Howdy, friends! We just returned home from a family vacation to Phoenix, Arizona. We had a wonderful time hanging out family while soaking up some Arizona sunshine. My favorite thing about heading that direction is that the geography is so very different from here. I love landing at the Phoenix airport amidst the vast brown landscape, broken only by enormous outcroppings of rocky hills and mountains. It’s like landing on the moon after being in the green spring of Nebraska.

Our first morning on vacation found us exploring the Boyce Thompson Arboretum with Jeremy’s cousin Jeff and his family. We started early enough in the day—on a cooler day no less—and it was still hot. But the unique beauty of the area was really something to behold and my camera found plenty to capture.

Purple cactus. How cool is that?