Thursday we went to the rodeo parade which meant we had to wake up earlier than we had our entire trip, 7:30am. We woke everyone up to get them going and my dad couldn't believe that we were actually going out the door so early even though he was the one who initiated it all! We bribed Tim to come along with the promise of donuts but he was a little disapointed by donut holes and turnovers. We drove to the south side of Tucson, to the rodeo grounds where the parade was and found a spot. My dad had been talking about this parade and how it is the longest unmotorized parade in the world. Jack was put on John's shoulders as you see here and everytime he is put on someone's shoulders he holds onto their ears AND he uses them like reigns. He tugs on the ear towards the direction that he wants to go, its almost like he's meant to be a cowboy and has an instinct =)
We came home to eat some lunch and John helped my dad change the breaks out on the suburban. We packed up and headed out again, this time for Mount Lemmon. It is quite the drive as you head up the mountains. There are moments that your looking over the edge of quite the drop off. This is where I will explain that I am terrified of heights. Like when I go to a Brewers game I get anxious walking up the stands to my seat, pretty sure if I fell I'd just roll down the stands and onto the field... okay, I know its unrealisitc but its what I picture. Anyway, so as we drove up I hit a panic moment that continued until we got to the restaurant in SummerHaven on top of Mount Lemmon for pie. It was excellant pie and the boys were each given free rock candy for coloring a picture. Everyone thought it was really funny to pull me towards to edge to make me look well my mother and sister Rebekah anyway. We made our way down the mountain again and made a few stops for pictures, this one of John and Devon is pretty great to show how it feels like the mountains keep going forever. Some pretty fantastic views even for someone as terrified as myself =) We were supposed to grill burgers but hadn't even stopped at the grocery store yet and it was already 7pm so we got Uno's deepdish pizza instead and let me tell you, we were not dissapointed! I haven't had deepdish in forever and it was pretty great. We watched Despicable Me while we ate our pizza, great kids movie if you haven't seen it.
Friday John used the leftover steak from our tbones to make steak and eggs for breakfast with homemade breakfast potatoes. One of my favorite parts of this vacation was how involved in cooking John was =) He did alot of the grilling which took pressure off me. My sisters and I decided to tackle our tye dye mission so we set out to tye dye tshirts, tank tops and sports bras. I did all this in my black swimsuit outside with my back to the sun and got quite sunburnt on my back but that didn't stop me from laying out to continue reading my book.
Jack was so excited about the water at the base of the dam that he walked right in with his shoes on, thankfully John scooped him up quickly. We took the boys shoes off and let them explore a little. The water was freezing but the boys still thought it was fun to put their toes in. The sun was setting as we started walking back and the mountains start changing as the light hits them differently. The sunset that day was truly amazing. The sky was painted with pinks, deep purples and blues almost like God was telling me ,"Hey Rose, I like to tye dye too. Top this!". I will be posting some of those pictures I took to my website if people want to buy them but I don't want anyone stealing them since they are pretty awesome pictures. I'll get them up in the next week if you want to check them out at http://www.rosephillipphotography.com/
Whoa, I must apologize for forgetting to tell you what we had for dinner. John grilled burgers for dinner and we had tater tots, YUM! Sorry, that was a close one =)
Saturday we made a discovery! For those of you who don't know that I'm a Thrift store aholic you should be aware that there is such a thing and that I just can't help myself. You won't find me at a mall, you'll find me at the local goodwill buying all the name brand clothes that you would for $3 a shirt. My dad escorted all us ladies out thrift store shopping, I'm pretty sure he had no idea what he had gotten himself into. We had a blast! We started at Goodwill and found some fun deals and then we made our way to a store called the Buffalo Exchange. Its down near the University for you Arizonians that don't know of this amazing store. Basically people sell their awesome clothes to this place, you'll find more name brand better condition items than you could goodwill. You do pay a little more but you get better quality everywhere you look. I got two pairs of cowgirl boots ($18.50 a pair), a jean skirt, two pairs of jean shorts and a pair of skinny jeans. I will make sure to post pictures of my new boots when I wear them. My thrift store obsession actually started after I went to Africa which was something my parents and I reminised about as we drove from each store. I'm not sure what exactly from Africa made it click but I have been a thrift store shopper ever since. We came home and made steak and chicken quesadillas with rice and beans, YUM!
Sunday, you might be wondering why I have a picture of a snowman for our Arizona trip... because it snowed! We woke up Sunday morning to find about an inch of snow on the ground, it was strange to see snow on palm trees. Whenever the sun would peak out the snow started melting like crazy but Tim ran outside and made a snowman as quickly as he could, heres his work =) I thought our Arizona snowman should definitely be apart of this blog. We went to church and the weather was still crazy, raining one minute, snowing and sleeting the next. It was a day to stay inside and we relaxed while my parents visited with some of their friends that came for a brunch. I took a fantastic nap that afternoon, read some more of my book and then made pizza bread again. Its a cheap way to feed alot of people and great for Sunday nights. We rented the movie Megamind with Will Farrell, Tina Fey and Brad Pitt and LOVED it! Such a funny kids movie with an interesting plot, definitely a must see.
This is the view of the mountains from my parents backyard. Isn't it crazy beautiful! This was Sunday morning I ran outside in shorts and a tank top to quick take pictures while their was a layer of snow on everything. The mountains are just breathtaking and magnificent. I still can't believe this is where my parents live and while I'm sad that they are so far away from us, way to pick a fantastic place to live! Spending two weeks in Tucson was just the right amount of time to truly appreciate it and yet there is SO much more to see.
Monday I tried something new and laid out in the sun for a few hours reading my book and then we went and got In and Out Burger. Let me tell you, if I ever open a restaurant chain this is it! Everything is made fresh and you can watch them as they make it while you are going through the drive thru there are windows the whole way showing into the kitchen so you can see them make your food! The potatoes are made from fresh potatoes, never frozen and its all not over priced. SO GOOD! Arizonians, if you haven't experienced all that In and Out Burger is you are missing out!! We then went frolfing for the afternoon and then came back for grilled chicken and cheesy broccoli rice for dinner. We played "Darn it!" as a family where Tim learned what trump meant =)
Tuesday I did laundry and started to pack =( while John and my brothers thought they would climb down Mount Lemmon. They started down the trail though but it was SO snow covered they lost the trail so they turned around. They hitch hiked down the mountain to where my dad was waiting for them. They came back and I was (SURPRISE) laying outside by the pool soaking up the last bit of sun I could and reading. John and I organized our things so we were all packed and then we had brats, hot dogs and home made potato wedges for dinner. Oh, we do eat vegtables with every meal but its not what I am passionate about so I almost always forget to mention it =) After dinner my dad made margaritas and then we played "Darn it!" again. We said our goodbyes and I took pictures of each family member with the boys. Its hard to say goodbye when your not sure when you will see your family next. At least now I can picture where they are living, the house they are in and visualize what they describe to me. These two weeks we had were so fantastic, such a great vacation and it never would have happend if my parents didn't move to Tucson. So today, I thank God for what He is doing with my family. I know that it isn't an easy transition but God is at work regardless. I am amazed by the world around us, there is so much to experience and its so easy to stay in our little comfort bubble.
Wednesday morning came early as we had to leave the house by 4:30am to get to Phoenix for our flight at 7:50am. The boys were a real hit this time in their matching monkey and turtle footy pajamas in the airport. Here the boys are watching Cars on the plane. We borrowed a dvd player from John's coworker Mandy that was a real blessing, I think we would have gone crazy without it. Our flights and layovers were less eventful this time which I suppose means things went very smoothly. Don't worry we changed the boys in the O'hare airport into their Packers gear so we as a family were once again all dressed in pride. I lay on the airport floor and took about an hour nap and then we hopped onto our little puddle jumper plane to Milwaukee where our friend Devin was waiting to pick us up from the airport (what a great friend!). Walking in the door to our house was a strange feeling, two weeks of being gone and having John's sister Rebecca house sitting had me feeling like Mama bear looking for goldilocks =) While its good to be home its hard to come off of such an awesome vacation surrounded by God's wonder. Thankfully I didn't have too much time to focus on all these feelings as we had to repack our bags and leave for the Dells as soon as we could. Our trip was great, I can't wait to go back again.
Wow do I look tired in this picture. From our travels we found, "From there to here, from here to there, funny things are everywhere..."
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