Christmas Part II

Finally, here are the pictures from our trip to Tucson for Christmas Part II. It was a beautiful trip with lots of new sights and great people. Cassidy did wonderful on the flight despite her stressed out mom. She decided there was too much action for a nap on the plane, but handled it like a pro. Bryce and Meg met us at the airport. It was awesome to finally see them again...it had been since late June, way too long! We drove from Pheonix to Tucson catching up while Cass caught a little nap. When we arrived, the action began!

We were greeted in Tucson at Mule Power Farms http://www.mulepowerfarms.com/ with lots of familar faces and a very excited Grandma and Grandpa. Cassidy quickly made herself at home and successfully wrapped all around her cute little finger. Grandpa and Grandma gave up their beautiful trailer and moved into the bunkhouse with Bryce and Meg so that Cass, Chad, and I could make ourselves comfortable and have more room. I'm not sure you can call their trailer "roughing it". It was wondeful and spacious and when Cassidy was inside she had lots of room to romp!
She was outside a lot though. Here Uncle Bryce and Cassidy are spending some quality time with Grandpa looking on...

Cassidy had lots of great things to play with thanks to the owners of the ranch, including this great piano, high chair, pack n play, and two totes full of little toys. Their generosity was greatly appreciated, made packing much easier, and Mom a little less stressed out! THANK YOU!!Grandma Ileen keeping a close watch...and getting her baby fix Friday while Chad, Dad, Benell, John, Bobbe, and myself went for a ride in the close by Saguaro Nathional Park. Grandma Margie was more than happy to babysit and get her quality time in with Cassidy while we rode. The Saguaro was beautiful in it's unique way. Some of the barrel cactus and prickly pear cactus were just budding out, along with the cholla, but you sure didn't want to stray off the trail! Bobbe checking in on Arizona before she was off on a little ride. It's a great set-up as guests can ride into the Saguaro National Park right from camp and the neighborhood is very horse, excuse me, mule friendly with many trails and washes that are easily accessed so it's super easy to go for either a short or long ride without ever loading into a trailer.Friday night Jo and Gail invited the whole camp up to their beautiful home for a pot-luck social hosted by them and the other co-owners Brent and Rosemary. They wanted to give us time to spend just visiting and being together. It's a little tough to get every one together in one trailer and supposedly 60 degrees is still a little cool for evening dinners outside at camp. It was a wonderful night and great to finally be able to put faces to all the wonderful people Mom and Dad have met there. Cassidy was very popular and quite entertaining of course, Chad and I saw very little of her!During the dinner we were given a framed edition of Cassidy's new found fame as cover girl for Western Mule Magazine. Mom and Dad had sent in a picture for a photo contest and it was chosen as the January cover....it's great and very cute as Cassidy is sucking on Gidget's ear. We had no idea, thinking at most it would be a little picture inside with others. It was a great surprise and a wonderfully thoughtful gift. Rosemary is holding Cassidy. You can go to their website to get a better look at the cover: http://www.westernmulemagazine.com/That night when we got back to camp it was time for Christmas! Cassidy had a hard time for pictures as it was already past her bedtime, but once she was able to start opening she was good to go. She got some more great gifts on top of the trip to Arizona.Saturday Dad, Bryce, Meg, Chad, and I along with the rest of the camp headed to the Chiricahua Mountains about 2 1/2 hours east of Tucson. Mom and Ileen stayed back with Cassidy so that Chad and I could experience this amazing area. Apache chiefs Cochise and Geronimo chose this area to make their strongholds and it was obvious why. It was a very neat experience to be riding through this area with so much history, mythology, and strength, not to mention the spectacular rock formations that looked like sentrys standing gaurd over the canyon. We even saw some deer and the bottom of the canyon held many alligator juniper and hickory trees, along with some grassy areas. It was beautiful!Yep, that's Chad on a mule!Sunday started off with Dad and I getting in a quick ride before heading to cousin Joel and Sandy's home in town. Aunt Sue and Uncle Wayne were also there. It was great getting to spend some time with them. Chad hasn't seen them in over a year and they had only met Cassidy once back in early September. Maya kept Cassidy, and us, entertained and it was a very nice afternoon.That evening back at camp we just kinda hung out and relaxed, well all except Cassidy. She throughly enjoyed crawling between Benell and Grandpa on the bunkhouse porch and then discovering the grass courtyard and working on her standing skills. She also discovered leaves and even though they may taste good (?) they aren't easily swallowed....She got pretty good at standing, up to at least 45-60 seconds and you could tell she wanted to take a step...that grass was pretty lush and made a good crash pad.Monday morning, before heading back to Pheonix and Seattle, Dad treated us to a wagon ride though the neighborhood. It was a beautiful morning, a beautiful team, and a wonderful time. I love the picture of Cassidy helping Grandpa drive...
This is my favorite...
Time for one last bottle before hitting the road...Benell and Grandpa looking on, trying not to look too sad.

Every one came by to say good bye with hugs and well wishes. The weather and setting are beautiful, but it is the wonderful group of people that made it obvious why Mom and Dad choose to spend months "on the farm". I'm already trying to figure out how to get Tucker down there for a week next winter! Thank you every one for the great trip and an unforgettable Christmas Part II!