the. bungalow. post.

It used to be that Oak Creek canyon would begin to feel suffocating after a few days spent crawling around like an ant at the bottom.  Restlessness would begin to set in my bones and I'd want to escape to the wide open.

 Now, I know it's embrace was only meant to hold me until I stopped squirming from the fruitless busyness of my mind.  It holds me like Zander holds the children when they are having a complete utter melt downs.  Once I'm swaddled in emerald trees and the glowing rose of the canyon walls, I stop fighting.  I think I just might be learning how to be a child again: puttering around in an orchard, stopping for what seems like eons to let a snail pass, watching movie after movie not caring about the latest child development research, napping, snacking, playing, making unbeautiful messes..

And lets not kid ourselves, this is the reality of living with Calamity Cora these days.  

 

Of this picture Zander says. "you're welcome"

Basically this trip was about "we'll do anything to escape the heat even it means sleeping in a two bedroom condo with Cora"  I am only kidding a little bit.  Honestly, the best thing about this trip was Zander.  He is such a beacon and anchor.  He can seem to exists simultaneously on earth and heaven.  I lavish upon him because its so hard so very hard to get back up on your feet after having a baby.  Well its is for me anyway.

 

 

 Everyone on this trip did awesome.  We told ourselves that this wasn't going to be a vacation, only a new home. So we were expecting to do just as we did in the valley except in Sedona.  Our new home had a dishwasher, king sized bed, kids room upstairs with a gate to keep Cora at bay (or to protect her from falling down the stairs, but mainly to trap her), our new backyard was an apple orchard enclosed with black berry bushes where Gunther pounded his paws over swells of tall grass chasing his ball, and the kids, well, after a while they got the idea we could care less if they cried or whined, so they climbed trees and chomped on apples.

 

Sam would sleep so his siblings could terrorize the pristine creek.

 

He loved his lazy boy the most though. 

Our days could have stretched into months, but we ran out of food.