Alli Status and taste testing some Arizona Goodies

 Today we get to do an Arizona Taste Test, thanks to a friend from Arizona sending us some treats. But first, an update on Alli. Back in August, we were having dinner and hot soup spilled on Alli. She ended up spending 3 days in the hospital with deep 2nd degree burns on her chest. Well it's been a couple months since that happened and her recovery is going great! Her skin is nearly completely healed! We're still applying lotion multiple times a day to help the skin stay moisturized, but it's looking great. 

Shortly after getting home from the hospital, some friends from Arizona had a package in the mail, special just for her. 

Sophia and Penelope drew her hearts, with well-wishes that she feels better. Alli loves hearts. 

And there's even more treats inside. 

Ooh, there's some goodies from the Cerreta Candy Company, a homemade candy company founded over 50 years ago in Glendale Arizona. First we've got some Arizona Gold. 

And some Cactus Chews salt water taffy. 

And finally an adorable little polar bear stuffed animal. 

Both Ian and Alli have loved this little bear, including it in all sorts of adventures around the house. 

The taffy made the trip, but I think it's pushing over 100F when they were shipped, so some of them made a mess. 

We pulled out a few of each flavor to try and stuck the rest in the fridge. 

Thanks Kelly, Sean, and the girls for the treats!

Life got a little busy after that but I knew I needed to get back to our Arizona Taste Test. Over the weekend, I grabbed the taffy (still off-limits to everyone) from the fridge, along with the Arizona Gold. 

The Arizona Gold looks like a brittle of some kind. And the Cactus Chews look interesting too. There's three different flavors to try: Prickly Pear, Jumpin' Cholla, and Saguaro Blossom. I can't say that I've tasted any of those flavors, so I don't know what exactly to expect. 

All candy coming from the Cerrata kitchens. 

I do love a good brittle. Toffee is one of my favorites. 

Which color goes with which flavor? I didn't know. Luckily the taffy section of the Cerrata website can help me decipher it. 

Green is Prickly Pear taffy. Try as we might, we're having a hard time picking up any kind of flavor to go along with this one. Maybe a very light bubblegum flavor. 

Pink is Jumpin' Cholla and it's easier to figure out. It's a light cinnamon flavor. 

And yellow is the Saguaro Blossom. I'm picking up mint. Of the three, I think this one was the favorite. 

Lastly we're going to try the Arizona Gold. It's got Gold in the name so Ian was looking forward to it. 

Oh boy. Flair for the dramatic much? It's too hard and crunchy for him. 

But Alli and I thought it was delicious. Brown sugar that's been crystalized and crunchy? Love it! Though it is really chewy and completely coats your teeth. 

Richard liked it too. 

Smart Alli. Running to grab a floss pick to take care of all that gooey sugar on your teeth. 

It was a fun taste test to do! Thanks friends!