just 'cuz

Just for the heck of it, Mom and I decided to use a couple of our free Southwest Airlines tickets for a fun weekend getaway in warm & sunny Arizona. Mom spent some time with her sister Myrtle in Peoria and I split my time between Myrtle and my dear friends in Mesa that I left behind when we moved back to Utah in '07.

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These girls mean the world to me--and now are endeared to me even more for setting aside their evening to join Amanda and I for dinner at a Mexican restaurant (Gecko Grill) that I've been craving since we left (mmm....their shrimp & mango quesadilla...mmm...)!

Jenny Lynn, Carrie Bennett, me, Kristin Farnsworth, Melody Bearman, Amanda Beebe

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I couldn't believe how Mel's girls had grown! Alex (left) used to babysit for us during piano lessons for 2 years (from when she was 10-12) and I taught Autumn (between Mel & me) piano when she was 8! Now they are both gorgeous, sweet young women!

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A highlight of my day was finally meeting Amanda's baby, Emily

So sweet! So beautiful!

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Here's the exit on "the 60" (freeway)

that we used to take to get home.

Then left on Baseline,

Straight through Farnsworth/Sunland Village,

Right onto Hawes,

Keep headin' South on Hawes, Pass the church,

Left on Medina,

Right on Eugene,

Left on Meseto, and keep on goin'...almost there...

Until the corner of Joslyn & Meseto, 2425 S. Joslyn to be exact!

The best part of visiting the old neighborhood was seeing how much the trees have grown in just 3 years! Especially the Mexican Fan Palm that Brett and I had planted in the backyard corner. At that time it was just this little tree that looked more like a bush. Now it's over the fence!

I've missed all the palm trees!

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Washburn Piano on Val Vista road is where I had my piano recitals

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I had been so-looking forward to attending the Mesa Temple. It's such a beautiful building, inside and out, and February is a perfect time to visit. 70 degrees, the flowers all in bloom (and smelling divine!). I saw five brides getting their picture taken!

I was very grateful Amanda set aside her Saturday to spend the day with me, and to her husband Doug for being so willing to stay home with the kids while we went out and played!

The sky was so breathtakingly blue it brought tears to my eyes!

Thanks for going with me, Mom! I loved spending that time with you, laughing on the plane, in the airport, in our hotel room, with Ethel (the trusty GPS) in the rental car, and every where else that we squeeze in a good chuckle. You make a great best friend! Plus, you make me feel less guilty eating pecan cinnamon rolls from Cinnabon. (***stomach growls***)

can i take the heat? i can november-to-march!

With our very dear neighbors making a move to Yuma, Arizona this week (so sad to have them leave!), it's got my heart remembering our four years living in Mesa. I was hesitant to move to Arizona when Brett first approached me about the idea back in '03, but I can say with confidence that both of us loved our time there. We grew as a family, we grew as individuals, but we especially grew as a couple there. We made wonderful friends, lifelong friends. We came to love the area and the landscape--I still have yet to see a sunset with colors as bold and bright as the ones we saw with the setting sun there!

Here are some of the things I miss most:

Brimhall Pool

We loved this community pool and spent lots of time there.

It was clean, offering activities for any age, and was a great escape from the summer sun!

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Payson, AZ

For a couple years, we made a traditional trek up to the cool mountain town of Payson to celebrate the 4th of July. It's so hot in the summer, that it's really not enjoyable to watch fireworks in Phoenix! Payson is so cute and charming, and GORGEOUS. The area resembles in many ways the mountains near my hometown, so when I was feeling homesick, or needing to see fall foliage, this is where we'd go. We always stayed at the Days Inn motel, and I'm assuming I could still recommend it. Very clean, very reasonable. The second year we went, we talked Charles & Melody Bearman into coming with us--we visited Tonto Natural Bridge State Park and hiked the Waterfall Trail.

On Independence Day a local Christian Church throws a fundraiser at the park with games and activities for the kids. Then they put on THE BEST fireworks show with music (still have yet to see one that compares); bright colors exploding over the lake. (Those poor ducks didn't know which way to go to escape the loud booming!) Hard to believe Autumn and Alex are TEENAGERS now!

All of these girls have really grown up!

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The Plants & Flowers

I miss the flora and fauna of the desert. I always felt like "the desert" was my least favorite landscape--I had considered it drab and boring. However, I now miss those beautiful, tropical plants that were all around Phoenix--I especially miss the bright pink and orange hibiscus flowers! (This is Halle on the 1st day of preschool...so little!)

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We miss being so close to California!

It was wonderful living in small enough proximity

that you could easily make San Diego a simple weekend excursion!

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Probably what we miss most is of course the WINTER WEATHER! We miss Trick-or-Treating or putting up Christmas lights IN SHORTS! I thought I'd really miss the snow, that Christmas wouldn't feel the same without the white wonderland... Then you experience 7-8 months of near-perfect weather and that all goes out the window.

It was gorgeous!

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This is how we spent our 2005 Christmas Eve Day -

running around the park in short sleeves!

You can see the temperature on

our car thermometer...a balmy 80 degrees!

So if the Butlers (our departing neighbors) are reading this, just know that although we'll miss you, we're a bit jealous, because weather-wise you are in for a treat! Yes, the summers are stifling and sometimes nearly miserable...you are cooped up inside (much like the winters here) but now your "miserable" weather only lasts 3-4 months instead of the 6 months of COLD we have in Utah! You'll love Arizona. You'll love the people and the community, you'll love being close to Cali, you'll love the new variety of plants, and you'll be grateful for the growth you experience.

We know we did!

leavin' on a jet plane...and eating bean dip.

Well, this Sunday evening I find I have the entire house to myself. OK...myself and my three beautiful, funny, and at the moment, hyper-active children. After lunch and FHE, Brett hopped on a Southwest jetplane for 113 degree weather in sunny Arizona. He'll be gone for a week, enjoying the life of a bachelor (the kind that wear a gold wedding band). I, in the mean time, will enjoy days filled with kid-friendly dinners (when he's gone it's usually mac 'n cheese or pancakes for dinner) and hearing every creak this house makes at night (my "manly-beefcake" won't be here to protect me from the imaginary home-intruders that my mind conjures up in paranoia). It will also be an interesting week as it is our first to "endure" with downgraded cable. (But it feels soooo good to save $$$!) No more DVR. No more HD-TV. No more channel above 25, and really, we don't get that many since about 6 of them are either shopping networks or in a language 4 out of 5 people in this house do not understand. (I'm actually starting to wonder if Brett really has legitimate "work" down in Phoenix or if he's using it as an excuse to get himself back to CABLE TELEVISION... Hmm...I definitely have my suspicions.)

While he is there, I asked him to please eat at our favorite restaurant in Gilbert. If I can't go there myself, I'll "eat" vicariously through him. Moly Moly, I miss the bean dip, the horchatas, and the shrimp-mango quesadillas at Gecko Grill. (Any East Valley Arizonan knows exactly what I'm talking about!)

So honey, know that I'm (we're) missing you while you're away. Try to have fun during your short time free of family responsibilities, and...we'll keep the light on for you.