Farmland

Has anyone seen this trailer for the upcoming documentary, Farmland yet? I discovered it last fall and I immediately showed it to my Dad. I don't think he's ever been more interested in an online video. In a day when it seems like so much of the mainstream media has negative views (or perhaps just aren't knowledgeable) about farmers and what they think they do, it's incredibly refreshing to see a film that seems to portray how hard these men and women work everyday, and how most of them are doing it because they are passionate about their jobs. My dad has had some great success as a hog, corn and soybean farmer, but the amount of work he's put into the job every single day of the year for 50 plus years is something that I am still in awe of.

This film doesn't debut until spring, but I cannot wait to see it. I may just have to wait a bit longer though; if it ends up being as amazing as the trailer looks, seeing it with my Dad would be pretty special.

It's That Time Again...

The weather is bliss right now in Arizona. Cooler nights, which create a cozy feeling. Perfect 75 degree temps during the day, which allow us to be outdoors. With the beautiful weather, we're able to engage in one of our favorite family activities...hiking! Aliyah has been asking to go hiking for quite some time now, so we decided to take the whole family to Papago Park.























Sebastian gathered all the materials needed for a picnic lunch. I packed up our running stroller and we took the drive down to South Scottsdale and spent a few hours enjoying nature right in the middle of the city. I love Papago Park. The views are incredible and it always amazes me how such incredible hiking is right in the middle of the city. One of my favorite things about the Phoenix/Scottsdale area is that you don't need to travel far to hike up a mountain and get some great views.

This was Isaac's first hike, and he was pretty much the same, calm, relaxed baby that he always is. This kid has such a happy, content personality. Aliyah was an incredibly easy baby, but Isaac is even more so. Sebastian and I often kid that his two's and three's will be abnormally terrible, because it seems too good to be true right now. Let's hope we're wrong on that prediction.

All in all, it was a great family hike. We're looking forward to spending lots more weekends out exploring nature until the heat comes back in May.

Montezuma Peak

This past weekend we met up with a good friend of Sebastian's who has been in the Tuscon area for a couple of weeks training for the National Reserves. I may be wrong on that exact title...but I know it's something close. Jon was in the Army for about 4 years and is currently working in the D.C. area. He and Sebastian have been friends since high school and was also one of our groomsmen in our wedding.

When Jon invited us to come down and visit, we didn't hesitate. We all arrived on Saturday late afternoon and stayed the night in Tuscon. Then got up early on Sunday and made our way to the quaint, historic town of Bisbee, Arizona. With a toddler and two men in tow, I couldn't really do much shopping, but  I caught glimpses of so many neat shops that I would love to make the trip down there again just to look around some more.

We had breakfast at a great little place called The Breakfast Club. The service was up to par with Minnesota nice and the food was pretty tasty too.

From there Jon then took us to Montezuma Peak. It was absolutely breathtaking.





This time we took along the hiking backpack for Aliyah, which turned out to be a good idea. When Jon told us about the hike up to the top of peak I wasn't expecting the it to be so steep. I'm sure that making it to the top would have been much more time-consuming had we not Aliyah strapped to Sebastian's back. And even though Aliyah did whine a bit while in there, the view at the top was well, well worth it. 





Miles and miles of beautiful land. Some of it the U.S. and some of it Mexico. Simply stunning.



This image below fascinates me because in the middle of the photo, the straight black line is actually the immigration wall on the border of the U.S. and Mexico. It seemed a bit surreal that we were so close to such a controversial piece of land and to realize and even wonder with dismay how something so beautiful could be such a cause of turmoil for so many people. 

If there is one thing I have learned from living in Arizona a short while, it's that this state does not disappoint when it comes to nature.

Weekend Getaway

Sebastian and I decided to take a weekend trip with Aliyah up to Northern Arizona. Making the decision to do this on Wednesday afternoon, we quickly found that almost all of the area's cabins were booked solid--many until mid-July. We finally lucked out and were able to book a nice little cabin nearby Strawberry, Arizona.

My hope was to see some scenic landscapes on our trip and going North did not disappoint. Some of the views on the drive there are absolutely stunning. Perhaps the most beautiful part was our hike to Tonto Natural Bridge State Park. It was gorgeous. It's incredible to think that such a lush forest of trees and plants is only two hours away from the heat of Scottsdale.

We stayed at a place called The Cabins on Strawberry Hill, which had individual cabins on the property, along with grills, a small playground and some additional outdoor activities. Our cabin was quaint with a small little porch out front and just enough rustic charm to feel like we were getting away from the hustle of everyday life, but not completely away from it all. (Germany was playing a big soccer match, which Sebastian had to watch and there was wi-fi, which allowed me to check Pinterest, facebook and Instragram, so you can see how we couldn't quite "rough-it" too much.) We took in an evening concert in Payson, and also found a spot in the same city where the food was so delicious and the service so nice that we went there twice.

Aliyah had a great time and did pretty well on the hike with a mix of walking some parts herself and then being carried for some parts. She still loves to be outside, as well as with Mom and Dad. I think her favorite part may have been when she realized she was "helping" me pack up the car to go home on Sunday morning. We took a lot of trips back and forth to the truk (trunk) to make sure everything was in its place.

Next spots on our Arizona travel list are Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon. Taking trips like that make me realize just how much beauty there is in nature that I'm unaware of. A thought that is very much inspiring to me.

Saturday Evening Hike

One thing we've discovered in the short time that we've lived in the Tempe/Phoenix area is that there is no shortage of gorgeous parks and trails. On Saturday we decided to explore Papago Park, which we found was only about 10 mins away from where we currently live. I'm always surprised at how such huge rock formations are set right in the middle of most of the cities in the Phoenix area. It's nice to be able to go on a family hike and not have to drive for miles just to get there.

Aliyah is a true outdoors fanatic. She loves to be outside exploring, which makes our hikes even more fun.  Like any curious kid, she's always discovering something new and just has to stop and check things out.  One this particular outing she had a mini-obsession with rocks and would try pick up as many as she could, only to have some fall out of her hands, which would then make her stop and try to pick up the rocks that fell. 

And while there's no doubt that on any trail we have to pick her up and carry her often, I've come to find that when she's exploring she encourages me without even trying, to slow down and really drink in the beauty of the nature that's around me, however tiny or grand it may be.

Papago Park, like many of the area's parks, has some gorgeous city views. It's fascinating to remember that you are actually looking out into a bustling, busy metropolis. At the same time, it's nice to know that there are places nearby to escape the fury of city life, albeit for just a few minutes or hours.

And every time we go on adventures like these, Sebastian and I comment on how our decision to move to Arizona turned out to be a very, very good one. Sebastian now has more time to spend with Aliyah, (before, he was commuting two hours, one-way from San Jose to San Francisco.) which was one of the biggest reasons we chose to move.

And while we would be lying if we said we didn't miss California at all, there's a comfort in knowing that little by little our apprehensions about making the life-altering move to the southwest are dissipating .




To finish the evening, nature left us one last gift as we looked upon a breathtaking view of the moon at dusk.

"Good night stars, goodnight air, goodnight noises everywhere."