Just in a week

Zara just got her stitches off (see below) and was so excited to be able swim again so off we went after school today! We love our neighbors the Browns. They let us swim in their pool and we have so many memories there. The water is still cold this time of year.

It’s amazing how one project can roll into another. It started with trimming the rose bushes out front, then the lantanas. Then I potted flowers in one galvanized pot a couple months ago, then another. I repaired and repainted the front door, added a new door mat and potted a third plant. It makes me so happy seeing all the flower bloom.

Avery got some new nail supplies for her birthday and has loved doing her nails lately. Also Zara’s. :) We liked how her nails matched the soda can.

Avery got her license this week! She’s always looking for opportunities to drive people places or run errands for me. 

Zara snapped this photo

Andrew wanted to play pickleball for our date tonight and it was so fun! We are definitely doing this again soon. He beat me all four games but I’ll catch up.

We got chick food after. 😂 Andrew wasn’t impressed. He could taste the kale. I thought his tasted fantastic but my smoothie bowl was amazing! This is my second time getting the Island Bowl. I like it because it’s the only one that has dragon fruit instead of açaí. Our date as cut a little short because Elliot accidentally locked his car key in the teen car way out at the Gilbert temple so Andrew saved the day and brought the spare key.

Zara was but by a dog last Tuesday and Corey Willis was so amazing to take her stitches out Thursday. Such a wonderful friend! He’s stepped in for our family small medical emergencies many times.

 All that in about a week!

Life lately

Avery and I had that fantastic mermaid smoothie bowl in Tucson last week and I wanted to find something similar near home. Good news! This Tru Bowl Superfood opened near us recently. The employee told me they had a soft open in December but just had their grand opening this past weekend.

There were so many options on the menu, I’m looking forward to returning and trying new items. This one was so good.

It was general conference this past weekend. Avery and I missed the first two sessions because of the Tucson trip but we watched the Sunday morning session at Chris & Kristy’s. I’ve been making this cheese and cracker charcuterie for conference weekend lately so this was the simple version this time.

Yesterday I planted this yellow freesia plant and it’s making me so happy. It was to replace a ranuncula plant that looked great for a couple weeks and then quickly died.

Here they are in context. The flowers on the left are my poppies and they are lasting a lot longer than the ranunculas. I painted the front door last week and Andrew put a new handle on and it’s looking so much better. The old door had some cracks and wear and tear that I repaired and it feels so good seeing it look better than before.

I got really into scone making last fall and still like to make them from time to time. This batch is plain and mixed berry. There’s something so satisfying about making them. I always feel a little posh having them too since they feel a little elevated.

I got to do initiatories at the temple this morning! It had been since early March so I was overdue. Looking forward to going back again in a week or two. I saw Barb Abney, who’s in my ward and works in the temple Wednesday mornings, and she said the Gilbert temple is closed for two weeks and the Mesa temple closes at noon the next two weeks because the Easter pageant so it’s busy in the temple.

Rupert and Beatrix have some friends in our ward and at the school bus and some of them are the same. They always ask to play with friends after school and we usually stick with Wednesdays because it’s early release and Fridays because there’s no homework.

Well today Bryn Evans and Ivy Wheeler came over after school so I took them out to ice cream cones from QT. Rupert played at Madden Brock’s house later with Lancing Evans. We have wonderful neighbor friends.

Tucson girls trip

Avery had a track meet scheduled for early morning in Tucson. She could have met at the school at 4:45am and taken the bus and been back by 4pm on Saturday. We decided to make a mini girls trip out of it instead. We drove down Friday 3pm and did a little exploring before grabbing some dinner and checking into our hotel. 

There are actually kind of a lot of murals in Tucson, sort of like Flagstaff. Unlike Flagstaff and Mesa, Tucson has its own look and feel. The houses look different, the streets look different. It’s very southwestern inspired (even more than Mesa) with more Adobe style homes and buildings and lots of desert landscapes.

This Tucson postcard mural was a fun recommendation from Pinterest, along with the other places we went on this trip.

This antique shop was cute and had some fun items, but were used to thrift store prices. I did get a USA flag pin for $2 I thought would be perfect for patriotic holidays.

Check out this cool Moses and the burning bush mural!

We stumbled upon Chez Peachy. They’re known for cute mini bento cakes and the shop has a fun vibe. We needed up getting a Nutella stuffed chocolate chip cookie to eat after dinner.

It’s always fun checking out homes in new places. This was actually a home turned business, but such a cute one in the area.

Thunder Bacon Burger was near the Tucson mural and it was dinner time so we thought we’d check it out. The style inside was very edgy and not my style but there were cute mini ducks throughout that were fun finding while we waited for our food. The burger was ok but the fries were amazing! The perfect amount of crispness.

Andrew booked the hotel 6 minutes from the school that hosted the track meet. Thank goodness because we were running a bit late. I sat with Heritage high school track which is the best because I get to chat with some of my previous cross country runners. 

This mural is actually the outside of a racquetball court! It was a senior mural from class of 2023 which I thought was cool.

Avery ran the 100 meter and 400 meter. She made a new personal record in the 100 which is exciting! Who knew she would be so great at sprinting?! This was her first meet running with spikes which I have never done. I ran distance in track my sophomore year.

After her last race we left early and grabbed some lunch at Mi Nidito, a highly recommended Mexican restaurant that apparently Bill Clinton and Goldie Hawn ate at. They had pictures of celebrities at the front of the restaurant which is funny. The food was only ok; the chips tasted burnt and the salsa was too spicy for me.

I have heard lots of good things about the Tucson Desert Botanical Gardens and am so glad we stopped by. It was a little pricey so it was good going just the two of us instead of the whole family. It’s smaller than our botanical gardens near the PHX Zoo but I liked more. There was a small indoor butterfly exhibit that we loved, mini trains, and it was overall more curated and cute design. They packed a lot in to the space available.

These moths are as big as my hand!

See the cute train? There’s a track above too. Those little buildings are replicas from around the Grand Canyon. There were other cool replicas from other states too.

Such a fun trip! Glad avery and I could have this time together.

end of year hike

 

Most years I like to start a hike usually "A" Mountain in Tempe.  We still might do that hike soon but it worked out that the week between Christmas and New Years the Johnson's had been staying at my parents and Dad thought a hike is a good idea.  I agree.  Arizona winters are perfect hiking weather and it was a lovely morning. (Top photo taken by Beatrix.  You can see her shadow at the bottom and she did a great job!)

This time we hiked our favorite, Spook Hill over past Red Mountain Park on Brown road.  This a well loved hike, only about a mile, and in the city so close by.  I've lost track of how many times I've hiked it but it's in regular rotation usually a few times a year for me.

    Andrew had work as well as Ammon so I picked up Elmina and Allen, DJ brought some of his kids, Louise brought her kids, and Dad drove separately.  Hiking is always more fun with a group of friends or family. Well, at least for me because I'm a special runner/hiker.  

Take a look at that sky!  Just beautiful.