AZ Desert Botanical Garden

Last week a good friend of mine invited me to join her for a visit to the AZ Desert Botanical Garden.  Sara is an amazing photographer and I was so excited to be able to go out with a semi-professional and get some tips & tricks. And the bonus was a visit to the Desert Botanical Garden.

This time of year the garden is in FULL bloom.  All the flowers, trees and cacti are blossoming, the colors are magnificent.  The best lighting for outdoor photography is around dusk just as the sun is just starting to go down (at least in my humble opinion).  Fortunately the weather was absolutely PERFECT -- temperatures in the low 80s with a slight breeze.

I had soooo much fun practicing my photography and I couldn't have asked for better subjects -- they stayed still longer than my nieces and nephews.  Here are a few of the highlights of the evening



I'm definitely going to do this again.

Worse than moving in July in Arizona

At the end of February I drove up to Rexburg, Idaho to help my sister and her family move into a temporary rental.  She and her husband were fortunate enough to sell their home relatively quickly (at least in today's current market).  They are planning on moving down to Arizona and are waiting until the kids are done with school.  I offered to help with the moving and cleaning.

I really enjoyed the 17 hour drive, other than the whiteout conditions that existed between Logan, Utah and Rexburg, ID.  I actually look forward to some nice relaxing me time - plug in a good book on tape and the time goes by in a blink of an eye.

My sister had already packed up most of the house.  I just helped to do the final boxing and then the cleaning.  It was the two of us and a 3200 sq ft. home.  We worked like dogs, but we GOT IT DONE!

However, the most impressive part of the move was all the help they got from the ward to actually haul all of their stuff from one house to the other. Check it out...

And I have come to one conclusion after the entire experience...THERE IS ONLY ONE THING WORSE THAN MOVING, IN ARIZONA, IN JULY. THAT WOULD BE MOVING, IN FEBRUARY, IN REXBURG, ID.  It was sooooo stinkin' cold! The high on the day we moved was 17 degrees, everything was covered in snow and ice.   It was so cold that it was painful to run out side with things to load into the car.

** Note to self and others: Don't move in winter in Idaho or summer in Arizona.

Despite all the work to move, I made time to play with Kiki and the kids:

I'll be so happy when they all move down to Arizona...hopefully before it gets too hot.