Brandon and Whitney: Our Souls Needed Some Sunshine

Rachel had a day off of school at the first of March, so we took a long weekend and headed to Arizona! (Since that is where everyone in the family wanted to go!) We went down to play with friends, see some baseball games & get our fill of the sunshine!

We got there late Thursday night and stayed with the Perkinson's at their new house / farm (they have lots of land and rabbits, ~~a rooster~~ :), chickens & tortoises). They did such a fantastic job on a complete renovation and their house is just gorgeous and so family friendly!

We met our Lehi Crossing friends at the park first thing Friday morning and by a small miracle, Kendall & Brooklyn got to play together the whole morning. Brooklyn's mom, Andrea was 41 weeks pregnant and was scheduled to be induced on Thursday, and we were trying to make arrangements to play with Brooklyn the day after baby was to be born. But the hospital was all full and they had to send her home, so I got to visit with Andrea and the girls got to play. These two warm my heart - they are just kindred spirits! Andrew got to be reunited with the Hawks' boys and Maddox Tompkinson. He was through the roof excited and his one request was to play at Jessica's house (since Stapley pool was closed and that would have been his first request) so we arranged for play dates at friends houses on Saturday. Rachel had to wait for Holly to get out of school on Friday, but once they reunited, they chatted and played just like they hadn't missed a beat!! While we all played at the park that morning, Brandon went to Osborn Maledon for lunch with his old co-workers.

In the afternoon, Brandon took the big kids to the Cubs spring training game, Kendall played at Karli's house (Karli loves Kendall so much, it is so sweet), and I went and worked with Kent Hann for a bit. That night, we had brick oven pizza at Kasey and Danny's, tried to swim in their cold pool and dirty hot tub. The kids ran circles around her house - especially going down the slide that starts in the boy's room and ends down in the playroom - so fun! Us adults had so much fun staying up late and talking and reminiscing.

On Saturday, Brandon went golfing with his ward friends, and we met the Tompkinson's at the park for donuts and an early morning play date (both our kids are early risers). She even had Caleb & Kyson Gunnell since Andrea got called in to have her baby the night before. Karli told me that she is expecting #6 (later we found out it is boy #6)!! We adore the Tompkinson's and they are one of the best things that came out of our first ward in Mesa!

Brandon and I snuck away for a Cubs game sans kids, and had a relaxing time enjoying the game and the weather! Then we went to yes, ANOTHER park and met a bunch of Lehi Crossing families for dinner and hours of park play for the kids. Brandon dropped me off at Sarah's and I got to meet her new baby girl, Henley! Her and Brett have the cutest newborns ever! She is doing well and I was so glad to visit her for a bit and catch up.

On Sunday, we spent the morning at Kasey's and then went to church at our old ward. We were so tired and worn out by this point since we had been going non-stop, but we pushed through and it was so good to see so many familiar faces. After church, we headed to Flagstaff and stayed the night in a hotel. It was a small blizzard and was a rude awakening to the weather we had just experienced. The ride home on Monday was pretty uneventful and the kids did great. This was our first trip without having to take ANY diapers - woo woo!

I was unsure if going to Arizona would unwind the good progress we had made with the kids about the whole move, but I think we all just felt GRATEFUL. Grateful for the time we spent there and grateful for the friends we made and grateful for the experiences and memories we have in Mesa!

It was wonderful to be back in Arizona and feel the sunshine. I even thought the desert landscape was ... dare I say ... pretty?! I can't believe that I actually missed the cactus-filled landscape that I complained about the entire time I was there. :) But strangely, Arizona didn't feel like home anymore. I say that is strange because when we moved from Chicago to Arizona, I felt like Chicago was home for years afterward. Not sure the difference, other than me being a little bit older and wiser :) and knowing that we are where we are supposed to be now (despite my plan of being in Arizona for many more years).