Happy 100th Birthday Arizona: 100 Years of Beauty

I loved Saturdays as a kid for two reasons: This Old House and Martha Stewart.  Even as a little kid I loved the idea of a good DIY project.  But, This Old House and Martha Stewart were mostly filmed on the very green and historic east coast, which led my little mind to believe that Arizona was not beautiful, that the only kind of beautiful was rolling hills with oak trees.

And then I grew up and truly fell in love with Arizona.

I fell in love with the Superstitions where my husband and I were engaged.

And ASU where we both graduated in 2004.
  

I fell in love with road trips that took me from saguaros to Ponderosa pines in just a little over an hour.


And farms and valleys.



I fell in love with the vast expanse of nothingness.


And with the mountains to the north and south.


I fell in love with the hot and the cold and the beautiful in between.




I fell in love with taking the long route.






And exploring old mining towns.


I fell in love with this view of where my dad grew up.

And watching my little girls make new memories of Arizona.



I fell in love with Arizona sports teams and rejoiced during those winning seasons.




I fell in love with camping on the Mogollon Rim for weeks at a time.




And I well with anger every summer there is a new forest fire.

I fell in love with odd structures.


And jungles in the desert.


I fell in love with fishing and playing in creeks.





I fell in love with cabins by the lake.


And a view from above the desert.


I fell in love with monsoons.




































And sunsets.


Oranges and blossoms.


I fell in love with rolling hills and even oak trees.


I fell in love with historic, and really historic.




I fell in love with the Grand Canyon State.




Yes, I love visiting other places, but I'm thrilled to call Arizona home.

We hope you found a reason to celebrate today.  We will continue to celebrate 100 years of Arizona the entire year through!

 (I am yet to fall in love with these though.)

Happy 100 years Arizona!

(All of the pictures were taken by either me or my husband since we were married 10 years ago.  It was hard not posting even more.)