Thanksgiving Break in Tempe

water feature at the Center for the Arts

We finally have friends in the Phoenix area that we can go visit! Yippee! Karl's best childhood friend, Jordan, moved with his family from Provo to Tempe this fall and, needless to say, we are thrilled! Unfortunately, they already had plans to spend Thanksgiving with family in Albuquerque. But they offered to let us stay at their house while they were gone! Of course we said: YES! We would have loved to be with family for this wonderful holiday but didn't feel like driving 20 hours roundtrip now and then again in a few weeks. So off to Tempe we went on Wednesday morning to housesit. 

We did get to hang out with Jordan and Joanna and their kids for a few hours before they took off and it was very nice to visit them even if time was short. The good news is that we are coming back this next weekend already for Noah's soccer tournament and will be spending Saturday night at their house. Yay! We spent the afternoon making lemonade from the lemons in their backyard and exploring the neighborhood and parks on our bikes. Good times!

Thursday morning the boys went off to spend all day at the Phoenix Zoo and had a blast. ( I took them to the zoo back in February, so I figured it was Karl's turn now.) I got to go on a very nice and long bike ride to, up, down, and around South Mountain with Paul B. 6 hours on the bike gave me plenty of time to think of all the things I am grateful for. Then I laid down in the grass and enjoyed the warm sun. That's the life! 

As for Thanksgiving dinner? Well, we skipped that part. We had grilled chicken and veggies, and ice cream for desert. Works for me! But because the kids had been learning about Thanksgiving at school and what you are supposed to be eating on that day, I overheard the following conversation in the bathroom on Thursday night: 

"Hey. Thanksgiving is Thursday."

"I think today is Thursday."

"Yeah. You are right. Today is Thursday. It's Thanksgiving."

"We didn't even have any turkey!"

"Or mashed potatoes!"

"Or corn!"

"Or pizza!" 

Poor kids! But, hey, they'll live. They are only part American anyway... 

(Disclaimer: We did make our own version of Thanksgiving dinner on Sunday night. Sunday seems like the only good day to spend a whole bunch of time in the kitchen. I think the kids are satisfied now!)

On Friday we went on our biggest family bike tour to date. More than 10 miles! And because we were out and about for almost 4 hours to cover those 10 miles, no one complained and we all had a great time! We headed over to ASU campus and found some awesome fountains to play in! Yay for 85 degrees in November! I could get used to this... Then we rode through downtown Tempe, stopped by TriSports.com, and played at Tempe Beach Park. I had just been there a few days ago to watch Ironman Arizona and had to tell Karl all about my awesome spectating extravaganza. 

Then we explored the water feature at the Center for the Arts, bought Max a piece of candy so he wouldn't fall asleep on the trail-a-bike, and barely made it back home in time before dark. An excellent family day! 

 

more water fun

Saturday didn't quite go as planned. I thought I had finally found a pool that was open for family swimming but when we got there we realized that really all the pools are closed for the season! I am assuming all Phoenicians have turned into wusses because why else would no one want to swim outside when it is sunny and 85 degrees? But we found a great park to play in and the kids thought the splash pad was just about as good as any pool! 

A great weekend with lots of quality family time in the sun! 

Thank you, Harmon Family, for allowing us to crash your place and have an affordable Thanksgiving vacation! We owe you but are more than happy to pay you back!