March Break in Phoenix - Day 7

Friday

Today, everyone came to Ahwatukee to visit us. Much to my horror, the day before my "tire light" on my dashboard started to flash. Oh brother. So I headed in to Discount Tire and discovered that I had a tire about to blow. So the next thing I know, I am on the phone with Devon debating whether we should order 2 new tires or 4. It ends up, that when you have all wheel drive, you end up having to buy your tires in quads.

So after dropping my car off, I drove up to Scottsdale (in Janet's car) to pick up my mom and two dozen donuts from Dunkin Donuts. Pet peeve number #361 about living in Utah, we have NO Donut Stores here. How nutty is that?

Gail & Josh then arrived. Followed closely behind by Joan & Austen.

We spent the morning, chit chatting in the backyard, while the kids played board games and compared their coin collections

Austen, David, Joshua, Molly, & Josh
Notice the GI Joe on guard?

Mum suggested I buy two boxes of Dunkin Donuts.
She was right! Everyone loved them.

Gail & Joan Enjoying coffee & donuts

Then we accompanied the kids to the pool. Even though it was not the heated pool... everyone enjoyed themself at the pool. It was so much fun.

David, Josh, & Austen in the unheated pool.
Brrrrrrr.

Picnic lunch poolside.
Gail, David, Austen, Joshua, Molly, & Josh.

Gail & I don't swim.
We just pose for photos by the pool.

Finished the evening with a lovely Shabbat dinner (baked salmon) and visiting with the family. Even had a traditional English treat for dessert... Spotted Dick with Bird's Custard. It was so good that even David liked it!

The Fab Four!
Terry, Me, Janet, & mum.

Three generations of Findlay girls!
Terry, me, Alex, Janet, & mum.
(My mum looks like she's riding a roller coaster!)

Eventually, came the time for mom to go home. Janet offered to drive mom back to Scottsdale so that I could start packing the car. Then, David and I headed to Janet's hot tub for one last soak. As I sat in the spa (enjoying the heat) I could not figure out how on earth I ever left Phoenix two years ago.

It had been awesome week, spending time visiting with my family & friends. The weather had been absolutely perfect and I was nowhere near ready to return to Utah. Of course, since this is where my hubby, beloved little weiner dogs, and my house is.... I guess staying in AZ is not really an option.

Perhaps, my next visit should be in mid August, when it's 120 degrees and Utah's in the 70's?

March Break in Phoenix - Day 6

Thursday

This day was reserved for just me and my mum. I picked her up at her apartment, which is very posh. After fiddling around on her new computer all morning, we went out and had an excellent lunch at Red Lobster. Yum Yum. Clam fetticini. My favorite.

Mum & Sami playing Mah Jongg on her new computer.

After lunch (and dessert) we headed to the shops to buy my mom a new quilt. She chose the prettiest one we found... lots of pink flowers.

Mum showing off her new bedspread. Sami's not too sure about it.

It was sooooo nice to have a day alone together. Even though I'd seen my mum everyday (except for Monday), it can be hard catching up in the midst of so many people.

I just loved her new apartment.

Mum's living room of her new Scottsdale Apartment.
Check out the fireplace and those French patio doors.
Posh place isn't it?

It is so obvious that the move from the Kivel Care Campus (the Senior Apartment we moved her to in June) to this new place in Scottsdale... was so right for her. Mum and Sami seem so happy here together. Now I know why she is in such good health right now... she's very happy with her life.

Mum & Sami. He likes their new place too!

March Break in Phoenix - Day 5

Wednesday

This day was dedicated to Grandma T. Ever since she was up in Utah for Joshua's bar mitzvah, she has been wanting to shop for a tallit (aka prayer shawl) for David's bar mitzvah (which will be held in May 2011). So we drove out to Mesa and picked her up... and then headed up to the "Jewish Collection" in north Scottsdale. We not only found the most beautiful tallit (Joseph and the Coat of Many Colors style), but she also bought David & Joshua lovely kiddush cups (that they can use to bless the wine on Shabbat).

David & Grandma T. With his new prayer shawl & kiddush cup.

Joshua & Grandma T. With new kiddush cup.

After our shopping excursion, we took Grandma T to visit my mum's new apartment. Since mum wasn't feeling very good that day, Janet came over and prepared lunch.

Janet in the kitchen whipping up lunch.

She did a great job. We were treated to egg salad, salmon & cucumber sandwiches, St. Patrick's day cookies, and a great cup of tea.

Mum, Janet, & Grandma T.

Molly & Grandma T.
Everybody calls Lillian ... "Grandma T",
even when she is your half-brother's step-grandma.
(Ouch... that one is almost painful to figure out!)

After luch, we headed back to Mesa and spent the rest of our time with Grandma T picking oranges in her backyard.

Molly picking oranges.

David picking oranges from the inside out of the tree.

Grandma T especially likes Joshua
because he can reach the really high oranges.

Four bags of oranges later, we spent our remaining time with Grandma, trying to convince her that nobody was hungry for any more food. However, she chose to ignore and started rummaging through the freezer for something to serve us. I think it is a law that Jewish grandmothers insist you eat until you burst!

Grandma T with the infamous freezer. Here she is trying to get us to eat frozen grapes.

David and Molly finally agreed to eat a banana and drink a can of soda.

Joshua, the rebel, chose to do the crossword instead.

Finally it was time for us to move on out. There was still so much we wanted to do with Grandma T, including a trip to DQ (aka Dairy Queen). Unfortunately, the day had sped right past us. So, I guess we will just have to come see her again ASAP.


So, we did a round of hugs and said "goodbye". What a great visit we had with her.



After leaving Grandma, we were off to Janet's, who was being cooking us a St. Patrick's Day dinner. Corn Beef & Cabbage. To keep with the "drinking green" tradition, Terry & Alex made some concoction called "Green Hoppers" (or something like that). Which consisted of rum, lemon-lime soda, & lime sherbet. They tasted innocent enough, but after a few rounds, they sure did pack a punch.

To close out the day, we all headed off to the Phoenix Art Museum to see the Ansel Adams photography exhibit. Very nice. Poor Janet, who by now was pooped from cooking all day, stayed home.

March Break in Phoenix - Day 4

Tuesday

Up and out even earlier... and off to Gold Canyon to visit with Joan and Austen. Their new home (well it was "new" to me) is just gorgeous.

Had to laugh at their beloved Poodle (Winston) who proceeded to bark at everyone all day. I think we needed Coco with us to keep Winston amused. Joan gave us a tour of the house and we were very impressed. The backyard is absolutely stunning with it's view of the desert (even if "critters" do occassionally make their way into her pool).

While Joan, Gail, & I caught up on life, the boys and Molly, went for hike, and then spent the remainder of their time playing Austen's new board game. That was when they weren' t busy eating tons of pizza & cake.

Joan showing off the pizza that was too big to fit in the oven.
She had to trim a chunk off with scissors.

Gail tossed the salad... while I was busy photographing everyone.

Here's all the kids chowing down. David, Austin, Molly, Josh, & Joshua.

After lunch, the gang decided to hang out in the backyard. Who started the splashing? Probably my two.

I finished out the night, visiting my dear friend Wanda. Unfortunatley, I have not been able to get to see her since we moved away from Phoenix. I wish we could have met under pleasanter circumstances. Wanda's husband (and our dear friend) Rob passed away quite suddenly, just a few weeks ago. We spent several hours talking about "old times" and catching up on the present. It's amazing to think that it was not too long ago, that we were "expecting" our boys together (Jake & Joshua ... who were born just a few weeks apart) and now we're both grandmothers. How does the time pass by so quickly? The next time I get back to Phoenix, we will all go to visit Wanda. She's put in a request for me to bring Devon too, so that the old gang can get together to play Poker.

March Break in Phoenix - Day 3

Monday

Up early and out the door to meet Gail & Josh. We started our morning off by hiking up "A Mountain" in downtown Tempe. Which is no easy feat... it's very very steep.


It is called "A Moutain" because of the big "A" at the top -- which is for Arizona State University. It's usual color of the A" is yellow, however, when rival teams feel competitive, they sneak up in the mountain in the middle of the night and paint it their school colors.

Here's David sliding down the "A".
That's the end of those shorts!

Here we are... almost to the top. Gail, David, Joshua, Molly, & me.

Once we reached the top, the view was awesome. Couldn't believe how much Tempe is growing. In just the two short years we've been gone, there are so many new buildings.

David & Joshua enjoying the view.


Molly & Josh at the top of Tempe.

Gail & I are just too chicken to hike to the top.

In addition, a lot of the old buildings are no more. Harkins theatre on Mill Ave is gone. Many of the restaurants are now closed. And worst of all, the Coffee Plantation (long time Mill Ave hangout) was replaced with a burger joint.

Joshua, David, & Josh.
Hanging out with the Watership Down bunnies.

After our hike and walk along Mill Ave., we headed over to "In & Out Burger" for some protein. I just love that place!!!!

In & Out Burger

Molly gives her burger a big thumbs up!
Her very first visit to In & Out Burger.

After lunch, we were off to "DI" (aka Deseret Industries Thrift Store) for some shopping. I was in need of expanding my book collection. Then, we headed back to Gail's for dinner and wine by the fire. Mike (Gail's hubby) built us a great outdoor blaze, so we could sit around and yack for hours.

March Break in Phoenix - Day 2

Sunday

Terry & Alex arrived with mum, who was carrying in a big box of bagels. Thank you mum!

Brandi, Nate, & Ava (who just so happened to be in Phoenix for a wedding that weekend) arrived just in time to join us for breakfast. So, the whole family was able to have a leisurely visit and catch up.

We are looking for a good word to describe our family that is related in so many crazy ways. The word... interconnected is all we could come up with. We realized that the one common denominator at the table is that EVERYONE there was related to Joshua and David by blood (I will include a cast of characters... at the end of this post.

The only exception, is Nate.... because he just married into the crazy clan. So, he's not related to anyone by blood, except for Ava. But, if J& D are related by blood to Ava and so is Nate... then I think we can include him in this Interconnected Family.

All of us sitting around Janet's dining room table.

Family is getting so big now, that I had to take our group shot in two takes.

Mum & Joshua.

Brandi & Joshua played a game of chess.
The first round, brother killed his sister in just a few moves.
But on the next round... it was a different story.

Joshua & mum.
That's one very excited grandma!

The Newlyweds in the backyard. Brandi, Ava, & Nate.
Their family is set to increase by one more in just a few weeks.


Me, Ava, & Brandi. It was so sweet that Ava remembered Grandma Gillian. (Although, I think I might have her call me Gi Gi.
I'm too young to be a grandma.)

Brandi and Molly (David peeking in the background). Brandi's the oldest... she's the niece. Molly's the youngest... she's the aunt. Go figure!

Molly & Alex. Who are miraculously the same age!
Molly's my Sister-in-Law and Alex is my niece.

Molly, mum, Joshua, & David.

Okay here's the cast of characters --- in terms of relatedness to Joshua & David:

Janet - their aunt (my sister)
Terry - their aunt (my sister)
Patricia/Bubba - their grandmother (my mum)
Molly - their aunt (Devon's sister)
Brandi - their sister (Devon's daughter)
Nate - their brother-in-law (Brandi's husband)
Ava - their neice (Brandi's daughter)
Alex- their cousin (Terry's daughter)
Me - their mother