Sound Bites & Snap Shots

What a treat to wake up in the company of some of the best peeps ever!  Several months ago I discovered that our spring break coincided with Monique’s spring break.  I tried to invite the boys and myself out to Northern California but Monique thought it would be fun to meet somewhere for an adventure.  We wanted a destination with easy air access and a place where coats and mittens were not required.  After lots of research (Thank you, Bill), we settled on Phoenix. 

Originally it was going to be just sisters and cousins (while our sweet husbands held down jobs and forts) but since Phoenix is only a six hour drive from Los Angeles, we invited grandparents.  I’m so glad we did!  We rented an Air B&B condo with plenty of beds and a minivan so that we could all stay under one roof and travel together. 

We all arrived yesterday.  Mom and Dad checked into the house at dinnertime.  Monique and the girls landed about 10 pm and we came in at 11.  By the time we all had toes in the same home, it was LATE and by the time we got all the beds assigned and all the children settled down, it was even LATER!  However, we were all together and that was what mattered.

Thankfully Mom and Dad had gotten enough provisions for breakfast so we were able to ease into our first day.  Monique and I dashed out for a quick trip to The Container Store and Trader Joe’s.  We came back and made lunch for all before heading off to the pool. 

We learned after our trip to San Diego that our kids just want to be together and so Monique and I planned keep the activities fairly low key.  Everyone wanted to swim and the pool at the complex was perfect. Walker and Mason taught Camille how to inflate her swim shirt and make it balloon.

Papa even got in on the action.  Frankie had a tube and didn’t’ need to make a float.  

Sadly, we had to pull the kids out of the water before they were really pruney but our evening plans required us to be somewhere specific at 5 PM.  Gramma and Papa had one big request for our trip.  They wanted to take us to St. Patrick’s Church for Palm Sunday Mass and then treat us to dinner at Carrabbas in Scottsdale.  The mass was beautiful.  The parish was thriving and the church building had a modern feel to it.  That transferred to how they professed the Passion.  Carrabbas was fairly close to the church and we were lucky that our wait for dinner on a Saturday night was pretty quick.  The food was good and of course, the dinner company was even better.  We made it a point to settle down on the early side Saturday night so we would be raring to go bright and early on Sunday.