Day 15 - Golfland.

Plans for today - head to Mesa and enjoy the afternoon at Golfland. And that we did! ☺

We even managed to sneak in a little shopping!

We enjoyed a french toast breakfast (thank-you Daddy!), packed up our lunch and drove into Phoenix. It was hot & and lovely! We went to a few box stores first as golfing didn’t open until noon. The girls wandered through a few favorites while the boys checked out the auto center. We had a “tail-gate” lunch before heading into the castle. It was very busy (Spring Break for the AZ kids) so we sent the guys in to get the tickets while us girls (and Matthew) sat in the shade. We teed off on the “Lost Dutchman” course and enjoyed an afternoon of laughs & multiple putting strokes! I think Daddy was the winner with Joshua & Grandpa tying for second. It was lots of fun and Matthew enjoyed watching all the golfers along the way. After our game of golf we crossed the street and checked out the go-cart races. David, Joshua, Megan & Grandpa all hit the track and raced! It was fun to watch them go & they all had fun too. Everyone was feeling pretty hot, so we loaded up and found some slurpees, thank-you Circle K, and iced coffees before making our way home. We found a Hobby Lobby on the way home and the men were gracious (again) to let us stop and enjoy a final shop at the greatest craft store EVER! ☺ We picked up some material (Megan has some new sewing projects awaiting her) and a few scrapbooking goodies (Happy Birthday to me from Mom & Dad Gray!!). We enjoyed delicious leftovers from Jim’s Indonesian dinner last night and then the kids played Dutch Blitz until bedtime.

Welcome to Golfland.

Sarah hung out at the climbing park until we had our golfing tickets.

First putt of the day.

The Lost Dutchman.

munch, munch.... still no teeth.

Joshua thought this rollercoaster loop was cool.

The racing fans.

Enjoying Grandma cuddles :)

We RACE!!

Megan's Driving...

Getting passed!!

The racers!

A fun day at Golfland.

Day 14 - Hanging out in Florence

We had a lazy day today hanging out in Florence. It was neat to be able to come out this way as the area here is so much different from Goodyear. Big farms run into desert areas and then here and there housing areas and of course box stores pop up all over :) The pool at this house is not heated and the hot weather has just begun so it was COLD. We had a very warm day in the low 30s so Grandpa and Sarah both went in for a QUICK and “refreshing” dip. Sarah said it was COLD, Grandpa would say it was REFRESHING :). We had a lunchtime BBQ and enjoyed eating outside in the heat. By the afternoon everyone was ready to do something, so we made our way to the nearby park and everyone played some soccer & football. We ended the evening with an extra special treat.... INDONESIAN DINNER. Yummy. Thank-you Grandpa Jim!! Joshua was his little helper and hopefully learning and watching carefully!! haha. We ended the evening with a family movie night and then once the kids were all tucked in, we pulled out the cards and played a couple rounds..... the boys can’t seem to win :)

A new hat :)

Great park nearby with perfect grassy areas!

Football champs!

Pinned!

Sarah's sassy shadow.

Megan's funky Egyptian shadow.

Sarah took some icy cold water out of the UNheated pool (and it was COLD!) and decided to cool herself off by pouring it over her head :)

Baby, that's cold!

Refreshing!

Sweet ♥

Day 13 - Goodbye Goodyear, hello shopping :)

Sad to think the holiday is coming to an end. Two weeks goes by far too quickly! We had one more move to make so this morning we packed up our things, stuffed the truck and made our way to town. Today was a day of shopping before heading to our new location in Florence, AZ. This was exciting and fun for the ladies of the group, but patience testing for the males! They did great though and let us take our time as we strolled through our favorite US stores - TJ MAXX, Hobby Lobby & Old Navy {to name a few}. A stop at Costco to pick up a few items and then we were on the road and made our way to Florence. Grandma & Grandpa have friends who own a home there and they were gracious to let us all spend a few nights there. With Spring Training going on in Goodyear it was next to impossible to find places to stay, so we were thankful to have this house in Florence as a back-up (and it was needed!!)

The goodbye shot by the pool :) It was very bright on the eyes!

I'm not too sure WHY Joshua is wearing a hoodie, I guess morning temperatures in the mid-20s was a little cool for him ;-)

Early birthday gift from Grandma & Grandpa Jim

Woohoo... some US spending money!

Sarah also got an EXTRA early birthday gift....

... a beautiful new sweater, thank-you Grandma!

All packed up and ready to go....

Day 12 - Relax & soak up the sun!

We are enjoying "our" house here in Estrella and wish we could stay the full week. It was booked so we are just thankful we were able to squeeze a few days in! This morning the guys got up and cooked a delicious breakfast that we enjoyed outside on the back deck. It was already nice and warm out - love that! After breakfast, we packed into the SUV and went to the lake for a walk. The palm trees were beautiful and we enjoyed a leisurely morning walk. Matthew loved the ducks and looking about. He’s getting really good at sitting up now. He drifted off for a nap by the end of the walk :) We got back to the house, had lunch and then everyone lounged by the pool. We spent the afternoon laying in the sun, splashing in the water and sipping cold drinks. Ahhh.... love holidays!!

The BBQ was fired up for some burgers for dinner and we continued to enjoy a day/evening of relaxation. The kids played some Dutch Blitz with Grandma & Grandpa and David and Joshua went for an evening swim.

Another great day in paradise.

✷

Beautiful flowers around the lake, they smelled so good too!

Our walking path & views

Hug a {palm} tree :)

Our boys!

Kids are sure loving Grandma & Grandpa being with us :)

I think Grandma & Grandpa like it too!

Palm trees and blue skies.... and the heat = Fabulous!

Palm Masks

Sleepy baby who loves being able to put his soother in his mouth all by himself... even if it is upside down!

Sunshine cuddles with Grandma

Grandma played A LOT of games :)

*** we've been away from internet for a few days.... will update as soon as we can.

Day 11 - Sunday & Sunshine

Arizona did not disappoint and we enjoyed a day of heat & sunshine. We got up and the boys made a delicious breakfast which we enjoyed outside on the back deck. Then it was off to church. We were excited to go back to Harvest Baptist in Goodyear and see the pastor and friends we have met again. We went over to the McLellan & Prittchets for lunch and got to to know them a bit better. Then it was off to Walmart for some groceries and back to the house to enjoy the afternoon poolside!

We spent the rest of the day relaxing, visiting, swimming, bbq-ing, hot tubbing, and playing games.

Tummy time in the shade.

Ahhhh.... the goggles are back!

Matthew loves the water (it's a heated pool, so it felt really nice in there!)

Drippy Baby.

Daddy & his kids :)

Matthew's first "swim" :)

Let the diving for darts begin!

Hot tub time with Grandma!

Prune Face!

Arizona Smiles

An Amazon order arrived :)

David was pretty happy to be back on BBQ duty :)

Dinner outside in the heat -- I don't think we'll be "allowed" to eat a single meal INSIDE :)

Joshua thought the fireplace was pretty cool. In the evening he lit a small fire and we all sat around and enjoyed a bowl of ice cream & a mug of coffee.