How We Spent Our Week

My husband, the kids, and I spent this past week in Phoenix. To be honest, I'm not a huge fan in general. It's hot there, crowded, and people drive like maniacs. I lived there for 7 years and my husband was born and raised there. When we moved I couldn't have been more thrilled.

This past week and for a few days in the coming weeks, my husband has to go to Phoenix for business related to his new job. Since the hotel is being paid for anyway...and it's a very nice one... the kids and I went up with him. I'm all about a free vacation. I'm so glad we did because we had a terrific time. The weather was nice and cold (and raining) and because we used to live there we still have a lot of friends living in the area. It was nice because each of the days we were there I was able to meet up with friends, who now all have children as well, and catch up. Our kids all played wonderfully together, which was so nice. My daughter did inform me though that I needed to find a friend who had a daughter. Everyone we met up with has boys and most of my friends here in town that we see regularly also have only boys.

One of the evenings, my husband and I took the kids to an outside shopping area that has a huge Christmas tree decorated with bright lights and each night they drop snow for twenty minutes. It was a lot of fun and the kids had a blast. I also took the kids to my old University and let them into the arena where I played college basketball. I let them shoot baskets and run around the court. My daughter thought it was wonderful and has declared that she too will play basketball there.

Aside from all the fun activities, the hotel was excitement enough for our daughter. She loves staying at hotels. She loves the room service and the beds and just the convenience and comfort. Each time we'd go somewhere she'd ask "So, can we go back to the hotel now?" I think she'd like to live in a hotel if given the choice. My mom is very much the same way and often checks into luxury resorts for mini vacations. Our daughter told us the first night we arrived that grandma was going to be so jealous that she got to stay in a hotel. Yes, indeed.

I did get a bit nostalgic being back in my old stomping grounds. We ate at restaurants we used to frequent and passed by many of the places I hung out while in college. That along with the combination of hanging out with my friends who I haven't seen in a while, who I used to hang out with daily, made me almost wish we still lived in Phoenix. Then I started driving. My nostalgia went out the window as soon as I hit traffic.

While Tucson is a big city, it still very much has a small town feel. Places open late and close early and we very much have our roots in a small town atmosphere. By comparison, places in Phoenix open early and stay open late. There's something to do all the time. As a result there is traffic and lots of it. Of course we have traffic in Tucson too, but in comparison to what is considered traffic in Phoenix we have very little. For that I am thankful. How anyone who is unfamiliar with Phoenix navigates the freeways there is beyond me.

This trip was really a nice, relaxing, fun week..and a nice break from the usual routine of being home. While I love and enjoy both of my children, spending time with my daughter was especially precious. She was so good and mature and I really enjoyed her company and conversation. She was perfectly behaved, nice to her brother, helpful and polite everywhere we went. I could not have asked her to be better behaved than she was. She is at such a fantastic age. I wish I could just freeze her at this moment in time. My son was a lot of fun too, but he is so active and so much work that it can be just plain exhausting. He is non-stop, on the go, into everything, loud, curious, and 24/7. I wish I had his energy.

Now, I'm home (my hubby is still in Phoenix) trying to do the million loads of laundry and finish up last minute preparations for Christmas. It's been busy, but it's been good!

How was your week? I feel like I've been out of the loop. Catch me up.