Weekend in Phoenix

 

Craig and I were wanting do a quick get-a-way this fall and hoping to go somewhere warm.  After looking at flights we landed on heading to Arizona and catching a few games.  We found a weekend when we could hit up a Phoenix Suns, ASU, and Cardinals game.  We got the kids all ready to stay with Craig's parents, who were so kind to watch the kids and get Brooklyn to all of her soccer games and freeze in the rain watching her.  We flew in Thursday evening and got up Friday morning to hit up a few hikes.  What would be a vacation for us without a hike or two.  My brother, Tucker, served his mission in the Phoenix area so he told us about a couple fun hikes that he had done.  First we hiked up Camel Back and then headed over to Squaw Peak.  Both hikes were busy with other tourist like us, but still a fun way to see the city and get some exercise.  We then went to grab some lunch at a restaurant our brother-in-law recommended.  After heading back to the hotel for a shower we were off to the Phoenix Sun's game.  It was a fun game that came down to a last second shot.  The Sun's lost and we may have spent way too much on food, but it was a super fun game.

On Saturday Craig had booked a tour to see Antelope Canyon, which he thought was in Sedona (2 hours north of Phoenix).  Well, Friday night when we were looking up how long it would take for us to drive there, we realized that Antelope Canyon was actually almost to the Utah border (4 1/2 hours), so we didn't have time to go that far and get back in time for the ASU football game.  So instead Saturday morning we got a workout in and grabbed a yummy breakfast and then decided to hit up a few museums instead.  I ended up with a migraine so it actually was probably ok that our plans changed.  We first went to the Fire Fighter museum, the kids would have loved it there were a ton of old fire engines.  After that and some more caffeine we went to the Natural History museum.  Again, the kids would have loved it.  We still had some time so then we decided to go check out the Mesa temple and walk around the grounds.  It was a beautiful temple and had wonderful grounds that they were getting ready for Christmas. By this point it was time for dinner.  We found a fun brewery/grill.  It was super yummy and it had a ton of T.V.s so Craig could watch all the college football and world series that his heart desired.  He even suggested I get a dessert so that we could stay there longer to watch the games, no argument from me.  Once we finally left, we headed to the ASU football game.  They have such a cool stadium, literally built into the mountain.  ASU got killed by UCLA, but still fun to be there.

Sunday morning we grabbed a quick breakfast at the hotel and then got ready to head to the Cardinal's game.  This was the first NFL game either of us had been to so we were pretty excited.  The stadium was awesome and luckily the food and drinks were way cheaper than at the Sun's game.  I did end up having to buy a hat though because I thought the dome was closed so I didn't bring my sunglasses, but they had it open because they did a flyover.  Our tickets were right in the sun, but by the end of the first quarter the sun had gone down enough so we were no longer sweating.  They played the Seahawks and their fans were definitely louder than the Cardinal fans.  The atmosphere was great.  After the game we grabbed a quick dinner before heading back to the hotel to get backed up and ready to fly back home the next morning.

The flights were super easy. The kids did great with Nana and Pops.  But as always it was good to get back home.  Pretty soon we are going to have to start bringing the kids along when we do trips to go see games.  Brooklyn was pretty bummed to miss out.  Now Craig wants to make this an annual tradition of finding a game or two to go to each fall.  You won't find me complaining.  Until next year then.