Ok Take 2 Arizona!!!

I couldn't wait to blog this in. We had such a WONDERFUL time. Last night I calculated that we spent $1100 on this trip down to Arizona but Dan and I both agreed that it was worth every dollar. Last year when Reena was old enough to really get into the spirit of trick or treating we took her around the neighborhood with a jacket over her costume because it was in the high 50's and that was when the inspiration came of taking her trick or treating with a big group of her cousins in a much warmer place. So I brought up the idea to Dan and of course he agreed that this was an occasion worth investing in. All year round we anticipated this trip and Reena talked of trick or treating with her cousins quite often though we weren't sure how much of the cousins part did she really understood. We loved this trip because we didn't really have to do a whole lot of planning. We have a reciprocal zoo pass that we thought about using at the Arizona Phoenix zoo and we also thought about checking out their botanical garden. But those things didn't sound as exciting to us plus we have botanical gardens here and lots of zoos also. We did however saw the train museum where we all went to help Chad, our nephew, with his Eagle Scout project (The kids and I were there for the moral support). But for the most part we just hung out with families and had the most WONDERFUL time watching our kids played with their cousins and getting acquainted with each other. I LOVE the family I married into. Reena and Debrie were loved and adored by all of their cousins. Dan was a happy man because he was able to show off how cute his kids are to his sisters and they all had a great time catching up and remembering old times. We had a blast!
Best Buds!


Whenever I did Reena's hair, Jacey would also come by, sits on my laps and wants me to do her hair. I felt like an aunt. I did the girls hair so that they look alike. They used to look so much more alike when they were young.

I sat Reena down and let her watch the Anime I was crazy about in High School and she saw Sailor Mini Moon and said "I want to be Sailor Mini Moon" so that's how it all got started. I looked around but there weren't any patterns so I just made her costume using pictures I see of Sailor Mini Moon. It worked out perfectly because we've already had a kitty costume. Sailor Mini Moon has a cat and her name is Luna. Debrie was Luna the cat. Trick or treating was so AWESOME! I think I had as much fun as the kids, probably even more fun. The best part was also celebrating Dan's birthday with ginger caramel cake! So festive! I will post the recipe later.








Krista's neighbors had a tortoise and he was the cutest thing ever! Reena really enjoyed being able to get close and touch him.

Houses. Unlike Seattle, Phoenix didn't have hills, lakes, bridges and tunnels to decorate its desert beauty. The prettiest thing I saw around the Phoenix, AZ area is the houses. We wish we could somehow bring the house prices up or that we could live in Seattle and not have to pay such heady price for the location. Seattle's housing market didn't get hit as hard as Phoenix and housing prices are still averaging half a million $ where we live. While driving around Phoenix we saw signs such as: Big and beautiful homes on 3/4 acre lot in the low 100,000. If we could have that price here, we could could buy 3 houses and have at least one of them paid off within a couple of years. We thought of buying a winter home there next to Dan's sister Krista's house, but we're such city folks we would be bored within a month of living there so that wouldn't work. All in all what I've learned from this trip is: There is no perfect place. Or if there is, will someone let me know where that is??? Seattle's too gray in the winter, though our summers are great! Phoenix or the desert is much too hot in the summer but the winter is great. Swap places for the seasons and that's the only way you can have the perfect place. Somewhere in the middle where our hearts meet. Where ever friends are is the perfect place. Our kids came back healthy and safe and that is truly the greatest!