the AZ trip where Tim works (and we don't)

I never turn down the chance to tag-a-long with Tim on his work trips.  And in January, I had just such a chance.

The only unfortunate part was that Tim had to, you know, work.  But Ellie and I got to hang out with my family the entire time!

There are few things more healing for my soul than the sun and my family.  Luckily, I got both.  We flew into Phoenix and decided to immediately hit up Oregano's before we headed up to Prescott.  It's one of the things I miss most about Tempe!

It was just as heavenly as I remembered.  In fact, I could use some of that garlic bread right about now.

I loved (loved loved) being able to go to Prescott and see my family again.  And as you can see from the picture above, Ellie was pretty happy about it, too.  She loves her "Gamma Cheece" and "Papa Teve."  Tim drove back down the next morning, but Ellie and I stayed in Prescott for a few days.  There were more than a few soda runs and lots of eating out, so basically it was like all other Sparks trips. :)

It was significantly colder in Prescott than I would have liked (read: below 60 degrees), but that didn't slow us down from going on daily walks and a couple of hikes!  The first hike was pretty chilly, and I was worried about Ellie staying warm, but both on the walks and on this hike, she just quickly fell asleep like it was no big deal.  Little Utah girl.

For the second hike, we drove down into the desert (aka my Happy Place).  It was much warmer (yesss) and not at all green yet, but the red rock never ceases to amaze.

I think Ellie spent a lot of her time trying to kick my dad in the back.

 I love my brothers!

And I pretend they like me, too. ;) 

Before we turned back, we let Ellie out of the pack for a few minutes.  The whole of her time was spent throwing rocks into the water.  And conning the rest of my family into throwing rocks into the water.

 Because, obviously.

I had a heart attack every time my dad had to cross the stream with Ellie on his back.  Luckily Eric helped everyone through each crossing, especially those with babies on their backs (my dad) or pansies (me).

Towards the end of our trip, Tim drove back up to Prescott to pick Ellie and I up.  As a matter of cheering up, he decided to take me to Dilly's Deli in Tempe.  We went there a few times while we were dating, and once Tim took me on a picnic with their food and I thought he was going to propose and was (only very mildly) relieved when he didn't.  Then he took me on another Dilly's Deli picnic, made me hike up a mountain in my flip flops, and proposed for real.  That time I was relieved when he did.  But I've already written that story.

We really like food, obviously.

Before we caught our flight back to Utah, we spent some time walking around the ASU campus and visiting some of my old coworkers.  Man, if I ever need a self-esteem boost, I'm going back to that place.  They are seriously some of the nicest people on the planet.  (I'm looking at you, Kristin and Sue.)

The whole trip left me feeling nostalgic.  But don't worry, I didn't get to shed too many tears, because Ellie was busy yelling things like, "Shake your booty!  SHAKE YOUR BOOTY!" in the airport.

And looking cute like this on the plane:

I can never be too sad when I look at those cheeks.

[I would like to say a special thanks to Tim's work for needing him to travel to Arizona.  I really like it when he has to do that.]