Fall Break: Family Style

Fall Break found us in Vegas again. The kids don't get to see enough of Grandma and Papa Wallace, so the drive is well worth it. We did a couple popular favorites. 

Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay:

Discovery Children's Museum:

And new for us this year was a jaunt up to St. George to visit Mike's family, and see cousin Taysom return home from her mission! We are so proud of her!

And we "women" went to the General Women's meeting broadcast and dinner at the Cheesecake Factory! Love this picture. But Bree is way too grown up.

Pictures taken 9/29/14 thru 10/2/14

September Stuff

 1: For months I kept hearing, "They're building a Kneaders near us!" Um, a what? Apparently Kneaders is an awesome bakery I'd never heard of, but that would change my life. Well, it opened, and yes, my life is changed. I am fatter. Delicious sandwiches made on freshly baked bread, yummy bottomless cinnamon bread french toast, and a huge assortment of goodies. This particular box contains a peanut butter pie my mom bought for everyone to share one day...along with tarts, "croissants" (in quotes because they are SO not real croissants), and pretty much one of everything that looked good. Our favorites? The Napoleon, key lime pie, chocolate dome, and raspberry cream pie.
2: Chad loves reptiles. The first time we saw this house, before we even bought it, he said the built-in shelf in the loft would make a perfect spot for a terrarium. And when he found one for a great price at a yard sale, all that was left to do was fill it. He found this little guy in the desert one day. We kept him for a little while before Chad released him. Too skittish to make an actual pet.
3: I can't remember exactly why I snapped a photo of this plaque I saw at Kohl's. Probably because it describes me very accurately. And I'm not always silent about it either.
4: I was visiting a friend of mine, and when I saw her kids playing on this car (the youngest of whom is 6), I asked if she occasionally babysat a toddler. She laughed and said no, that her kids just loved it. But she decided it was time to let go, so she gave it to Lincoln! He LOVES it. You can see in the picture that he is taking his baby for a ride.
5 and 6: The range that came with this house was sub-par. The oven temperature fluctuated 100 degrees up and down, there was no window, no oven light, and there was only one large coil burner, which didn't work unless you hit it just right. We got a surprise early inheritance from my grandparents, which finally made a new range a possibility! The disgusting picture shows all the treasures I found when the old range was taken away: a long lost spoon, a toy car, 35 cents, 2 legos, 5 wine corks, and some cat food (the last two were leftover from the previous owner, which is awesome). I LOVE my new range! So much easier to cook and clean.
7 and 8: September 8th was a memorable day. "The kind of storm you'll tell your grandkids about," the headline said. More than 3 inches of rain fell in 24 hours, which is about half of our yearly rainfall in one day. We here in the valley can't handle that kind of precipitation, and consequently the roads were flooded, buses couldn't get through, and school was cancelled. Bree: "This is my worst nightmare, not being able to go to school." Mason: "This is the best day of my life!!!"
9: The view of the Sharing Down Syndrome Walk at Tempe Diablo Stadium. 4th year going, and lots of fun.
10: I'm not sure when exactly this picture was taken, but one of Bree's favorite things to do is go on walks with my dad in the desert. He has taught her about edible desert plants, and here she is helping him gather saguaro cactus fruit.
11: I noticed that peanut butter powder was on group special this month, and asked around hoping I could get other people interested so I could order the 12 can minimum. I ended up ordering 37 cans for 16 people! And that stuff is AWESOME in smoothies.
12: Lincoln is so little. SO, SO little. He makes me nervous climbing at the park, and I have to forcefully tell myself to just let him go for it. He has never fallen. He knows his limits, and he growing every day.
13: Is September 21st too early to decorate for Halloween? If so, clearly we don't care.
14: Mason: "I wanted to look like Duck Dynasty!"
15: I am obsessed with Febreze Air Effects. But this new Spiced Pear scent? It's obsession on a whole new level. (Not a paid advertisement)
16: I started a cooking group with a couple friends last month, and called it Amateur Chef (in homage to one of my favorite shows: Master Chef). This month Christie taught us how to make Hamam Ma'shi (stuffed hens) and Aish Baladi (Egyptian pita). So awesome! I LOVED the pitas. So easy, and delicious dipped in her dad's homemade hummus.
17 through 20: Snapshots from our visit to Vegas for Fall Break. The kids playing games with Grandma. Shark Reef at Mandalay Bay. Cousin Abby being so sweet to Lincoln. Grandma teaching Bree how to make her famous Chicken and Rice.

Recent Randomness

First off, I though I'd share a common sight in our home. Mason playing Mario Brothers on the Wii. He literally cannot sit still while he plays. He wants me to play with him, which I occasionally do, until I get tired of him blocking my view. Bouncing, hopping, and the occasional pee-pee dance. And on this particular day, he should have worn a belt.

 

 Other recent random bits:

1: Cherry Cheesecake Cupcakes for my dad's birthday. I haven't been making cupcakes as much as I used to, so when I make a flavor we haven't had in forever, they taste extra delicious.
2: We stayed with my parents for a couple days to celebrate my dad's birthday. These two can often be seen nodding off, and catching them doing it in tandem was a precious sight.
3: My parents kept our kids at their house so Chad and I could have several days alone together. I look forward to these private staycations all year. We spent one night of our together time at the Elders' Quorum sponsored dance. The theme was "Dancing Through Time," so we dressed up with a little 50's flair and had a complete blast.
4: We took advantage of our kid-free time to hit a couple thrift stores. I scored these patent leather Steve Maddens for $8. They make me happy.
5: My dad sent me this photo of him and Bree picking saguaro cactus fruit. She is always the adventurer, insisting that Papa wake her early in the morning to go hiking and searching for treasures in the desert.
6: I remember when I was a kid, if I had a loose tooth, I'd wiggle it constantly so it would fall out as soon as possible. Our kids are the opposite. They baby their loose teeth so they hang on FOREVER. I don't know how they stand to have those danglers in their mouth.
7: We love The Lego Movie around here. When I saw this creation in the loft one day, I asked Mason what it was. "Bree made it. It's President Business's daughter."
8: I finally opened a shop on Etsy.com to sell the nursing covers I make. It's been exciting to see several orders come in, even though most of them have been from people I know. I love packaging stuff up and dropping it in the mail.
9: Lincoln met his new preschool teacher the week before class started. She could not get over how adorable and cuddly he is. He was mostly just excited to see his classroom, play with his toys, and say hi to a few familiar faces from last year.
10 and 11: Lincoln doesn't sleep soundly. He is tired from noon until bedtime. We know he moves around a lot when he sleeps, and he often sleeps on his chest with his knees tucked underneath him, which could be a sign that he's having trouble getting enough air. Hoping to get some answers, we signed up for a sleep study. I said a lot of prayers the week leading up to it, because I knew it would be a struggle. After checking in at 8pm, we started the long process of hooking up all the leads. I lost count of how many there were. Some on his legs to monitor his movement. Some around his chest and belly to monitor breathing. A pulse oximeter on his toe. And about a dozen all over his head. Then the nasal cannula. He finally fell asleep at 10pm, and I crashed on a mat next to his bed. He "slept" through the night, though many times the techs had to come in to reattach leads because he moved around so much. My sleep was disturbed each time, and I had to help hold Lincoln still when his nasal cannula had come off, because Lincoln was thrashing in his sleep while the tech was trying to tape it back on. They finally woke us at 5:30 in the morning, which is when I snapped this picture of Lincoln. It does not adequately capture all the wires. He wasn't happy when all the tape got ripped off, but he was glad to be free of the leads, and get out of that building. What an awful night. But my prayers had been answered; Lincoln made it through. And the sunrise that morning on our way home was glorious.
12: Homemade meatball marinara pizza. I often make pizza with leftovers (usually BBQ chicken pizza, and sometimes taco pizza), but I'd never before tried it with leftover meatballs. So delicious.

Washington (State, not D.C)

I haven't been "home" to Washington in nine years. That is a long time to be away from the place I spent my first 18 years of life. My parents own a second home there (or is it officially their first home?), and Bree and Mason have both gone there with my mom, and I died with jealousy both times. And last year my best friend Jaime moved there! I informed Chad that our big vacation this year would be to Washington.

By the way... because I grew up in Washington, I never realized how, when the majority of Americans hear "Washington," they immediately think of Washington D.C. It still really irks me that whenever I say I'm from Washington, I get asked, "State, or D.C.?" Um, if I meant D.C., I would have said D.C.! So annoying. If you're going to shorten Washington D.C., could you please just say D.C.? Because Washington only has "Washington." And I refuse to say "Washington State." No one has to say "Arizona State." It's not fair. I'm sure I will never get over this.

Aaaanyways...

The trip fulfilled all my expectations of awesomeness. Nay, exceeded. Warning: this post's a long one.

Day One:

1, 2, and 3: We spent our first morning on a hike to Twin Falls near North Bend. It was green and cool and glorious. The smells of the moss and fir trees and the sounds of nearby running water were overwhelmingly beautiful and nostalgic. I can't believe this is where I grew up.
4, 5, and 6: After our hike we stopped at the Green Valley Meat Market, where they sell delicious (if not overpriced) jerky of all flavors, along with tons of other miscellaneous meat products. Bree is a little obsessed with beef jerky, and she had fun sampling the flavors.
7 and 8: The kids spent a lot of time in my parents' yard, which has actual green grass, wild flowers, and an evergreen tree. At our house in Arizona, the only thing to play with in the yard is gravel.
9: My mom organized a treasure hunt, and the kids followed clues to find their cash and candy waiting at the end. We quickly headed off to Walmart to spend the loot.
10 and 11: We ate lunch at the Mexican Restaurant (that is literally what it says on the sign...it's actually called Rio Blanco). This was one of our family's regular favorites, where my brother always ordered a cheeseburger.
12, 13, and 14: My mom mentioned a local donut place she had seen on the news, Legendary Doughnuts, and suggested we try it. Best. Decision. Ever. I can honestly say these are the best donuts I've ever had in my life. We may have gone there three times during our short Washington visit. Chad says he got sick of donuts (please, Chad, like that's even possible).
15: I don't know who this grown-up girl is. But she loves to read.

Point Defiance Zoo and Aquarium:

A delicious breakfast at the Sunbreak Cafe, just a short walk downtown. Here we are that morning, strolling through the train station where my dad catches his ride to work in Seattle:

Mason and Bree were thrilled with the massive whipped-cream topped hot chocolates.

(And I was thrilled with my enormous strawberry cream cheese French toast sandwich. The house-made egg bread slices were 10 inches wide)

Enchanted Village. Okay, so it's called Wild Waves now, but it will always be Enchanted Village to me. Besides, this family could not handle any kind of waves in Washington's June weather, thank you.

 

Les Gove Park in downtown Auburn:

Mom and Dad treated Chad and me to a date night at the Mariner's game. Beforehand we stopped at Ivar's on the Seattle Pier for dinner, and Top Pot donuts (because we had to do further research to verify that Legendary was, indeed, superior). We miraculously got away with two downtown Seattle stops without paying for parking. Sweet. Plus, I got to wear my Mariners cap for the first time in...years.

After a few days of being in Washington, we drove across the Narrows Bridge (while Chad uncomfortably asked "Why are you in the far-right lane?") to the peninsula to visit Jaime, who was excitedly awaiting our arrival. It had been 1 1/2 years since we last saw her family in Vegas. It was surreal to see her in her new home, surrounded by scenery that I used to call home. We settled in to the guest room for a few days, and I eagerly took in the sights of their little town.

We visited the local farmers' market, and snacked on delicious cherries, strawberries, carrots, and sugar peas. We also visited the free downtown aquarium. There was also an event going that day where the kids got to "fish" for trout. That was pretty exciting. It was my kind of fishing: where you can't even count to ten before you get a bite on your line.

We visited the much-talked-of Indianola Beach, where the tide pools did not disappoint. Crabs, hermit crabs, giant sea snails, tiny fish, and sea stars (not starfish Meg, you sound like a tourist). The sky, which had pelted our van with rain on the drive to the beach, decided to have pity on us. It must have sensed the importance of our visit. It was gorgeous.

More random pictures from our visit with Jaime:

1: Chad always tells me I'm lame for taking selfies. I took this particular lame selfie so I could always remember this gloriously drizzly Sunday when I got to use the umbrella I won at a white elephant gift exchange when I was a teenager. It drizzled all day. I was in heaven.
2: Bree and Lincoln could not get over this giant teddy bear.
3: Lincoln and Scarlett were just the same size during this visit. Lincoln was happy to have someone to follow around all day, play with, and share lotion apparently.
4, and 5: Jaime and I always cook and bake when we get together. We work seamlessly together in the kitchen, and have produced some pretty spectacular food. Because we spent Father's Day with them, we treated the men to ribs, homemade rolls, corn on the cob, and salad with homemade Caesar dressing. Rob and Chad are lucky men. We didn't bake during this visit, which is SO out of character for us, but Jaime made some delicious strawberry ice cream.
6: Back home, bedtime is like a race to the finish line for me. Jaime and Rob are really good about taking time to read stories, which our kids absolutely loved.
7: It wouldn't be a visit with Rob and Jaime without playing Canasta and Settlers of Catan. The boys got served some serious humble pie as Jaime and I trounced them at Canasta. It was the first time the score had been so overwhelmingly in our favor.
8, 9, and 10: Rob and Chad offered to watch the kids while Jaime and I went out. Just the two of us. It was heavenly. Jaime suggested we catch the ferry and have dinner in Seattle. After I realized she was serious, I was totally on board. The sky and clouds were breathtaking as we ferried across the sound. I was a little bit freezing, and I clearly cannot take a decent photo in direct sunlight, but it was so much fun. We took advantage of our quiet time to really talk. Jaime is a great listener, and always has advice that I need to hear. Dinner at Cheesecake Factory was delicious (even though we have one near us in Arizona, the last time I'd eaten there was with Jaime and Rob in Vegas). After eating, we did a little shopping to savor every last kid-free minute we could. By the time we got back to the house at 11pm, Chad and Rob had long since put the kids to bed. Best night ever.
11 and 12: Jaime drove back to Auburn with us, to see where I grew up. Chad watched all the kids while Jaime, my mom, and I drove down Green Valley Road to see our old house, which was depressingly run-down. The lower lawn sported an R.V. and a goat pen. We tried to describe its glory days to Jaime, and I promised to show her a good picture later. After we got back to my parents' cottage, Jaime got to meet my dad (for the first time) as he arrived home from work. He and Chad had some work to do in the backyard, cutting down an old tree that was threatening to fall into the neighbor's yard. The kids watched from the window as the chainsaw roared, and Bree and Zackary helped clean up branches and leaves.

And then...my life was altered forever. Jaime and I slipped away, just the two of us, for yet another run to Legendary Doughnuts.

I had overlooked the "doughsants" (a croissant that had been cut and frosted like a donut) on my previous visits, because...well I was there for donuts, right? But Jaime insisted we try just one, and we chose a strawberry-frosted one (in the upper left corner of the box). As soon as we got back in the car, we had to sample it.

Oh. My. G.O.S.H. I can't even describe how amazing it was. Flaky, tender-crisp layers of croissant, glazed and then frosted with delicious strawberry frosting. One minute I was reveling in the flavor, and the next minute I was in awe at the AMAZING texture. The other donuts, which were of course delicious, suddenly paled in comparison. We savored each bite, and erased all evidence of the one and only doughsant we'd purchased. We considered going back inside and buying more...but we just couldn't bring ourselves to add to the already enormous pile of pastries we were already taking home. It was a life-altering experience. I will forever measure pastries against that divine doughsant.

Too soon it was time for Jaime's family to make the long, rush-hour drive back to their home on the peninsula. I made sure that Jaime promised to visit me in Arizona before another 1 1/2 years has gone by. I will hold her to it.

We knocked out a few more things on my wish list before our trip was over. We took a picnic lunch to Flaming Geyser State Park, which was 5 minutes away from my house growing up. So many good memories of family events, church picnics, and rafting trips:

I can't believe how green it is. It's unreal.

On our way back from the park we stopped at Mosby's road-side stand, where I remember getting produce as a teenager. We couldn't resist the Rainier cherries, and we picked up some multi-colored baby potatoes to go with our dinner. I breathed in the fragrance of the tiny candy-sweet strawberries. And they had mangoes from Mexico on sale for 50-cents each. I did not expect the most delicious mango I'd ever tasted to be in Washington, but it was. Go figure.

A few days before we left, I noticed that my childhood friend Tina had posted on Facebook about being at her sister's graduation. In Auburn? But she lives in Florida! I texted her, and had a very strange text conversation with a person who, after far too many texts had been exchanged, turned out not to be Tina. After finally getting a hold of her through her parents' home phone (a number found in an old church directory my parents still had), we connected and met up at the park with all of our kids. It's not always easy to keep up with old friends, but even though Tina and I go years between seeing each other, it's like no time has passed. She is still as sweet as ever, and I love her dearly.

And some random photos from our trip:

1: I frequently shopped at Goodwill when I was a teenager. Thankfully, it was totally cool to attend our high school sporting funky vintage thrift store finds. Chad and I went there on a mini-date, and I scored some serious deals on denim.
2: After Lincoln spent hours with this "Leaptop" at Jaime's house, she generously told us he could keep it. He loved showing off his skills with letters and sounds.
3: A salmon berry. My dad taught me all about edible native wild berries when I was a kid. I remember supplementing hiking trip food with berries from the trail. Bree is a little obsessed with eating food found in the wild. We tasted these tart little babies at Flaming Geyser.
4: Papa Murphy's pizza. Better than I remember.
5: When Chad and I were at the ball game, the Mariner Moose wore a "Vote for Pedro" shirt and did the Napoleon Dynamite dance. I have that same shirt.
6: Chad hurt his back while we were there, so I used my dad's back massager on him. Lincoln insisted on a turn.
7 and 8: After going to the park with Tina, she joined us at the Teriyaki Wok for old time's sake. The food was exactly the same as I remember it. My family was unimpressed. I make homemade teriyaki sauce that is much tastier; they are spoiled. And the waitress was bizarre. She kept trying to "help" with the kids; she picked celery out of Mason's soup because he said he didn't like it, and he lifted up Tina's little boy to put him back in his chair...among other things. So weird.
9: My parents took us to China House one day, which was my sister Jessica's favorite place to eat. We used to eat there for special occasions. I remember Jessica opening birthday presents there once. It was delicious.
10: I did a makeover for my mom, using my favorite Mary Kay products and techniques. Her blue eyes are stunning.
11: One day my dad was coloring with my kids, and I told him I remember him doing that with me when I was little. I especially used to love paint by numbers. That got us going on a paint by numbers hunt. We found a cheap little kit at Walmart that required us to scan, enlarge, and print the picture so we could actually see the tiny numbers, then we had to mix our own colors. I spent hours completing this one (my old allergies were flaring up, so I was content to relax inside). So fun.
12: I almost didn't include this picture of Chad and me eating fish and chips at Ivar's. It's an awkward picture, which didn't capture as much of the water as I'd hoped it would. But this was our second meal at Ivar's while we were in Washington (we knew there was nothing like it back home), so I decided I'd post it in all its awkward glory.

Lincoln learned to "snap" along to the music on his Leaptop, after copying my dad:

We had two full weeks of sights and tastes, family and friends. It was wonderful. It would have been perfect had it not been for my intermittent allergies, and that looooong drive. Driving away from western Washington was a little bit of a let-down. I would miss the waterfront, and the rivers and streams. And you can't see trees like that just anywhere.  Oh, and don't even get me started on the moss and ferns. I was sad to leave.

Back to the dry southwest for us. Home.

But not before stopping at the Glen Canyon Dam near Page. Arizona and it's dams. Water is a big deal around here.

Despite my several inquiries as to why we don't live in Washington (Me: "We could move here, right?" Chad: "NO."), it was good to be back in Arizona (it wasn't awesome to be back in 110-degree weather, but I'm working on focusing on the other 8 envy-inducing months of our year). We got to see so much beauty on our trip. And I am so grateful to my parents and to Jaime's family for letting us stay with them and live in their world for a bit. It may not officially be my world anymore, but I feel like now, more then ever, I can still call Washington "home."

#2

Goal #2: Go camping with the family

I really didn't want another year getting away from us without going camping. That's why we ended up camping in the mountains in March.

I knew it would be cold. We were prepared with warm clothing and bedding. I had not, however, checked the forecast the morning of our campout. As we drove into the mountains, we noticed that we were headed straight for an ominous wall of gray storm clouds. The rain continued as we arrived in Payson. We decided to forgo our picnic lunch, and dined at Arby's instead.

The rain was coming down harder than ever.

So we thought we'd kill some time at a thrift store we'd seen on the way into town. In fact, we visited every thrift store in the greater Payson area, stocking up on cheap clothes for the kids, and scoring a sweet new coat for Bree.

It was still drizzling.

But it was too late to get our money back now, so we headed over to the campground to check it out. Surprisingly, the ground was pretty dry, and we made the decision to stay. It was drizzly, cold, and a little windy.

But I kept reminding myself that I grew up in the rainy Northwest. When I was a kid, if you didn't camp in the rain...you didn't camp at all.

So our story had a happy ending...

Until we were ready to pack up and head home. We were enjoying the last of the morning campfire, and I was reading Fablehaven aloud, when Lincoln leaned over to reach for a grape that had landed on the campfire grill (we won't mention who tossed it on there, curious to see what a grilled grape looked like). The poor guy got burned pretty badly on his left hand. It was a miserable way to end the vacation. He screamed the whole time we packed up, because even though we had first aid with ointment and bandages, we didn't have anything for the pain. Luckily he fell asleep on the way home. Chad and I felt terrible.

It was a challenge trying to keep his hand bandaged for the next couple of weeks until it healed over. At first he kept trying to get the blistered skin off.

But he was a good sport about it. I think he finally realized that when we took care of it it felt better.

 

 

I still felt terrible.

Fall Break in Las Vegas

During the kids' Fall Break from school we were able to visit Chad's family in Las Vegas. One of the main highlights of the trip was the Discovery Children's Museum. We had been to the old Children's Museum, but this new one was bigger and better. Chad chased Bree and Mason around (they spent a ton of time in the three-story play structure), and Fran and Jim and I hung out with Lincoln and Trust in the little kids' area. Lincoln was in heaven.

Mason lost his first tooth while we were there. Luckily the Tooth Fairy found us. Now he and Bree have matching smiles.

We also visited Chad's cousin Curtis and his family. The kids played a little (Cal was loving on Lincoln--so adorable) before we headed out for some shopping at Town Square (Amber is an awesome shopping buddy).

 

A weekend of General Conference rounded out the visit. The weather was chilly and glorious; it felt like fall had officially arrived. And we said goodbye to the house Fran and Jim have lived in for so many years, since they'll be moving soon. The next time we visit, it will be to their new place! Hopefully that time won't be too far off.

Couples Staycation

Chad has a lot of vacation time saved up, not because he's been trying to rack up hours, but because he doesn't usually take time off unless we have money to go somewhere cool. So, he decided to use a few of those vacation days last week. My mom watched the kids, and Chad and I had the house all to ourselves for a staycation.

Day 1: After dropping off the kids, we exercised (P90X) and ate lunch (it's amazing how even the smallest things are easier without kids). Then we went to the theater to see the new Superman movie, "Man of Steel," which we both really enjoyed. I definitely appreciated the gorgeous scenery in that film, if you know what I mean. Then we ate dinner at Olive Garden, courtesy of a gift card from Chad's parents (four words: Black Tie Mousse Cake). We dropped by a Redbox on the way home and picked up "Jack Reacher" (yes, Chad and I are obsessed with movie-watching). It was extremely good.

Day 2: We exercised again. Yes, we are awesome. Then we hit the library and checked out a new pile of movies (again, obsessed). We indulged in a delicious chocolate fondue, enjoying having the entire pot to ourselves. Then Chad set up our inflatable pool in the backyard.

No, this is obviously not us. And that is definitely not our lawn. I just had to show how sweet our $20 pool is.

We were probably out there a good two hours, relaxing with the book Legend, reviving our early-marriage tradition of reading aloud to each other. Then Chad grilled up some chicken for salads for dinner, after which we (what else?) watched a movie. "The Last Stand" is a slightly cheesy Arnold Schwarzenegger film, which took itself too seriously, and for which it was very necessary to use our ClearPlay filters. But we still enjoyed it.

Day 3: We slept in until 10am. Heaven. After getting ready for the day, we headed to Scottsdale for lunch at Fogo de Chao, a Brazilian steakhouse. After we sampled the salad bar, they brought around 16 different cuts of meat to our table, along with sides like fried bananas and crispy polenta. It's a pretty fun experience. And the bacon-wrapped filet mignon was ridiculously amazing. I also loved the lamb t-bone, which was a first for me. Then we waddled out to our vehicle, and did a little shopping at the Scottsdale Fashion Square, where I felt very, very poor. So we went over to a Phoenix Walmart to pick up a few necessities and kill time; I felt like a rich snob in that place. Then it was time to head to Chase Field to catch the game.

Go Diamondbacks! I have not had this much fun at a game since...the last time Chad and I went just the two of us. Which was...10 years ago? I can't remember. Anyway, it reminded me how much I enjoy baseball; I've just been to busy with kids to make time for it.

This was a do-over pic, but Chad and I couldn't stop laughing at the guy next to him. Not sure what's going through his mind. He literally slept through the third inning.

We had pretty nice seats, thanks to Stub Hub's discounted prices.

Fireworks after the game, which ended in a finale accompanied by video on the Jumbo-Tron of the Death Star being destroyed. Baseball fans are such nerds. I love it.

The next day we picked up the kids, and we reluctantly re-entered reality. I'm so glad that my mom is pretty close, and always willing to watch our children, and that my kids are always more than excited to stay at "grandma and papa's."

It had been a much-needed vacation for the both of us. A low-stress, low-cost way to reconnect and just enjoy being together. It didn't involve an exotic location, or anything incredibly exciting by the world's standards, but it will definitely be one of 2013's biggest highlights for me.

California! (Day 3)

Our third and final day in California. We checked out of our hotel and drove to the Balboa Pier at Newport Beach. It was a beautiful sunny day. The sun almost made up for how cold the water was. The kids could have played in the surf for hours...

We finished up with lunch at Ruby's Diner, which is actually on the end of the pier. Very cool.

The vacation was definitely too short. It left us wanting for more. Which is a good thing.

We'll be back.