Thanks to Angie, Heidi's awesome and generous sister, a fun female outing will become a family tradition. On Tuesday night, Heidi accompanied Angie and her mom to a tiny nail shop in Mesa, where the three girls were pampered with pedicures. They sat in fancy massage chairs while their feet were bathed in warm, bubbling spas. Each received foot and leg massages, yummy skin treatments, and, of course, beautifully polished toenails. Can you guess who's feet are whose?

Heidi and Zachary's trip to Arizona was everything we hoped it would be – relaxing, entertaining, and family-oriented. We spent most of our time doing everyday errands and activities, participating in the busy day-to-day lives of the Dixons, but we also enjoyed lots of quality family time. Our Monday family night activity was a visit to The Great Indoors, an amazing home furnishings superstore. We perused a smorgasbord of state-of-the-art appliances, luxurious bathrooms, and high-tech outdoor grills. Garry would have loved the store, so we snapped a group photo in a kitchen display we thought he'd especially like.

On Thursday evening we returned to Portland, completely exhausted by our week of fun, but glad to have enjoyed ourselves so much. It was hard to leave the family in Arizona, but we were thrilled to return to Garry, who craved our

company as much as we longed for his! We had a lovely reunion.

Mark and Betsy Russell, our dear friends from Utah, came to town on Friday, and we jumped at the chance to spend time with them. Heidi and Zach met Mark and Betsy for a morning museum tour in Portland, then joined Garry for lunch in his new office. We all got to meet Garry's boss and co-workers, and were pleased with his positive, professional

work environment. Later that evening, we enjoyed a fun barbeque at Mark's brother's home in Tualatin, where Zachary got to play with new kids and new toys. Garry and Heidi loved catching up with their old friends and having a rare evening together away from home.

This was definitely a week of bonding with family and friends. We are grateful to have such special relationships with our loved ones!

It was no surprise that Zachary, who is currently the only grandchild and nephew in the Dixon clan, was lavished with attention during his stay in Arizona. His aunts and uncles, who include the married David and Rachel, teenagers Angie, Eric, and Ryan, and 8-year-old Holly, went out of their way to entertain him – and he loved it! Zachary enjoyed lots of Holly-powered stroller rides through the house (it was way too hot outside!), photo ops with Aunt Angie, gifts and shoulder rides from David and Rachel, and plenty of holding and playing time with Eric and Ryan. Granny and Gramps got to cuddle and play with Zachary, too, and were thrilled when he responded with a giggle or grin.

Although Zachary wasn't too fond of Mesa's triple-digit heat, he certainly kept active in the cool

indoors. At the end of each day, his dirty hands and knees were testaments of his many adventures throughout the house. As his crawling pace quickened, Zach also gained confidence in his standing ability, and began pulling himself up to everything in sight. He surprised us (and himself) by standing alone for a few seconds at a time, too! Now

that he can sit himself down from an upright position, Zachary is more mobile than ever, and darts from place to place at record speed.

Watching Zach develop so much during a single week was amazing. We are so glad that our family and friends can watch him grow through this newsletter, but relish opportunities to share our son in person!