The Valley of the Sun

I'll blame my procrastination in writing this post on Brian, since I was waiting for him to post about his London trip... which technically happened first [nudge, nudge]. ;)

So, I wrote before about my trip to Phoenix here, here, and most memorably here. The plan was to surprise my mom for Mothers' Day, and the whole family was great to keep it a secret. A traditional Rogers living room meal was planned (all the appetizers you can eat, and you don't have to eat it in the kitchen), and Erik & Emily picked me up at the airport. I surprised my mom, and she was stunned! Everyone came for lunch... the only person missing was Brian. :(

Luckily Mom had a light week planned church-wise (she's RS President for her ward, and is always busy with something), so we had lots of fun visiting craft stores and home decor stores there in Scottsdale. (Two worth visiting if you're ever on the North side of town - Holland Boone & The Decor Store.) I was also successful in getting her to purchase 2 new dresses, of which I'm quite proud! (Dad, you asked... and I delivered! That's why I am your favorite!) The woman never buys anything for herself, and refuses to enter a dressing room unless someone else will be the one trying things on. It was painful for her, but fun for me! :) Now the question is whether or not those dresses are still in her closet, or have been returned to the store?!?

Miracle of all miracles, I finagled my brothers to hang out with me, too! Erik and I caught What Happens in Vegas; and Scott, Emily, Erik and I all saw Iron Man later that week. Both movies were very entertaining, and I highly recommend them!

I got to sneak in a couple of lunches at a few favorite places - Paradise Bakery & In-N-Out Burger. I decided to surprise Brian and even picked up a few Sprinkles Cupcakes to carry home on the plane (absolutely deeevine)! None of which can be found in Chicago yet - come on Windy City, get with it!

This trip was also my first chance to meet my new niece, Madelyn Jayne. What a cutie!! We got to hang out at the MacKinlays' twice that week, and even attempted a few amateur photo shoots for the birth announcement.

I really enjoyed just hanging out with my family all week. We didn't have to do anything special... just the normal things we'd be doing if we all lived in the same town. It's not fun living so far from my side of the family... but frequent flyer tickets definitely make it easier to be spontaneous!!