This past weekend was my first time in Arizona in the summer time and the first time in a while that I have been able to spend time with the nieces and nephews, which is still a very bizarre thing for me to say considering that I have always been the oldest and the last time we had little kids in our family was pretty much twenty years ago. We had a good weekend with the Miller family and are very glad that we took the opportunity to go down and visit them.
Friday night our flight was slightly delayed getting into Phoenix but thankfully the family waited for us to get there to head to Si Senors for a New Mexican dinner, complete with margaritas. After catching up we headed home with sticky hands from sopapillas and full bellies to put the kids to bed and relax before hitting the hay ourselves.
Saturday morning came and we enjoyed Trish’s french toast before packing up and heading out to Sunsplash for a full day in the sun and water to beat the heat. Sunsplash was a really fun excursion out of the house. I felt sort of like royalty with our own cabana that served all eight of us comfortably. Most of our time was spent in the wave pool and (for Bryan and I) the lazy river but we also managed to go down some of the tube slides with Lori and Joshua, as well as some of the body slides just us. We broke midday for lunch of chicken fingers, burgers and fries and then also enjoyed refreshing ice cream in the late afternoon. Getting there when it opened at 11 am and not leaving until after 5 pm I’d say we got our moneys worth. We were all wiped leaving the park but the temps were starting to cool enough slightly that Bryan and I were able to stretch our legs on a short walk to the store for ingredients to make grilled chicken salads at home to balance out the indulgent treats earlier in the day and it seemed appropriate considering the temps nearing 115 degrees. The adults had a late dinner before showering and eventually falling asleep on the couch.
Sunday morning Bryan and I woke up in time to make the 9 am service at Lon and Trish’s church. We headed back to the house to meet Lori and the kids and waited for the rest to finish their Sunday school. The rest of the day actually did feel a little like a holiday; occupy yourselves inside while a big fancy dinner is cooking. This meant that Bryan and I got some good quality kid time; wrestling, reading to, doing puzzles, and playing dress up with the kids. Around 6 pm we all sat at the dinner table for an amazing meal cooked by Lori and Trish of prime rib, mashed potatoes and gravy, sweet potato souffle, green beans and dinner rolls. This was followed up by a beautiful vanilla cake with strawberry custard filling. After dinner we moved outside to play 2 vs. 2 soccer in the dark (but still hot) evening. We said our “good nights” and “good byes” to the kids and then stayed up and reminisced with the adults.
Our early wake up call came just that…early. We were out the door by 5 am, on the plane by 7 am, back in Seattle by 10:30 am and I was walking in the door at work at 11:30 am. What seemed like a very short visit also felt like a high quality one. Good decision we made to go down for the visit, though I can’t say I recommend the month of August for a visit in Arizona. #sohot.
Chelsea
Evolving in the Emerald City 