Sunshine for my soul

There are 2 things that absolutely make me smile. That is sunshine and good friends. And this year we got started out right with BOTH!

New Year’s day we left this winter wonderland

And drove 6 hours south to Phoenix to spend the rest of the week basking in all that place has to offer.

Casen is an awesome traveller.

And Kyle is always too willing to help get some wiggles out during our pit stops.

The reason for the drive was to visit our awesome friends Evan and Chellese Applegate and their 14 month old Kavik. Evan is going to Physical Therapy school at Midwestern University in Glendale.

Case and Kavik became fast friends.

For the first time since I lived in Florida as a girl, it was warm and sunny for my birthday. That alone was the best birthday gift, but Chellese went above and beyond to make it even better!

We picked up some In-n-Out and took it to a nearby park. The temp was 65 degrees. Um wow!

I don’t care how old you are, feeding the ducks and geese never gets old. Kavik had no fear of the ducks or the water!

That evening we BBQed. Like we went outside and cooked our food on the grill and didn’t freeze! It.was.awesome!

I apologize here and now to Kyle for posting this photo. So sorry babe!

Case and Kav, two peas in a pod!

Evan took some time to help Kyle understand how to help his rib head that frequently pops out. He’s gonna be a great PT! Kavik cracked us up when trying to keep Case from having his nap. He wanted to play!

Chellese and I waited in line first thing in the morning to snag our chance at a Phoenix Culture Pass which allowed us free access to the zoo. Sooo worth it! We packed a picnic lunch and spent a whole day here!

Early the next morning we set out to hikeThunderbird something-or-other. It was a nice gradual hike that didn’t make me worry about going into labor or anything. It was pretty enjoyable. And it’s right across the street from where the new Phoenix temple is being built.

Can you see the temple in the upper corner of the photo? Here, I’ll help you see it better…

On our way home Evan took us to Midwestern University’s campus where an orange and lemon orchard used to be. Part of the parking lot still has trees and the students were told they were welcome to all the fruit they wanted. We took advantage of it and picked our own lemons and oranges!

So I ask the question: what is wrong with this picture of Chellese and Kavik below? Oh, Kavik’s eating an orange with the peel on you say? Not quiet. If you look closely, you’ll notice both oranges and lemons are growing on the same tree! How is that possible? Needless to say the oranges tasted like lemons and were not very edible. They sure look pretty on my table though!

Our last evening there we found a sitter for the boys, got all dolled up and went for a night in downtown Phoenix. We ate awesome Mexican food then attended a Suns vs. Jazz game. It was a lot of fun and now Kyle and I can both boast not being NBA game virgins. It was the first proffesh game either of us had been to. It didn’t disappoint! And the Jazz even won so that just topped it all off!

Gosh we sure had fun in the desert city with our desert friends doing desert people kind of things! I can now see why people love to snowbird down there for the winter. I could be one of them easily.

Thanks Applegate’s for such a memorable time!

Love, the Curtis’