. Juliet was sleeping when we arrived, and it was hilarious to see the bewildered look on her face the next morning when I emerged from her bedroom ... and, a short while later, when V woke up and a strange baby came out of her room! She called V "baby" the whole weekend, which was quite cute. These two hit it off from the start. Victoria actually played with Juliet more than I had seen her interact with any other kid. Sure, there was the occasional argument over a favorite toy, and the occasional jealousy over mommy (V would push Juliet's hand away if she put it on my leg), but overall these two had a great time together. Victoria would get excited every time Juliet came into the room. We have quite a few pictures of them in their "matching" red polka dot pajamas. Here they are playing tug-of-war with Victoria's blanket, and giggling over it:
And a few more:
The last morning there, they sat at Juliet's table together:
This is a nice action shot of them playing with blocks:
And this photo just shows V, but I love how focused she is on placing the blocks precisely where she wants them. We have the same blocks at home, and her favorite are the single blocks -- she loves to create big stacks of them.
I think my favorite moment with these two was when I was packing to leave. I gave Victoria a cup of puffs to keep her happily occupied, and she sat against the wall in the hallway. Soon Juliet wandered down the hallway with her own cup of snacks, studied Victoria, then sat right next to her up against the wall. When her mom grabbed the camera, Juliet started getting up, but right before this shot was taken they were sitting nearly shoulder-to-shoulder enjoying their snacks.
I wish I had taken a picture of Carl. He too has gotten so big, and he is such a good dog putting up with these little ones!
(no, this is not Carl)
At the savanna exhibit, Gus took this photo of me and V in front of the ostrich. He has his head down, silly bird.
There was a petting zoo. V liked the goats and thought they were funny ... but more than anything, just wanted to crawl in the dirt.
I think my favorite part of the zoo was seeing V's face light up during the carousel ride.
Both girls were exhausted after such a busy morning. Not only did they fall asleep in the car, but stayed asleep after we carried them into a restaurant for lunch! Here is V sacked out in my arms. I couldn't resist waking her when our order of bruschetta came, though. Postino is one of my favorite restaurants and I really wanted to share the experience with her.
On Sunday, we went to the Olive Mill. They make delicious olive oils, and I loved not only learning about the process, but also eating lunch at picnic tables outside under the olive trees. I confess ... on this trip I ate a lot of A) bruschetta and B) gelato and frozen yogurt. This lunch was no exception. The highlight here was strawberry balsamic gelato topped with chocolate olive oil. Nummy!
After lunch we drove to Fountain Hills, a town on the outskirts of Phoenix, and walked around a pond with the (second) largest fountain in the world. We also played at the park and stopped for coffee -- totally my kind of afternoon.
The rest of the weekend involved lots of play time, good conversation with Nina and Gus, great food both at amazing restaurants and Nina's homemade breakfasts, and even a brief outdoor swim on Monday morning.
And more bruschetta. And more gelato.
And all of it was shared with my lovely daughter. I loved spending every moment of this trip with her, sharing new foods and even simply walking around enjoying the sights and the sun. On this trip she really practiced her walking skills, encouraged I think by watching Juliet toddle around. She would stand and take 4-5 steps, and loved walking alongside me, holding onto my hand. (Also on this trip, her fourth tooth popped through.)
On Monday we were back at the airport, ready to travel back to Minnesota. The Mesa airport is awesome because it has a large outdoor area after you go through security. It was so much more peaceful to sit outside rather than by the gate ... V and I ate snacks, played (I even got to read a magazine, she was so happily entertained playing outside), and she practiced her walking by pushing her stroller along the sidewalk.
We were lucky enough to have a spare seat next to us on the return flight, and Victoria loved looking out the window ... she saw luggage being loaded, looked down on snow-covered mountains, and admired city lights as the sky turned dark.
V was such a trooper on the whole trip, going with the flow and living in the moment even when she was exhausted. Thank you, Victoria, for being such an awesome travel companion -- I know you won't remember this trip, but Mommy's memories will last her a lifetime. And many thanks to all the Chunglunds for hosting us and providing such wonderful company. You are dear friends, and it was such a treat to see how much Juliet has grown and changed -- she is a sweetheart! I look forward to watching both of these girls grow up.
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