Girls AZ trip!

I've decided that maybe turning 40 isn't going to be all that bad.  It's not even March yet and I've already been able to squeeze in a girls' weekend with 3 of my close friends at the Pad in Scottsdale.  By the end of the trip, even my friends were calling it The Pad. :)

Tasha turned 40 just two days before we left and we were able to make the most of every minute!  We got in super late on Thursday night, took a cab to the Pad, chatted for a while and headed to bed.  On Friday morning, we slept in, went for a run along the canal and then got ready for the first of our Groupon adventures.  

We had a mani/pedi (a little cut short by rude front desk gals), grabbed some Chipotle and headed to Glendale for Groupon adventure #2.  We got a little lost getting to the spa, but we did find the place inside a very nice mall.  After massages and facials, we did some shopping and then headed back to Scottsdale for dinner (despite my attempts to get lost again) at Dos Gringos.  We were eating dinner at 10 pm! Crazy!

Mani

Mani + a large Diet Coke = a better mani

Ta-da!

Finished at the first salon

After some more late night chatting, we crashed.  On Saturday morning, we started the day with another run and then headed for the beloved burger joint of Tasha and Tirsa--In 'n Out Burger.  I have to admit, it was pretty tasty!  We hit some other local shops like My Sister's Closet and then Fashion Square Mall.  It was late by the time we got to dinner at AZ88 and it was as weird as I remember, but the food was great and the atmosphere was fun.  Before dinner, we were on a mission to take a photo in front of the perfect cactus.  Not sure we ever found it, but we had some serious laughs in the process!! We needed to get groceries before Safeway closed, so we did that and then went back to the Pad for PJs and chats.

In 'n Out Burger

I had to admit it was a might tasty burger!

Shoes anyone?

Do people seriously wear these things?

Still in search of the right cactus

Photo op evening

Charming Charlie, baby!

Outside AZ88

The mother cactus 

Tirsa having serious issues with all the 80's garb

Sunday was our day to hike Camelback Mountain.  It took us about 3 hours to go up and back the mountain, but the weather was perfect and no snakes were spotted.  We got some great photos on top of Camelback.

After our hike, we got cleaned up, made lasagna for dinner and then met Tirsa's Indian foster sister at the Sugar Bowl, which was super interesting and special (not to mention the ice cream is awesome).  Then, we went to a late movie (The Vow) and got back after midnight.  Tirsa made us some amazing apple nachos and we finished watching a movie and finally crashed late.

We hiked that mountain!

Apple nachos!

Such a great view of the valley from Camelback

This is what happens when you stop to talk baseball to someone from CO going up the mountain .   . camera abduction! :)

About half way up

TK enjoying the view from the top

Sweet movie theater that served food and soda

You just can't beat the Sugar Bowl

Tirsa & Tirsa

Monday was the sclerotherapy (getting our spider veins zapped on our legs--I know . . . sorry, no photos) day for Tasha and me.  It was a bit of a drive and we didn't realize we were going to be pin cushions quite like that.  By the time we finished, it was getting close to time to go to the airport, so we grabbed lunch on the go and headed to the airport in a cab.  I think we were all pretty exhausted, but it was such a special weekend!

As much fun as it was to write the day-by-day details of this trip, the bigger picture is this--friendship is an important part of being a girl.  Good friendship is an important part of being a mentally healthy girl.  Great friendship is a once in a lifetime gift that you hang onto for dear life!  Love you guys!!!

My baby is 8!

It does not seem possible that my baby girl is already 8 years old. I remember thinking that people who had "older" kids like I know have was ancient. I just didn't think I'd ever get out of the toddler/preschool years having had my kids all 3 years apart. But, just like that--my baby is 8!

Kinley had a great birthday weekend and she learned how to stretch it into 3 significant days. She had a friend party on the Saturday before her birthday, a family gathering on Sunday and a fun day at school on her real birthday.

The day started with her first basketball game. With her dad as her coach, she decided to make him look good and scored 8 points in her debut. She is loving trying out new sports and doesn't really miss dance.

Later that day, she took 5 friends ice skating and we picked the single coldest day of the winter. We started out at an indoor rink, but I won Mother of the Year award when we got there and realized open skate was closed. The girls were such troopers in the cold and several of them learned to skate for the first time. Then, they came back to our house and did crafts, ate pizza and played til they were all exhausted.

Sunday night was her family dinner and a time to finally capture some cousin photos with Sydney and all 3 of our kids. My good friend Tirsa and her 3 kids joined us, so it was another fun night.

On her birthday, I helped in her classroom and brought special birthday cookie dough cupcakes (on top of all of the other Valentine's treats they had) and I think every kid had a tummy ache by the time I left. She was such a ham as she passed out the cupcakes and explained that there was a surprise inside. Her teacher told me that she looks forward to seeing Kinley every day and wondering what she will come up with to make her laugh each day. That about sums up Kinley! She has grown up a lot this year and yet, her basic goofy, spunky personality will never change. She is self-confident, but sensitive and that's a pretty good combination to have.  Love this girl!

Her favorite cookie pie

The frozen four

Treats at school!