I had heard about the Boyce Thompson Arboretum a while back and after taking a recent adventure to Superior, I decided I wanted to go check it out, with my family.  That was bad choice number one.  Then, when I told my dear little family about the place, I told them it would take about 30 minutes to get there.  That was bad choice number two.  I also told them that I was freezing when I stopped by so we best dress a little warmer-bad choice number three.   After church, we piled in the car and headed toward Superior, AZ.  Finally about 45 minutes into our adventure I saw the sign.  By then, the kids were ready to turn back so it didn’t start well.  As we got out of the car, we saw visitors rolling up sleeves (to avoid that “farmer tan”) and applying sun block.  I knew I was going to NOT hear the end of this one. 

We were about 3 steps into the trail when Zoe decided she had seen enough and was ready to turn back.  The trail was about 1.5 miles chalk full of plants, flowers, cactus, and trees, just what she was hoping to see!  ; )  She was limping due to some onset of ailment, Zane’s shoes were bothering him, all of us had sweat dripping down our backs and the worst of all was that I failed as a parent and forgot to pack snacks.  HOW COULD I (they wondered)?  Zoe didn’t want to stop for breaks because it would prolong the inevitable so she wanted to power through it all. 

I turned red to green (as Tim would put it) and saw the dang arboretum.  I liked it. It would be a beautiful place to see the sunset!  I should have chosen a different crowd AND a different day-maybe back in March.  : )  I took my camera (oh yes, that always adds to one of the bad choices when my kids aren’t happy) and figured I would put my tripod to use.  I wanted to be in the picture since AZ will be in our past soon.  The tripod wasn’t the lightest one in the store but luckily it was the only thing getting me out of carrying my children to the finish line (sorry Tim).  By the end, we were hot and tired and quite dusty and a bit stinky. 

I was just trying to be a family, discover some new stuff in AZ and enjoy the Sunday away from distractions.  So much for those motherly efforts full of good intentions…