I'm back in the saddle again

Arizona sunsets can be quite patriotic: red, white, and blue. Two weeks ago I returned to my home away from home: the Phoenix valley, the land of my mission! My brother Nick married our favorite Jessica in the Mesa Temple, so on top of all of the family festivities and the peace of visiting the temple for their sealing, I stomped around old stomping grounds and probably annoyed my siblings with stories beginning with "When I tracted this street..." It felt strange to be shopping in the mall across the way from my first area and walking around without my name tag, but not too much has changed and I was pleasantly surprised to discover that after India, Arizona heat doesn't feel like much. Too bad I didn't go to Asia first! There was enough heat for this Washingtonian to go boating at Saguaro Lake, however. People kept commenting on the cool weather, but all my family and I could think about was the 75 degree water. I did earn a wicked sunburn (in October!) and am now paying for it because when I burn I peel like a boiled tomato. Not that many of you have had reason to boil a tomato, but if you try it some time you will understand what I mean.

The saddest part of the visit came when I realized there were no feasible options for driving four hours to Springerville and visiting the area in which I spent most of my mission. Just thinking about that place makes me smell sagebrush and wood stove smoke and taste Della Parker's dessert cakes and Pietown's peach and sour cream special. (I promise I did more than smell and eat on my mission.) President Greene used to take off his Stetson before entering the branch building and all of the men passing the sacrament wore Wranglers and rodeo belt buckles. (Sigh.) They just don't make 'em like they used to.

But I didn't miss all of the Arizona ranch land, because my family came out to visit the Reed family in Queen Creek. My sister Nicole even fulfilled her dream of learning to milk a cow in the process. She got a soft-eyed jersey named Belle, at that. Next time, calf branding... Nicole leaves for her mission to Hong Kong in December, so we're trying to fit in as many life dreams into the next month as possible. I like taking my family to places that hold so much meaning for me.