Arizona

The weekend before Thanksgiving I got to meet up with dad, Rachael, Grammy and Opa in Phoenix! My grandparents stayed a whole extra day just so they could see me for a little bit. They seriously are the best.

I got in late Sunday night where they were all waiting for me at the airport. It was the best welcome. As it was pretty late, we all got to sleep and met up at IHOP for breakfast the next morning.

Sadly after breakfast, my grandparents did have to take off to head back to Texas. Then my dad and Rachael took me to get our nails done, something I rarely do! It was very nice to be pampered a little bit.

Afterwards we went to Red Lobster for dinner then back to my cousin Sarah's house to visit with her and her parents the rest of the night. Unfortunately I didn't think to get a single picture with them!

The next morning went to the Botanical Gardens. It was really interesting and cool to see the difference between gardens in Arizona and California or Virginia. Obviously a lot more cacti.







We went straight from the gardens to the airport because I was taking off that afternoon. We had a great couple of days. It was so nice to see family, even if just for a short time - I'll take it!

Family Time

Forgot to post a couple pictures of trick-or-treating with our nieces last month.



We also recently celebrated Alison's birthday at a Japanese Steakhouse, per her request. It's always fun going to those because we don't do it often!




And last weekend we got to hang out while they decorated their Christmas tree before they left town for Thanksgiving. We have not started any decorating yet!



Have a happy and safe Thanksgiving!!

Alice in Wonderland Halloween Party

This is the second year we were lucky enough to be able to go to my Aunt Janet and Uncle Terry's elaborate Halloween party. This year the theme was Alice in Wonderland!

We actually had a lot of fun figuring out our costumes this year. It was so simple and came together at the last minute easily!

Benny was the White Rabbit and I was Alice.

Playing cards with paint brushes and roses lined the entryway.

Everywhere you looked there were elaborate, creative, well thought out details in every corner!

From floating teapots, to 'drink me' labels on wine bottles, and a croquet area set up outside!


The Mad Hatters were hard at work in the kitchen - Jambalaya was on the menu!


I loved the Shaggy and Velma costumes.





Eric being a sad rabbit.


There were so many Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dums! I thought they all coordinated, but it turns out it's just a popular costume.

Eric tried to help out where he could - but they were on top of it!

As usual, dinner was so good I had to have two full plates. The Mad Hatters deserved a rest after that.


We wished we could have stayed longer but it was getting late and we had a long drive ahead!

We had such a good time and were SO impressed. The Pollards go above and beyond for their parties - we're so thankful we got to be a part of it!

Haunted Trails of Balboa and SeaWorld Spooktacular

I hope everyone had a happy Halloween!

Earlier in the month we tried to go to the Haunted Trail of Balboa Park along with one of Eric's friends from work. We had to wait in line for about 30 minutes but it was a beautiful night. As soon as we got to the front of the line (literally - next in line), there was a torrential downpour of rain, thunder, and all the power went out. In the 16 months that we've lived here, we have never seen more than a morning mist - no one could believe it!

They closed the trail and we ran back to the car, soaked head to toe. We got back to the house, all changed into dry clothes, and played Monopoly instead.

Thankfully they gave us free tickets to come back, so we went back a couple weeks later.


It was a fun experience, definitely not for little kids. It's amazing how much of a production they put on. The trail was a full mile going in and out of different horror scenes. Mostly the classics, but a couple newer ones like Stranger Things.


We also went to SeaWorld one afternoon for their Halloween Spooktacular.




We saw the sea lion show, where they also added a spin-off of Stranger Things, 'Weirder Things'.



And last weekend we got to go up to Los Angeles for my Aunt Janet's Halloween party, which I'll have to dedicate a whole post to next! Happy November everyone!