A Needed Break

Yes.
Life has been busy.
Not the we-are-so-coo-let-me-check-my-calendar busy, but the plain, ol' boring i'm-a-teacher-earning-my-summer-break-and-don't-have-a-dishwasher busy.
But you could have guessed that due to the amount of blog posts I've done since the commencing of 2013 {ahem....none...}.
But, behold, the GIFT of Spring Break!

A few months ago my sweet parents planned a family vacation in Phoenix, Arizona.
Little did I know that it would be such a needed time to rest and reconnect with some of my family members. 
Yes, some. 
Not all. 
One unnamed couple thought that a Caribbean Cruise was more appealing than 13 hours in a truck and kid-centered activities in a land-locked desert. 
Oh well.
Others, like my husband, had to work.
Lame.
We miss them all.

Anyways, I flew out of a pre-snowstorm DC into a 80-degrees-and-sunny Phoenix.
Awesome.
I was greeted by my sister Jenni and Mom.  We then headed right to Trader Joe's (a fav of mine and an exotic treat for them) to get our week's worth of food (plus 3 complimentary Arizona themed Trader Joe's bags, thanks Cynthia!) and then picked up Indian carry-out before heading to our rented home to see everyone else.
Double awesome.

The rest of our week has been characterized by the following wonderful people and activities: 

ELLA AND IAN...man, they're getting big!

Nail painting party for all...yes, small boys included!

 Lawn seats at the Giants spring-training stadium = expensive picnic

{We didn't see much baseball happening due to the crowds and inopportune downhill, but we enjoyed our outing.}

The ZOO!

 

 Seeing fake animals...

 ..and real ones!

 Ending with an Endangered Animal Carousel!

Grandpa Speicher (in Tuscon)  

 The lil' ones are a bit tuckered out and both took their first afternoon nap of the trip!

Easter Eggs!!

{A little early, but a nice treat for all!} 

 

Our house overlooks a golf course... and is apparently the destination of certain golf balls!  Thank you Lord for protecting Gramie from a stray ball that flew inches above her head before ricocheting off the house and splashing into the pool!

Tomorrow we leave.  And even though I'm anxious to be with my husband, I'm sad to be leaving my family and sunny respite from my ready-for-seventh-grade 6th graders.

Hello again "busy" life...I hope I can handle you better after this sweet vacation!