March

While the boys and I were in Vegas Matt was busy at home painting our master bathroom. We bought the paint for it months ago so it was a fun surprise.  The blue looks so much better than the olive brown that we had on the walls before and it matches our bedroom so much better now.

This is the headshot Miranda used for her summer internship. She was so excited, after having several offers from multiple firms, to be able to accept an offer from her top choice law firm Cleary-Gottlieb.  Even thought her internship will be virtual due to COVID, she still plans to move to Manhattan for the summer. She is more than ready to become a high power New York lawyer.

This photo cracks me up. One morning just after we all got into work Kristie, my admin assistant, and I were talking to each other and another coworker noticed that we were dressed the same.  We hadn't even noticed, but we were dressed almost identical, even down to our shoes. Great minds...you would have thought we planned it, but no, I guess we are just that in sync.

MIRANDA TURNS 26!

Miranda did most of her birthday celebrations with her friends, but we were able to get in a few fun activities with her.  On the Sunday before her birthday we took a yummy dinner down to Provo to share the meal with grandpa and the Ruppers.  Miranda chose to have grilled chicken with balsamic glaze, roasted potatoes, and a yummy salad with strawberry shortcake for dessert.

While at grandpa's the kids played with his giant Jenga. To make it more interesting they played with the rule that you could only use your feet to get the blocks out. It was pretty funny to watch.

On the night of Miranda's actual birthday we met her and a few of her friends at Umami Japanese BBQ in Pleasant Grove.  It was fun and delicious.

On March 20th Matt was able to run the Lucky 13 half Marathon with his cousin Ron.  The weather didn't cooperate-it was cold and rainy. After the race Matt had to sit in the truck and try to get warm.  Regardless of the weather, the two of them still had fun.

Near the end of March we had several warmer days. The kitties LOVED the extra sunshine. 

BACK TO ARIZONA! 

This year my spring break did not line up with Nathan's so for us to take advantage of Nathan's senior year spring break I had to take a few days off work. It was well worth it.  With airfare cheaper, we decided to take Nathan back to Phoenix so we could enjoy the sun and show Nathan around the area we lived when he was born. Nathan was just excited to be on a plane again. 

We stayed in a hotel near the ASU campus in Tempe. It was a great central location.  We got in pretty late on a Friday night so the adventures didn't begin until Saturday.  We started by driving through the ASU campus and then headed to Tempe Town Lake.  Nathan talked us into renting scooters and riding them along the lake.  Although the scooters looked a little intimidating, riding them was pretty fun. 

After hanging out at the lake for a bit we went to lunch at Panera-a restaurant that we don't have up in Utah. It was just as good as everyone claims.

After lunch we headed downtown. Our first stop was the Phoenix Art Museum.

Next up was walking through downtown. Downtown Phoenix was surprisingly empty.  There were only a few people walking around and very few places open. Kind of sad. Stupid COVID.

After exploring downtown we headed up to Old Town Scottsdale to visit an old favorite, the Sugar Bowl Ice Cream Parlor. It was just as we remembered. So yummy! Although as we walked around after, we discovered what makes their ice cream so great.  Matt got a good chuckle from seeing the dumpster filled and learning that they use Blue Bell ice cream.  

After having a good sleep in on Sunday morning we took a trip down memory lane.  Driving to and through Mesa was so fun. It was great to see all of our old favorite places. Going through our old neighborhood was a bit weird though.  We stopped at the Park of the Canals so Nathan could get up close and personal with a cactus and so he could see the kids old favorite playground.

The Mesa Temple is currently being renovated so we weren't able to walk around the grounds, but we did drive by it. We spent some time walking around main street in Mesa looking for a fun place to eat lunch, but then decided Jimmy Johns was our best option. After lunch we drove up to Saguaro Lake. It was so busy!  This is where all the people were.  I don't blame them. The weather while we were in Arizona was beautiful! 

Sunday evening we left Nathan at the hotel while Matt and I went to dinner at Russon and Melanie Hale's home in Fountain Hills. It was so great to catch up with our friends, They are still the same friends that we loved/love so much. Melanie made us a yummy cobb salad and hot fudge brownie sundaes for dessert. We ate out on their front balcony.  This is the amazing view. So beautiful.

Monday morning we had a slow morning.  Matt went running and Nathan and I slept in.  After our lazy morning we went kayaking on Tempe Town Lake.  It was so fun, but got hot pretty quickly.

After Kayaking we went to lunch at Smash Burger and then to a movie in the theater...in the theater!  We saw the movie The Courier. It was pretty good.  We were the only ones in the theater. After the movie we headed back to Mesa and met Shawn and Wade Hatch at their house. We had planed to go out to our old favorite restaurant, Tia Rosa's, however Shawn and Wade let us know the restaurant changed owners. The original owner started a new restaurant. So, to the new restaurant we went. It was a great meal and fun to again catch up with old friends. 

Tuesday morning after checking out of our hotel we drove over to South Mountain. We drove up to the lookout at the top and took time to enjoy the view.  After eating lunch at a yummy Asian restaurant we still had some time to waste before heading to the airport so we drove up to Last Chance and walked through a few stores. We got home late Tuesday night.  The kitties were excited to have us back home. It was a fun trip to Arizona and so nice to have some warm weather.