Did you grow up here in Arizona? Welcome to the Awesome Kids Club, where we know the joys of playing in the dirt, watching Wallace and Ladmo and how to play in the heat. No matter what decade your childhood took place in (mine was a combination of the ‘80s and ‘90s) or where you grew up, I think most Arizona kids have experienced similar situations and had the same thoughts running through their minds. How many of these can you relate to?

1. Upon first learning about and exploring one of Arizona’s deserts: “Wait, this is a desert?”
Bureau of Land Management/Flickr
Books and TV shows like to show the desert as a barren, dirt-filled landscape with nothing able to live in it. This means that once you became aware that the place with trees, wildflowers, and cactus is actually a desert, it kind of blew your mind.
2. Those who grew up in non Spanish-speaking households probably told everyone they knew, “I can count to 10 in Spanish!”
Dreckman Digital/Flickr
My first few years in elementary school were spent with a large Spanish-speaking population, so this wasn’t a big deal until I moved to a less diverse neighborhood and school.
3. Northern Arizona kids will understand: “I hope we have a snow day!”
5u5/Flickr
Hopefully when snow day was announced, you weren’t up at 5 a.m. to wait for the bus.
4. Once in the heated house: “Ahhh, so nice.”
Colleen P/Flickr
That is until the heat started to feel stuffy.
5. Meanwhile southern Arizona kids thought: “Maybe the power or A/C will go out!”
KT King/Flickr
That’s our version of a snow day in the hot months---because no one wants to sit in a dark (often windowless) classroom on a hot day without cooling or ventilation.

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6. That moment walking from the sunny, 115-degree heat into an air conditioned building: “Ahhh, so nice.”
mob mob/Flickr
That is, until you realized how cold many buildings are in the summer!
7. When watching your favorite show: “I want a Ladmo bag.”
dan/Flickr
I never got a Ladmo bag. 🙁
8. Your first visit to one of our lakes: “It’s the ocean!”
Robert Shea/Flickr
Until you made a trip to an actual ocean.
9. “I can’t wait to move from here.”
Robert Couse-Baker/Flickr
At some point in adolescence, most Arizona kids become disillusioned by the landscapes and environment, so they experience a desire to move away to places that seem more exotic and desirable.
10. “I can’t wait to move back home.”
Taylor Bennett/Flickr
There’s something about those wide, open spaces, endless sunny days, and deep, dark nights that you can’t find elsewhere that pull Arizona kids right back to the state.

What memories do you have of growing up in our wonderful state?

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