Leaving the kids at home is hard work! Schedules like these are just the beginning of the madness, but it is totally worth it to get away as a couple! This time, we had Ally and Cade sleepover for two of the nights and just stay for the evening and early morning. They have been and will continue to travel all over for work and honeymoon, etc. so when we got home, the kids kept playing "going to the Caribbean on an airplane" or "traveling to Europe" and set up the kitchen chairs like a plane. It was so cute - not ever gonna happen, but cute nonetheless! Grandma and Nana took turns during the day with the kiddos.
Truth be told, when I heard that Rob Gardner was pulling together the original cast from the Lamb of God CD, I thought it would be a great trip for me to go down by myself and stay with Kasey, so I pitched it to Brandon. He basically said, "Don't leave me!" so we turned it into a getaway for the two of us. I think I was a little disappointed at first, but of course, it turned out great.
The fun started on the plane, when we met the coolest couple sitting by us. He actually went to U of C Law School, but isn't practicing law anymore (he is currently opening trampoline parks and escape games all over) and she was the coolest, most down to earth mom ever. We chatted the entire time - she joked about being a "fitness influencer" and after our flight I checked out her instagram account and sure enough, she sure is with 75k followers! I was so glad to have met her and not known that - I feel like I was able to be more of myself. Shout out to @fitnesscarli who was an awesome chick!
In Pheonix we went to Barrio Cafe and had the most amazing guac with pomegranates. We also shopped at Last Chance and visited Brandon's co-workers at Osborn Maledon.
In Mesa, we stopped at a grocery store for Blue Bell (duh!) and paddle boarded down the Salt River since we hadn't ever done it. And you know what, we weren't missing much! It was pretty smelly and gross - Brandon will jump in almost any water, and I don't think he ended up jumping in. I got to meet up with my college roomies at Crackers for lunch, which is always a good time! We also got to see Lamb of God at the Mesa Arts Center and it was wonderful. It didn't quite meet my expectations, but that is because they were very high and I basically wanted the most spiritual experience of my life, which didn't happen, but it was still so good.
We stayed in Scottsdale at a condo and had delicious food at Taj Mahal, Butterfields and Original Pancake House. We rented scooters to get around and it was so much fun! We also hiked Camelback Mountain which is a fairly difficult 5+ mile hike - Brandon and I love hiking together.
We met the Perkinson's down in Gilbert for dinner at Zinburger and had a great time, as always!
Such a great getaway for both of us! We ate as much Blue Bell as our stomachs could handle and were able to get some good nights of rest and relax a bit.
