Oh, Deer

 Oh look, we fed more animals.

This was at a deer farm in Flagstaff.

Justin went there when he was a kid and wanted the kids to have the same experience.

Only I'm not sure the deer were so aggressive back then.

These guys had Sally in tears.

And Drew's foot got trampled in the stampede for the deer food he was holding.

The place had other animals, too, including this angry camel and a few reindeer.

Last stop of the trip: Bearizona.

The name is so great, and the place has a cool concept, but it was way over-priced.

Not. Worth. It.

At least Owen got to take a selfie with Buffalo.

(he inherited Cole's phone and is obsessed)

Aside: this Owen selfie is cute.

7/15

Finally on the road home and we ran out of drinking water with not a gas station in sight.

Justin thought he might be able to catch some drips from the major monsoon storm.

And this is anticlimatic because he had no luck.

7/18

But we did make it home and my own bed never felt so good.

Mostly Happy Trails

 I take full blame for that dollar store plastic gun and the soundtrack it gave our drive home.

Thought it'd die within minutes, but somehow that thing is still going strong weeks later.

We went out of the way to see some more of Arizona on our way home.

Started with Justin's favorite place in the world: The Mogollon Rim.

 He has dreams of retiring there.

The Painted Desert Indian Center

(a touristy, but fun roadside stop along the way)

The Painted Forest National Park

Justin's dad and aunt both made faces when we told them where we were headed.

I had been wanting to go there, but wasn't sure summer (aka HOT) was the best time.

So happy and relieved that both the weather and the place were amazing.

 These are all good cases of, "pictures don't do it justice."

 There were petroglyphs on the stones below.

Loved the sense of history.

One of the "teepee" mountains in the background.

 So crazy that these petrified stumps are 200+ million years old.

From the triassic period, even before dinosaurs.

 Not a huge piece of petrified wood, but still so heavy.

 Loved all the colors.

A Corner in Winslow, Arizona

Before heading to our Flagstaff hotel, we had to stop at the famous corner.

6/17

Watery

7/9

I love telling people here about how hot Arizona is in the summer.

It's kind of unfathomable.

Even I forget how bad it is till I'm back.

We braved the heat this year solely for Cole's farewell.

We survived by jumping in any body of water we could find, starting with my mom's inflatable pool at 8am the morning after we got there (above).

Rachel and Jacob moved into a guest house on a property with a super fun pool. Went there as much as possible.

7/10

Also thanks to Rachel and Jacob, we learned about a great spot at The Salt River.
Wasn't sure the sweaty 15 minute walk to get there would be worth it, but it most definitely was.

7/11

One of my most favorite things from our whole trip was the swim down this river back to the parking lot I did with Rachel.

7/12

After Cole's farewell talk in church.

7/13

He got a fever and fell asleep on my shoulder in the pool. 

7/13

Discounted movie day.

And dress like a cow/get free food day at Chik Fil A.

 7/14

All my brothers. Hopefully our boys get the Hollobaugh hair genes.

A thunderstorm came out of nowhere right after Cole got set apart for his mission. Nothing better than an AZ thunderstorm. Side note: loved not having to worry about water during this trip. The California drought situation is sad and stressful.

7/14

Owen was full on sobbing Cole's last night before his mission. Cole was so sweet and just sat and held him. 

One last Cole memory: His friends took him to the airport and brought him his favorite hazelnut chocolate milk. Somehow we got the leftovers after they came back from dropping him off. We already miss him.

7/15

SoCal

7/5

The Tate's (aunt and uncle) invited us to join their Sunday bonfire.

Roasted pink Starburst are my new favorite thing.

 Errin took us to a top secret rope swing.

Rope swing spectators:

7/6

7/6

Met Brent & Errin at the drive in to see "Inside Out."

Got a free trip to Sea World's water park, Aquatica, thanks to their military appreciation.

After a few rides, Sally's upset stomach benched her.

While the boys were here:

And here:

7/7

Have I mentioned Justin had never been to a water park before we were married?

His first water slide experience is probably in his lifetime's top 10.

Next up: Arizona.

7/8