Where do I even start with our long Memorial Day Weekend spent in Arizona with Lon and Trish. It certainly went way too fast. I certainly didn’t feel my best self but our days were spent with pool time and family time and fun and all worthwhile.
We left a rainy, cold Seattle day after our work and school week was over and landed in a very reasonably temped 85 degree Phoenix just after 9 pm the Friday before Memorial Day. The girls did great on the flight but considering how late it was I was not surprised at all that they fell asleep on the 35 minute car ride back to Grandma and Papa’s house. We got the girls in bed and spent sometime catching up Lon and Trish ourselves before calling it a night ourselves, at the early hour of 1am, knowing full well that at least one child was not going to sleep in.
And we were right. Brooke woke me up at 6:30 the next morning and we spent a slow morning while the rest of the house woke up. I started feeling really lousy Friday night and woke up Saturday morning not feeling any better. Coffee and breakfast helped and after breaking out some toys in the backyard we decided to take advantage of the relatively cooler temps we were to have to take the girls to the nearest playground. Reese scootered maybe half of the 1.5 miles but it was hot still and understandably she wanted to ride with her sister in the stroller. We played at the playground maybe about an hour before Papa came to get us with the car to head back home for lunch of grilled hot dogs and then Brooke was down for her nap. After naptime, the four of us headed out to Hamilton’s pool to enjoy a swim, Reese got to ride the two big water slides for the first time, and we closed the place out at 6 pm. We then met Lon and Trish for much-needed Mexican food at Serrano’s in downtown Chandler where we had a great meal and margaritas before heading back home to crash.
Sunday started much the same; Brooke up at 7 am this time, sore throat and aches for me but ready to rally. Sunday we planned to head to the PERA pool which is a nice perk of being and active or retired member of SRP, which Lon is. The pool was very quiet for a holiday weekend and we got there shortly after it opened at noon and stayed until after 4 pm. We brought a picnic of sandwiches and snacks and enjoyed throwing rings and water balls and keeping cool. From the PERA pool we drove towards Queen Creek to get barbecue at a place Lon and Trish had been a few times called Caldwell County BBQ. This BBQ place was busy but we were able to get in line to place our order and get our food pretty quick. After the lengthy swim in the sunshine both girls had woken up from car nap in foul moods but a virgin pina colada did the trick of perking them back up. We shared the family platter and got to try the brisket, pulled pork and ribs and surprisingly found the pork to be the best of the selection. Their sides of jalapeno mac n cheese, coleslaw and corn casserole were all great and we had one banana pudding that we shared after we spent at least an hour burning off some of the food playing hide and seek on the grassy lawn. The venue was cool with several outdoor picnic tables, a few lawn games set up, and a giant projector screen playing an NBA game. The temperature was perfect at this time of night and we didn’t end up leaving to head back home until 8 pm. Another quick bedtime for these girls.
Monday and Tuesday were significantly hotter days. Reese requested to go back to the Hamilton pool to ride their slides again. We got there much earlier this time, getting there at about 12:30 but the pool was significantly busier being the holiday. The line for the slide was much longer but Reese still did laps on that and made a friend her age on it. We then easily convinced her to jump off the diving board and that became the new thing for the next several hours. At about 2:30 Brooke was tired and done with swimming so I opted to leave with her to put her down for a nap and come back to get the two water bugs later. Brooke immediately fell asleep in the car but once back to Lon and Trish’s she was ready to play. I got her a bath before doing so and then left her in the care of Papa while I went to get Bryan and Reese from the pool when it closed at 5pm. Trish was busy in the kitchen all afternoon making us a delicious dinner of homemade spaghetti, salad and garlic bread and we opened a Novelty Hill Reserve wine to enjoy with dinner. We had a nice time at home on this night.
For our last full day, and again another hot one, Reese wanted more swimming and Brooke said no to pool time. Since I was still achy, lethargic, and just not myself I was okay finding other entertainment for Brooke and I. We dropped Reese and Bryan off at Sunsplash Water Park around 11 am and they proceeded to spend the full day there until they closed at 5pm. They did all of the rides that Reese could ride, which were many, and had a great time, only stopping for lunch at the grill there and a few turns around the lazy river. Meanwhile, Brooke and I kept busy going shopping. We started at Chandler Fashion Place where we walked around in the AC, looked at a few stores but didn’t get anything and then got a slice of pizza from the food market and checked out the old ride on toys. When I gave Brooke a few options to spend the afternoon her top pick was to get her nails done. From there we had found a nail salon a walk across the parking lot so we braved the heat to walk there only to be told they didn’t have any appointments available. We walked back, popping into Yogurtland first to share a small frozen yogurt which Brooke made a real mess of her shirt with but it helped to cool us both down a bit. We then did call and found a nail salon a few minutes away that took us in.
Brooke loved her first time getting her nails done. She decisively picked out a red sparkly nail polish and they applied that to her hands and feet. I got a pedicure real quick in the chair next to her and when Brooke was letting her nails dry she sat on my lap keeping me company. We left with beautiful nails and next went to Seva’s looking for cowboy boots for me but it was Brooke who immensely enjoyed this. She is a shoe girl! They had a kid’s section and she tried on three different pairs of boots, all which were very cute, and donned a cowboy hat and ride on horsey at one point. She was into but the store was closing and we had to pick up Bryan and Reese from the park. Brooke ended up getting some snakeskin kids boots that are very cute and she was very proud of them. Reese, despite playing all day at the water park was jealous of her sister’s boots. We made it back home and had a quick dinner of burgers on the grill and finished the night with ice cream before all showering and packing our bags for our very early wake up the next morning.
And we do mean early. We were all up at 3 am to get ourselves changed and load up in our Uber to the airport. We had a 6 am flight back to Seattle, landing just before 9 am and Reese was back at school just in time for lunch and Brooke was back at her school to show off her flashy new boots. I managed to work a full day and both Bryan and I were totally wiped by nighttime. The end of the week also included a haircut for Reese and folicking at Madison Park and Beach afterwards and then the Taste of TOPS at Reese’s school Friday night that we stayed quite late for and contributed a pull apart pizza bread for the potluck.
Although we were exhausted from the trip afterwards we had some good times and great memories that we made. Soccer is now over with our last game this past Sunday. It was a rainy game but another win for the undefeated Tigers. Following the game five of the players and their families joined us as a group for the Mariners game vs. the Angels. We had a group of 24 in the upper deck section and saw a great win by the M’s. Following the game we waited in line for the Kids Run the Bases on the field. Being that it was Girl Scout Day at the park there were tons of kids and a pretty good line but I’ve never been on the field and that was a cool experience, although Reese’s mood turned south right as she got on the field so her “running” the bases will forever be etched in my mind as a memorable experience.
Reese has one last normal dance class before her rehearsal and recital, one more swim class, and less than three weeks of school at this point until she is a 1st grader. Where the time goes…
Chelsea
