Rainy Monday

**Still posting on our trip...although today is quite gloomy as well. Boring, especially when it's my birthday. Didn't the weather get the memo that I totally adore sunshine??

We woke up to a cloudy, gray day on Monday and knowing rain was in the forecast, we planned all we could to stay indoors and eat good food. The perfect start was breakfast at La Grande Orange followed by a quick stop at our old townhouse in Arcadia.


It was so fun to see it again and remember all the good times we had in that home: having Ethan and Will run 3 doors down to greet me and come play, finding out I was pregnant for the very first time, playing games with Cec and Chad on Thursday evenings (and watching Friends in the background...was that the finale year?), hanging out at the pool 101 times, and bringing our beautiful baby boy home from the hospital to settle in as a family, all in that lovely little house.

As we drove away, the rain really started coming down but we hoped it might abate in a few hours. We drove to Fashion Square and while I roamed through Nordys, Joseph and the kids hung out at the great children's play place. Sadly, I didn't find anything to buy--even with a gift card snug in my wallet. It just wasn't one of those shopping days. Since the rain was still falling we opted for lunch out in Mesa at Tia Rosa even though it was a bit of a drive. When we arrived we discovered that they were closed. Arghhhh. My bad mood was growing. And then Joseph looked up the weather forecast for the next day and it showed more cloudy skies and cool temps. It was not welcome news and I got a little upset and may have let out a small rant.

While eating lunch downtown (after another long drive back from Mesa) the forecast suddenly said the next day would bring sunshine and temps in the 70s. And Bentley found a 20 dollar bill on the floor. My mood officially changed and we spent Bentley's money at Smeeks--a cute novelty shop right down the street from out lunch spot (Oregano's).


We had a lazy afternoon back at the hotel while Olivia napped and then we were off to north Scottsdale to meet up with our old friends, Erin and Paul.

It was really great to hang out with them and they made the yummiest dinner for us (always nice to eat a home cooked meal while traveling). I think I could sit and chat with Erin for hours on end which the kids actually allowed pretty well--even though they played at least 10 different games and made huge messes in the process. Erin and I danced together for 2 years at BYU and I even knew her during her courtship/engagement/marriage to Paul. It was fun to be a tiny part of their love story and have more friends join our group of "marrieds." Love those 2 and their darling family.

Memories from 2000 and 2001: