We were recently able to make a trip back to Arizona. My family goes to Mexico a decent amount and they invited us to go in October. October is my favorite time to go to Mexico, the weather is warm, the water is warm, and its just a great time! Chris had a really great time on my family Mexico trip last time, so we both really wanted to go. Lucky for us timing at work worked out perfectly and we were able to go! When we knew we were going to go we also knew that we wanted to spend some time in Arizona so we would have time to visit with Chris’ family and my family that didn’t get to go to Mexico. I’ll blog about our Mexico trip in the next blog post, so this one will be just for our Arizona trip!
When we knew that my family was able to get a house in Mexico for everyone, we knew we were going to go and we decided to book our flights. I had found some decent flights for about 80 bucks per person per way. When I saw those flights we weren’t 100% sure that we would have a house to stay at in Mexico so we waited. My mom called me a few days later saying that we booked a house and that she saw an add for cheap flights through Southwest! (Thank you Sunday night football!) I checked the sites that compare all the prices of flights and it didn’t pop up on those, so I went directly to the Southwest site and sure enough they were there. Chris tried to book them, but their site didn’t work, so he had to call it in, but we were able to fly round trip with two bags per person, plus a carry on, plus a personal item for 430 dollars for our family of four!
We flew out super early on Thursday Oct. 6. Nadine (Chris’ Mom) and Ashley (Chris’ sister) picked us up at the airport. We were so excited to see them! On the flight I asked the kids who they were going to hug and kiss first, Ashley or Grandma, they both said Michael (Chris’ brother, who wasn’t there…) Michael has always been their favorite!
After they picked us up we went to Chris’ Grandparent’s house and we picked up Grandpa Tanner. The 7 of us went to Top Golf for about an hour. We then went and met Andrew and Kerby at Costa Vida for lunch. After lunch we went to the school where Grandma Tanner was working and we were able to hang out with her during her lunch hour. We ran some errands and then went back to the Tanners, then headed back to Central. We were able to see a lot of family and it was a blast!
The next morning we woke up and went o Mexico for the next 6 days and we had a really great time!
When we were back from Mexico we were able to do lunch with James, Lara, and Remmy. (They weren’t able to go to Mexico with us and James had a very busy schedule so we were so happy we were able to spend some time with them!) Its always fun to visit with them and watch our k ids play! After lunch we went to McBride’s and were able to spend time with Chris’ family. Chris’ Dad and sister had an elk hunt so they were going to be gone for the next few days, which was a bummer, but we were glad we got to spend some times with them! (They didn’t even see an elk, so that was a bummer! Although Ashley just had a hunt and got a great elk!)
I was able to go into Beth’s school and get a haircut. Shes doing a great job in cosmetology and it was fun to visit with her, plus get my hair done! While I was getting my hair done Nadine, Chris, and the kids went to the dollar store and went pokemon hunting. From what I heard they had a lot of fun. All of us (including Beth) went to R&R for lunch which is always good!
Saturday Chris’ cousin got married, so all of Chris’ family was going to be in Mesa for the wedding. Since we spent time in Mexico with my family, we wanted to be able to spend as much time with Chris’ family so we went back to Mesa for the wedding festivities. During the wedding the McBride kids went to Sodalicious for some refreshments, then we met up with everyone else at the luncheon after the wedding.
After the luncheon we went to the Tanner’s house to kill time until the reception. (Sadly, the Tanner’s weren’t there.) We then went to the reception then ate at Texas Roadhouse. (Ryan has missed those rolls and so have we!) There is a Texas Roadhouse about three hours from us, so we may have to make road trip! After Texas Roadhouse we headed back to Central.
Sunday we were able to go to church with Chris’ family, then spend a few hours with my whole family. Again it was a blast to visit with my siblings and watch our kids play. We then went to McBride’s for dinner where Nadine prepared an awesome birthday dinner for me, Ryan, and Brianna. All of Chris’ siblings were there and it was the first time we were all there at the home together! It was so much fun having us all there!
After dinner we went to Chris’ Grandparents house and we had cake there. Chris’ Aunt and Uncle and his cousin and her family were there and it was a lot of fun having our kids play! The kids didn’t want to leave, but we had to cut it a bit early and head back to my parent’s house. My brother’s families had gifts for Ryan and we were having birthday treats there as well. Then the kids had to get to bed since we were leaving the next day to fly back to Seattle. My Grandparents were there as well and we love having time to visit with them. I wish we had more time to see my grandparents and Chris’ grandparents as well! (My Aunt and Uncle and cousin also stopped by to say hi and to give birthday gifts. Its always so funny when we all are together!)
Monday we woke up got packed and were loaded to go. We stopped by my brother Preston’s new house that they remodeled for a tour and to say final goodbyes, then we were off.
We spent some time in Mesa, eating at some of our favorite restaurants. The Tanner’s were able to hang out with us (and Nadine) so that was fun. Ashley had planned on taking the day off to hang out with us, but she got a stomach bug that wiped her out, so sadly she couldn’t hang out with us.) Nadine took Ryan shopping for his birthday, then we went back to the Tanner’s to kill time until our flight left.
My cousin Lindsay and two of her kids were able to meet us there. Lindsay is one of my best buddies and when I lived in AZ we would get together a lot! Our kids get along great and its been hard not living near them. I was so happy she was able to meet us! Ryan and Lillian were so excited to see Shane and Kendall and it was so sweet seeing them so excited to see each other. They played great like no time had passed and it was great visiting with Lindsay again.
Grandma Tanner had a birthday celebration for us as well and that was so sweet. She always goes above and beyond and we were so glad that she opened her home to us and did cupcakes, ice cream, and gifts for us!
Our flight was a late flight and we found out it was going to be delayed an hour. We got there, and boarded without a hitch. When we flew out we just used a shuttle service. They picked us up at our house, and dropped us off at our terminal. After we landed in Seattle we got our luggage, and walked a bit to where the shuttles were. (It wasn’t nearly as far as I thought it was going to be.) And we had to wait about 10 minutes for our shuttle to come. They helped load the car and they dropped us off at our house. It was actually really nice, and I think I will do that next time! It ended up being about the same cost as parking would have been so that was great!
We love going back to Arizona to visit friends and family. I feel like we never have enough time and we definitely didn’t get to see everyone that we wanted to. But we are grateful that we were able to see the people that we did see! We also love eating at our favorite restaurants as well! It ended up being a very successful trip. It was hard to leave and we definitely look forward to going back, but it is good to be home as well!
Loved being able to see Chris’ McBride grandparents
