Tucson

Here we were, wearing shorts {and capris} in November. Not normal in our minds but normal for Tucson.
While Jacob was at work Riley and I walked about ten minutes to get some breakfast since he took the rental.

And here we are waiting for Jacob to pick us up and go have lunch.

Jacob was looking forward to having an IN N OUT burger. I'm not a fan of theirs so whatever. Riley had eaten soup at the hotel so all he wanted was a vanilla milkshake and fries. Jacob enjoyed his burger. I'm glad.

After lunch I dropped Jacob off at work. I kept the rental and decided to drive around Tucson. Driving back to our former home I got lost, lol. I forgot which streets I would take so what I did was to make sure the mountains guided me. As long as I stayed close to Mt. Lemmon I knew I would get to where I wanted to go. Once certain buildings looked familiar I knew exactly where to go.
I drove by Sydna's former high school. I took a picture of it and text it to her. Then I drove to our former house, looks the same. Drove by several stores that I would frequent, still looked the same. LOL!

I like this road. I would take it all the time whenever I wanted to go to Sprouts. I always liked coasting down this hill.

I stopped by the Foothills Mall to buy myself a caramel apple. Yum! Riley wasn't too fond of driving around Tucson. All he wanted to do was to hang out at the hotel.
So bizarre to see decorations in a desert setting. Mild weather around the holidays is just unnatural to me. I honestly don't know how we managed to live here for three years.

For dinner we went to Taqueria Juanitos. We were really looking forward to this meal. We would constantly frequent this place when we lived here. So so good! I had two carne asada tacos and caldo de res. It was delicious!

On our way back to the hotel we stopped by Dunkin Donuts. When we lived here there was only one Dunkin Donuts that we knew about and now they are everywhere and opened 24 hours. We got pumpkin donut holes. They are good!

The following day, after driving Jacob to work, I took Riley to the play area at one of their malls. We stayed here for about an hour. Like he usually does, he found kids to play with so he had a good time. Then we found these kiddie rides which he loved too. Good thing I had lots of quarters.

And just like that! Once we got back to the hotel he began to feel sick. He said his belly hurt. I had the suspicion that he was constipated. I think that's normal for kids when they travel because they tend not to drink as much water as they normally would at home. And since kids don't know how to really express what they're feeling it's hard to know how to help them which can become a bit frustrating. While he was trying to go potty he began crying and screaming. I had to calm him down to figure out what was wrong and he said he needed to throw up so I grabbed a plastic bag and placed it on his lap and sure enough he three up a lot of phlegm. I thought he was over his cold but apparently he wasn't.
I was suppose to pick Jacob up from work but thankfully two other guys from the Seattle office were also staying at the same hotel as us and they were kind enough to give Jacob a ride back since I couldn't leave because Riley wasn't feeling good at all.

At night we went to Target and got a few things to help him feel better. I had plans to go to La Encantada the following day which was our last day in Tucson but I decided to just stay at the hotel to make sure that Riley was back to feeling himself. Jacob took the car. We had breakfast at the hotel. The coffee that the hotel uses was really good. I should have asked what kind it was.

Jacob got off from work at 3:00 pm. We had lunch at Baggin's. Their caesar salad is really really good. The caesar dressing is similar to Paggliaci's.  And I thought their bread bowl is ingenious. It's garlicky and just yummy.

Because we had nothing else to do we decided to head to the airport. We got there about three hours early.

This was Riley's first time trying out the moving walkway ... he kept one leg off and one leg on the walkway and that caused him to do the splits and he fell. He said that hurt his private. We were laughing so hard. Oh man!

He colored, and drew and played games on Jacob's phone but then said, "this is SO boring! I want to go now .... Aaaahh!" This kid.

So long Tucson.

I didn't want to sit by the window so Riley did.

I forced myself to take this next picture. Then I put my phone away and closed my eyes for a while.

I don't like flying. I hate how take off feels. I hate turbulence. I hate the airplane noise. I hate how small airplanes are even the big ones {does that even make sense?}.
I had a bit of anxiety for the first ten minutes but after praying and changing my focus I felt fear leaving me. I also read quite a bit of Unglued by Lysa TerKeurst {which I was happy about because this book was just not working for me. It felt like if I was reading someone's nagging diary. I had to force myself to finish reading it}.

Thankful that we made it to Seattle safe and sound. We arrived before midnight. Riley was tired and not very happy and to make matter worse Jacob swung his laptop bag over his shoulder and accidentally hit Riley on the head with it. Ohmygosh! I know that's not funny but, ... it is!! I laughed so hard.

We were glad to be back in WA where it's cold in the Fall and Winter ... as it should be but I am thankful that Riley and I were able to accompany Jacob to Tucson.

Halloween on the Road

On Halloween day Jacob, Riley and I were on a business road trip to Tucson. This is what I meant about an unexpected change in plans for Halloween in my last post.

About a month ago Jacob got a promotion from Supervisor to Manager. His boss scheduled him to get training at their office in Tucson since it's a way larger office than the one here and that it would be a great idea to sit in several meetings and shadow other managers in his same position to gain some insight.
Jacob was set to be gone for three days. I really don't like to be apart from him let alone Riley so together we decided it would be nice if Riley and I tagged along.
This was our very first time to be away from Sydna and Nathan for a full five days AND on Halloween. We certainly felt bad for that.

We rented a van, one with a dvd player in it for Riley and our sake, lol. We were on the road by 4:30 am. It was raining and cold. We thought Riley would remain asleep that early but he was wide awake ... I guess with excitement but he was somewhat out of it.

We stopped at Pine State Biscuit in Portland for breakfast. So good. Then we got back on the road. Good thing I had made Riley two peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. That's what he ate for breakfast {one only}.

It began to rain as we got back on the freeway.

But thankful we got breaks from the rain often.

Once we drove into California we were out of the rain clouds. I really like Mt. Shasta.

We all had warm clothes on. I took Riley's sweatshirt off. I took off my cozy socks and wore my birkenstock sandals instead.
We stopped at several rest stops along the way. We wanted to make sure to stretch our legs and get a break from driving. Riley and Jacob did stretches and ran around the perimeter and also did a bit of rock climbing, lol.

The water level at Lake Shasta is still devastatingly low. Makes me sad to see it this low. When we drove through here three years ago during our move to WA the water level was high, so much water. Now look at it.

We made good time. Our goal was to take Riley trick or treating at a neighborhood near the hotel that we would be staying for the night. It was turning dusk. Riley put on his costume at our last stop before arriving to Land Park in Sacramento. He was so excited!

Meanwhile, Sydna and Nathan were at home enjoying each others company. Sydna got take out for the both of them and passed out candy. She said that a little boy in an Iron Man costume came by and that it made her miss Riley.

This neighborhood {Land Park} that we went trick or treating at has very charming houses. Some bigger than others but most of them had their charm. I guess it's a popular area because there were a lot of people out trick or treating.

Riley kept his distance from the scarier decorated homes. He didn't even want to look at them.

Several people said he made such a cute Iron Man. Surprisingly, we didn't see another Iron Man.

We walked quite a bit. This little guy got tired after walking for about twenty five minutes. We still had to walk back to the car. We skipped houses that were super busy since Riley was ready to leave but not before I got a picture with my cute super hero.

He was so sweaty from all that walking and wearing a mask and a hot costume. I believe the temperature was in the high 70's in Sacramento. By the time we got to our hotel room it was around 9:30 pm. Jacob took him a bath and he was ready for bed and frankly so where we. We had to wake up early again the following morning.

Riley liked pulling his suitcase. He looked cute doing it too.

After driving several hours we stopped for some breakfast. It was 6:00 am. I hadn't had breakfast this early in like forever, probably ever.

Riley was still doing pretty good in the car. We stopped at yet another rest stop. Jacob did more stretches and several push-ups.

Riley did a few jumping jacks. He was doing them so fast that his rhythm got messed up. We couldn't help but laugh.

He got this eyeball toy while trick or treating. He placed it infront of his eye. I cracked up as soon as I saw him.

Last rest stop before reaching Tucson. By this point Riley had gotten restless. Once you're past Sacramento and driving through the mountains it becomes quite dull. No nice scenery and lots of traffic.

There's not many things I like about the desert but the few things that I do like are the sunsets {and monsoons}.

It's a relief that Jacob and I can share with the driving. It was fun driving a van but I still wouldn't want to own one.
It was nice seeing something familiar when we finally came across Avondale then Phoenix. As we got near Tucson we noticed a few changes. They've built outlets between Tangerine and Cortaro Road {about half an hour away from central Tucson}. They looked nice!

We arrived at our hotel kinda late but thankful that we made it to our destination safe and sound.

Our Time In Tucson Arizona

Summer Road Trip 2014

Woke up rested and a bit relieved to know that we didn't have to be back on the freeway for a couple of days. While we got ready Riley hung out with Peyton. You can't really see how chubby she is in this picture but you will. There's another picture of her coming up.
I took a shower and got ready. I had told the kids that the first thing I wanted to do in Tucson was to go have breakfast at Chick-fil-A. Neither OR or WA have any Chick-fil-A's. That's just plain wrong.

We fed Riley oatmeal at the grandparents house since we knew he wouldn't eat anything here, not even the hash browns. But he sure wont turn down chocolate milk. He drank that fast.

This. THIS is what I've been craving for almost two years. I love chicken minis! I've got to say that Chick-fil-A is the yummiest breakfast fast food to EVER have been invented. {along with the chicken biscuit}

After breakfast we went back to my in-laws house. The day was quickly warming up. In the meantime, Sydna hung out with several friends. One of her friends has her own car so they all hung out at the mall. Smart choice.
Riley was a bit obsessed with my in-laws recliner. He would pull the handle and then he would sit down. Or when Nathan was sitting down he would pull the handle then squeeze himself right next to him. Nathan sure does have a lot of patience with baby brother.

Grandpa being funny.

Jacob cannot go more than two days without doing some kind of workout so he got out grandpa's total gym. This thing will definitely make you break out in a sweat. After Jacob was done working out Nathan wanted to give it a try. He said it was a piece of cake. Psh! If I would have tried it I would probably hurt my shoulder and I most definitely wouldn't have been able to pull myself up, at least not on the highest setting.

Riley sure made himself at home at his grandparents house. He walked right in grandma's bedroom. He came out with several webkins. I hope he didn't just grabbed them without the ok from grandma.

Nathan also hung out with some friends. One of his friends planned a little get-together in Nathan's honor. They had hotdogs, chips and chocolate covered pretzels. That was very sweet of his friend to do. They splashed around in the pool for several hours. Nathan's little heart was very happy to have seen all his closest former classmates.

While the kids were visiting friends we went to have dinner at our favorite taco shop in Tucson, Juanitos. I got two carne asada tacos and two barbacoa tacos with pineapple water. So good.

Here's the picture of Peyton. Chubby right? Looks like she can barely lift herself up. However, my mother in law says that she does have Peyton on a diet and that she's already lost one pound. Geez, I hope so or else she will definitely not be able to move. But she's still sweet. She remembered us all. She loves to have her butt and back rubbed. I rubbed her while I had my sandals on.

At one point Riley was very hyper, running around the living room. He then slipped and hit his head on the corner of the china cabinet. Never fails. Tile floors are dangerous. Poor thing. So after this happened I remembered I had brought a bag full of toys and coloring books. From then on he kept himself busy with those. I remembered to get the crayons out of the truck before it got hot out. Didn't want to have a melted mess to have to clean up.

Tuesday, July 1st.
Tucson, day two.

Jacob made us his ever so yummy breakfast the following morning ... biscuits and gravy, eggs, hash browns and bacon with coffee. Telling you. Anyone can make eggs but not everyone knows how to make them to perfection. I like my scrambled eggs fluffy, my bacon crunchy but not burned, my hash browns not too crispy and the biscuits to be soft. And my husband makes sure that my breakfast turns out just the way I like it. My father in law can also make some good coffee too. Thank you.

On this second day I didn't leave the house AT ALL during the day. It got to 110 degrees the day before and this day was set to be 106 degrees. Can you say miserable?! Besides, because it was so darn hot my feet got swollen so I spent a good chunk of time on the recliner with my feet propped up and taking selfies with my little guy who was also a bit drained from the heat. Jacob and I were talking about the three years we lived here and we cannot believe we managed to live here that long. Jacob and I both agree that we could not live in the desert again, at least not by our own accord. Obviously, we would have no choice if Jacob's job wanted him back here or worse in Hawaii, Texas, Georgia, Florida or Virginia. I just cannot see ourselves living in the East coast. Now, why couldn't there be an office in Maine. I would LOVE to give Maine a try. It's such a pretty state.

Jacob strummed the guitar a bit. He played American Pie and a couple of hymns. Those songs got my father in law singing along too. It was neat to have witness this moment. Oh, and Peyton never moved even though the guitar was pressing on her gut, lol.

And this little guy fell asleep on my lap.

Sydna and Nathan went to Air Time {jump center} just before noon. They each hung out with their friends while they were there. Sydna said it was fun but later on that night her knees were killing her. Nathan got a rug burn on his face jumping on the trampoline. But they both enjoyed themselves a lot.


Jacob found a last minute marinade for chicken kabobs. Goodness, it was good. It was a new recipe he found online. My mother in law made a delicious salad to go with it. Great fresh light meal to have on a hot scorching day. This marinade recipe is definitely a keeper.

Their backyard is very nice and clean. Its also an oasis for birds. Riley was out there playing with rocks and not that long ago they had a rattlesnake in their backyard. It then went into their neighbors backyard. My father in law went to alert them of it and the man ended up killing it. Scary!

Trying to reach the wind-chime.

Once it cooled off a bit we left the house for some gelato. It was neat to drive past places we would frequent. We noticed a few changes and some roads had new pavement on them. And for some reason Mt. Lemmon didn't seem that tall to me anymore. Maybe because I'm also surrounded by mountains in Washington, not to mention Mt. Rainier.

We went to Frost for some gelato. This place closes at 10:00 pm that's awesome. It got pretty packed shortly after we got there.
We got Riley chocolate gelato. I got cappuccino and strawberry champagne. Its so good because you can really taste the champagne. Very refreshing.

Riley ended up eating some of my cappuccino gelato. I guess his was too rich.

We enjoyed our time at my in-laws even though it was very tough being out in the heat. Seriously, I don't understand when people say they like the heat. Its just incomprehensible to me.
It was a bit sad saying our goodbye's.

Thank you Gerry & Grace for having us. Hope you guys can make a trip up to see us in the near future. Love you guys.