Happy 100th to my Favorite State.

Guess what, lovers? Today is Valentine's Day and it's also The Great State of Arizona's 100th Birthday! She's an old geezer, but I love 'er. I tried to live in Utah for a while and my heart never stopped yearning for the Grand Canyon State. So I came back and I'm here to stay.

In celebration of Arizona's Centennial, here are 100 things I dig about Arizona (in no particular order):

1. Gorgeous winters (60-80 degree highs)
2. Sunsets
3. EVMCO
4. The Mesa Temple, where I married my sweetheart

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5. Superstition Mountains
6. Matta's
7. Joe's Real BBQ
8. Orange blossoms
9. Monsoon season
10. Haboobs (terrifying but AWESOME)

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11. Los Favoritos taco shop
12. San Tan Mall
13. Phoenix Suns basketball
14. Grady Gammage Auditorium
15. Mill Avenue
16. Flagstaff
17. Saguaro Lake
18. The White Mountains
19. Saguaro cactus (they're really cool if you think about it)

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20. In-n-Out Burger (I know it started in Cali, but it's here to stay!)
21. Tempe Town Lake
22. City of Mesa 4th of July Celebration
23. Oregano's
24. Steve Nash (don't leave us!)
25. Highland High School (go Hawks!)
26. Downtown Mesa
27. U.S. Airways Center
28. Scottsdale Fashion Square
29. Family
30. Mormons
31. Efficient, well-paved and wiiiiide freeways
32. Arizona Science Center
33. Chase Field (known to me always as the B.O.B.)

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34. Kentucky bluegrass
35. ASU (even though I never went there -- still fun to go to football games, concerts, etc.)
36. MCC (thanks for providing countless family members with an education!)
37. Harkins Theaters
38. IKEA
39. Jimmy Eat World
40. Banner Gateway Hospital (slash Resort)
41. Krispy Kreme Donuts
42. Bahama Buck's shaved ice
43. Upscale Wal-Marts
44. Diamondbacks baseball
45. Charles Barkley
46. Al McCoy (sha-ZAM!)
47. Sunrises
48. Proximity to Disneyland ('cuz it's not as far as Utah is!)
49. Snowflake Temple

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50. Camp Lo-Mia
51. Lehi Rodeo Days
52. Superstition Farm
53. Basha's grocery stores
54. Coldstone Creamery (headquartered in Scottsdale)
55. U of A
56. Grand Canyon
57. Bunnieeeeeees!
58. Alfalfa fields

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59. Abundance of citrus
60. Milano's music
61. Liberty Market (even though I'm grumpy with them right now)
62. Chandler Mall
63. Proximity to church meetinghouses
64. Swimming pools



65. Air conditioning
66. Pete's Fish 'n Chips
67. Proximity to Las Vegas
68. Sky Harbor Airport
69. QuikTrip gas stations
70. "A" Mountain
71. Phoenix Zoo



72. Easter Pageant
73. Joe's Farm Grill
74. Sunsplash water park
75. Gilbert Temple (under construction)
76. Cheap houses
77. Hoover Dam
78. NAU
79. Sunrise Ski Resort
80. Colorado River
81. Abundance of Costcos
82. Mi Amigo's
83. Havasupai
84. Arizona Cardinals football (I know, but remember when they made it to the Super Bowl?)
85. Efficient, organized zoning
86. Superstition Ranch Market
87. Rockin' R Ranch



88. Blossom Salon ('cuz they make my hairs cute)
89. Salt River tubing
90. P.F. Chang's and Pei Wei (headquarters here)
91. Buffalo Exchange
92. Lake Powell
93. Fiesta Bowl
94. The Format (now known as Fun.)
95. Hohokam Park (Cubs spring training)
96. Filiberto's
97. Sunset Crater
98. Access to snow without having to live in it
99. Montezuma's Castle
100. Abundance of sunshine (never have to take Vitamin D supplements)

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Happiest birthday to the best state ever!