You can thank Erik for the minimal pictures of our 3 weeks in AZ - he took both the camera and the iPhone on his travels and left me with nothing.  And seeing how I have a tendency to overshare pictures, you may want to literally thank him.  We drove down to AZ right before Thanksgiving, deciding to drive through the night in hopes that Morgan would sleep the whole time.  We'd never tried a road trip with her before, so we were a little nervous about the 12-hour drive.  While she was remarkably good the whole time, I don't think she actually did much sleeping.  Every once in a while, after we thought she'd fallen asleep, she would comment brightly on the moon or the cars.  She was a little slaphappy by the time we hit Vegas, and giggled and giggled about "casheemos."  Since we were way more tired than she was, we gave up on that idea for the trip home, and that's when she ironically slept the most.  

Morgan had been talking about going to AZ for weeks, and couldn't wait to see her Baba and Booma after an absence of many months.  Then when we actually got there, she would pretty much have nothing to do with them.  She would even tell them to go away - it was so sad.  I'm sure I'm not the only parent to experience this endearing phase, but it doesn't lessen the embarrassment or irritation.  They're not the only ones she does that to - she cycles through Erik and I all the time.  Nothing as heartwarming as hearing your child say, "No mama! Go away mama!"  But I get her all the time, and my family does not.  Makes it seem like a wasted bonding opportunity.  

We of course continued the donut run tradition in AZ, although  we went a little more upscale.  After she decapitated and disemboweled her snowman, she ignored the leftover carnage and demanded sprinkles.

The Mesa temple always has fun lights, and Morgan was mostly well behaved  with the distraction they provided.

As per tradition, we also went to a local grove and picked oranges.  They're so good that I wish we had bought a couple more boxes.

Santa came a little early for Morgan so that my parents could  have fun with that.  She only partially understands the idea of Santa, but she latched onto the most important message solidly: "Santa bring M's!"  She bypassed all the other toys and goodies on "Christmas morning" and just wanted to see the M's.  Might be our cheapest Christmas ever.

A view of my favorite part of Thanksgiving dinner - decorating the table.  The food just gives me the excuse.

This may look like torture, but Morgan was actually having a great time with her aunts.  Lindsay held her still while Becky painted "bunnies" on her nails (that's what she termed the little dots - no idea why).

Glad to get away, glad to have such pleasant weather and company, but also glad to be home.