Easter in Arizona

Trips like these really make you wonder why anyone chooses to live in Illinois.  Arizona over Easter weekend was beautiful.  The weather was absolutely perfect!  Sunny every day, no rain, perfect temps and no humidity!  I loved getting a break from changing temps and cloudy days.  We had a very busy trip, but a good one.  In the short time we were there we got to do a lot.  We did some shopping, got to check out my grandma' s golf ball business plant, ate at different restaurants, spent the day on a gorgeous lake on Saturday, more shopping, caught a movie, and just relaxed and hung out with each other at my grandma's house.  It was so nice to see everyone! 

Our first night there after a day full of running around, we went to a yummy mexican restaurant and had some pictures taken.

On Saturday we went to Lake Saguaro and boy was it awesome.  My grandma had rented a pontoon boat for the day and 2 jet skis for everyone to take turns riding.  I didn't take my turn but almost everyone else did.  The lake was so neat how it was in the middle of mountains.  Perfect weather and perfect scenery.  I have missed the sun.  I put sunscreen on twice throughout the day, however that wasn't enough.  I still managed to get very burnt!  That was the not so fun part. 

Can I say that I have a major interest in cacti after this trip.  I learned a lot about them and for some weird reason I found them very intriguing.  My grandma told us that you can tell when one is really old because of how many arms it has coming off.  They all grow different so it was neat to see all the different ones.  And did you know, under the green, they are wood?  Crazy, my grandma has a dead one that had been petrified on her patio and it is just the wood structure underneath. 

Also we learned about some that shoot off their spikey things when they sense movement.  Luckily we just saw them from the road and never in person.  What a defense mechanism.  Call me a dork, haha! I got made fun of the whole ride to the lake because I was so interested. 

 After a day on the lake we went to a neat marketplace with all sorts of shops and did some shopping, then we met up with Trevor, Amanda and Brandon for a little bit more shopping and dinner at the California Pizza Kitchen and then my favorite ColdStone Creamery.  Boy it has been way too long since  I have had it!  There was this really neat fountain, and fireplace in the middle of the outdoor mall and we couldn't help but stop for some photos.  Once it got later they also had a band playing in the middle, such a neat place.  I wish we had something like that around here.  I just love walking around and eating outside when it's nice!

What a great trip and visit we had.    We did miss our little boy very much, but it was also nice to get away and relax for a few days.  We were so busy it would have been so hard on him anyway so I was thankful he got to stay at our house and stay on a schedule and play like he loves.  We made it home safely and on time on Monday and made it home to see Noah before bedtime!  Now we have been playing catch up all week.  I was finally getting there but now am leaving again tonight for Randi's bachelorette party.  Matthew is also out of town for Adam and Jared's bachelor parties.  We have never really left  Noah much and poor guy has been left a lot this month.  We are excited to get to be a part of all of these events but also ready for life to slow down again!