Vacation Recap....Finally!

My Mother's Day vacation to sunny Arizona was perfect - just what the doctor ordered. It was a fun-filled girly weekend. If you know my best friend Jamie, then you know that she is a busy-body, just like me. So, get us together and it is go, go, go. This is a good thing, because there is none of, "So...what do you want to do?" There is never a dull moment. We shopped, played, ate yummy food, cooked, crafted, shopped some more, ate some more, watched chick-flicks, shopped some more, and did some good ol' scrapbooking. I was having so much fun, that I even neglected my camera! I am usually a camera diva, but when I came home and Brian looked through my pics, he said, "That's all you took?!"

After arriving on Friday, we went to Jamie's place of employment, Scrapbooks Etc. This place is HUGE! So much to look at and so little time, so much to buy and so little money! I don't know why, but Arizona's scrapbook stores are so much better than Utah's. So sad. Then went to lunch at Oregano's - YUM-O! It was sooo good. After filling our bellies, it was on to a store called Ribbons & Lace - bad news. I had to use some serious restraint. I spent about $25, and I could have spent hundreds! I am not kidding. I will have to do an entire post about all the cute bows I make with my loot. After a couple more stops, it was on to Jamie's house for the night. Jamie made yummy Hawiian Haystacks for dinner. It was so great having a home cooked meal that I didn't have to prepare! Then I introduced Jamie to her new love, marshmallow pops. I discovered these delightful treats a couple weeks ago and have been obsessed with them since, and I just had to share this great find with Jamie. They are a really fun treat to make with kids. Seriously, try them and you will be hooked. Except for all you crazies who don't like marshmallows. We topped off the day by watching P.S. I love You.

Saturday morning Jamie made crepes for breakfast, Yum-O again! Then we made a quick stop to Bahama Bucks before heading to Karlee's dance recital. She did a great job despite having her hair bow fall out mid-performance.

After the recital, we went to another yummy restaurant called Cravings. The bad part about going to these great restaurants is that they don't exist in Utah, so I am out of luck next time I want a corn tamale with spinach & cheese sauce. Bummer! After lunch we did some more shopping at the outdoor San Tan mall. After spending all I could and then some, we met Jamie's husband, Aaron, for dinner before heading home. In case you are wondering why I am just now mentioning Aaron, it is because he worked all weekend. I don't think he cared too much that he missed out on all the girly happenings;)

Sunday we had to get to church bright and early - 8:00 a.m. my friends! The rest of the day was spent hanging out at Jamie's cute house. Did I mention yet about how cute her house is? Seriously, this girl knows how to decorate and I took notes! We made more marshmallow pops, I made Karlee a cute hair bow, we watched 27 Dresses, and Jamie's brother's came out for dinner. We had pork enchiladas, a recipe invented by Jamie and her mom, and it was a winner! I will definitely be making them for Brian. We did one other thing on Sunday which I can not mention, yet. Be patient and you will know soon!

Monday morning we went out to breakfast which, once again, was yummy! I am sure I gained a couple pounds in those four short days. But, who counts calories on vacations? I sure don't. We went to a couple more stores before heading to the airport. Oh, and we made one final trip to Bahama Bucks. Man I love that place! If you are wondering what Bahama Bucks is, it is the king of the snow cone, and there is nothing like it in Utah.

There was a down-side to my vacation (aside from the 106 degree weather) and that was being away from Ashlyn. I missed her like crazy! But at least she was in good hands with her daddy. Brian really enjoyed his daddy-daughter bonding time with her, even though he had his hands full. At one point during my trip, Brian called me and said, "I don't know how you do it!" I think this was the highlight of my entire weekend!! Brian took Ashlyn fishing on Saturday, they caught one fish and Ashlyn was so excited to tell me all about it.

Here are a few more pics of my weekend:

Trent didn't miss Ashlyn like I did because he had Addi to give him lots of kisses!

Trent and I sported our Uof U wear just for Aaron, who happens to be an avid fan of that other team!

Thanks again Brian for my awesome vacation! And thanks Jamie for the fun weekend, I wish I could come down more often!

Side note: We sent Ashlyn's dog food video into AFV. We'll see what happens!