Last-Minute Travel

We took a quick, last-minute trip down to Mesa this week. On Tuesday my Grandpa Barnes was admitted into a hospice care center. His prognosis doesn't look good right now, so we decided to go visit him. Within a couple of hours we were all packed up and on the road. My sister Erin and her kids were visiting my mom and dad as well, and my sister Amber came down the next day with her son and a couple of Polly's kids, so we definitely broke in mom and dad's nice new house (hopefully not literally!).

I have to say, I totally understand why people spend their winters in Arizona. It was so nice to leave behind all the snow and cold of Utah and spend a couple of days in the Arizona sunshine. The temperature got into the 70s and it was absolutely beautiful.

We visited Grandpa several times. Despite his weakened condition, we were able to talk to him and give him hugs and kisses. He wanted to see us but couldn't get his eyes open so he literally held them open with his fingers so that he could look at us. Bless his heart! As hard as it was to see Grandpa like that, he's being well cared for and doesn't seem to be suffering.

My beautiful strong Grandma

We got in another quick visit with Bill's brother Ben and his cute family. We met them at their orange grove and had a fun time visiting, picking oranges, and playing around.

Camerin and Amanda in their orange tree "fort"

Bill and Ben working hard

Taking a minute to enjoy the fruit of his labors

Camerin and Amanda set up a "popcorn ball factory" in the dirt

More dirty fun for Joshua and Tommy

Joe and CJ brought a bow and arrow and a target so we all tried our hand at archery. It's official ... I'm terrible at it. Seriously, I couldn't get a single shot to even hit the board, much less the bullseye. I'll blame it on my coach (Bill).

And here's the real reason we wanted to meet up with Ben and Erin ... to see their new baby Matthew. He's so tiny and so cute!

Once it got dark we headed to the Mesa Temple to tour the grounds and see the Christmas lights. It was definitely a different experience than freezing while seeing the lights at the Salt Lake Temple. It was nice, but I swear there were missionaries every five feet waiting to pounce! I know they're just doing their job, but seriously, how many times do I have to be asked to give a referral!

Afterward my mom hosted a New Years Eve party. To sum it up: good food, kids running around crazy blowing horns, a pinata, and ringing in the New Year at 10 pm because we're too old and tired to stay up until midnight (and we really wanted to get those kids to bed!).

Happy New Year (in New York!)

We definitely packed in a lot during our short stay. All of those pictures were taken on the same day! Yes, we spent almost as much time driving as we did there, but it was worth it. No matter what the future holds for Grandpa, I'll always be glad that we took this trip to see him.