Remember how Tim and I first met when we both lived in Yuma, AZ?
Well, Tim's parents still live down there, and I am ashamed to say that before this last May, it had been 2.5 years since we'd been down there to visit. We went there for Christmas in 2012, right after we'd learned we'd be moving to Utah in two short weeks. And after that? We saw Tim's parents, of course, but never down in Yuma.
I'd been telling Tim for months that we just needed to plan a trip down there. We knew we wanted to save up his time off in case we had a baby, and we kept saying we needed to take time off to get Tim's tonsils out, but I was afraid that those things would mean we'd never get down there. Ever. So we just did it.
Thankfully, in May, the temperatures were still in the 80s and 90s, and if we're being honest, we all know that those are some of my favorite temperatures anyway. It was perfect. We even got to go swimming with Tim's cousin and his family one day! But I'm getting ahead of myself.
Like I said in our last post, we told Tim's family we were pregnant again within minutes of arriving, and they were all thrilled for us. After that, I've lost track of a lot of the timing of our trip down there, but I do know that Ellie spent a lot - and I do mean a lot - of time cuddling with her grandma and grandpa. And as an added bonus, she loved spending time with her aunt and uncle and cousins, too.
On one of the days, we drove over to the house where I lived from ages six to twelve. (Let's be honest, it was a lot cuter when we lived there. We even had an actual lawn.) Pretty cool to think that Tim and I spent six years just down the street from each other as kids!
We also went to one of my dad's favorite Mexican food places - Pancho's Cocina. He still swears they had the best carne asada burritos he's ever had.
Then we drove over to AWC, where my dad started off his career as a professor. His office was in this building the entire six years we lived there. (Now they've turned it into something completely different.) My memories of Pancho's Cocina and AWC center around the days when my dad would get me out of school because I was feeling "sick," and I would spend my days eating Mexican food out at the college with him.
Then we drove over to one of Tim's favorite Mexican food places, Las Palapas, to have lunch with Tim's parents. (It was just as good as he remembered!)
We also spent some time wandering around at the Cal Ranch Store. We were hoping to find some baby chicks to show Ellie, but they had just sold the last of them.
But don't worry, we found plenty to entertain ourselves.
Melissa and Burton came over pretty much every day to hang out with us. Burton and Ellie loved playing in the sprinklers. (But Burton was a lot braver than Ellie was!)
I was so grateful she was so much nicer to him than when they visited us in January! It made me feel better about having another baby in November.
They each took turns sitting on the sprinkler!
And pulling it around the yard...
How unfair is it that Melissa was like six months pregnant in this picture and I was like three months...and yet we look exactly the same in this picture?!
We also spent a day at the Camel Farm! It was a highlight for Tim and me, since we both had fond childhood memories there, but Ellie could have cared less. She spent pretty much the entire time digging in the dirt.
Tim and I were happy, though.
We spent a lot of time outside. (Can you tell I was really sick of the rain and the cold at this point?)
Apparently I didn't take any pictures of it (story of my life), but one night, we also went to see the new Avenger's movie with Tim's brother, Billy, while Tim's parents watched Ellie for us. It was so fun, and it made me wish we could do stuff with Tim's brothers and sisters more often.
On the last morning we were there, Tim, Tim's dad, and I went shooting.
Just call me Annie Oakley!
Both Tim and I were wishing we could go shooting with Wayne all the time!
And then came my favorite taco place. Oh my, these were the best shredded beef tacos I've ever had. I'm not saying that lightly, either - I take my shredded beef very seriously. Even Tim was impressed, and he's usually more of a carne asada guy.
Right before we left Yuma, we met up with one of my childhood best friends, her mom, and her baby at a frozen yogurt shop. Ashley lived just a few houses down on my street, and we literally spent almost every day together. Her mom is basically one of the sweetest people on the planet, and it was so fun to meet her cute baby!
After Yuma, we drove over to Casa Grande, where Tim's sister, Brigette, and her family live. We loved seeing them again - it had seriously been WAY too long - and we loved seeing their beautiful new home. Tim and I were pining away over the beautiful saguaros all over the place. Ellie, of course, couldn't get enough of all of her cousins. She especially loved Brig's oldest son, Jack!
For some dang reason, I forgot to take any pictures while we were there, but here's one Brigette took of us (ha!):
The next day, Tim and I decided that we'd drive the 45 minutes into Chandler and go to two of our favorite places while we were there: Oregano's (the best Italian food) and Bahama Bucks (incredible shaved ice and the location of our first date). We were in heaven!
Then we drove over to Jeanie's house in Buckeye to have a big family dinner with Tim's parents, Jeanie's fam, Brigette's fam, Angie's fam, and Sarah's fam. It was so great to see everyone! (Why, oh why didn't I take any pictures?!)
The next morning, we drove into Mesa to have breakfast before we left with some of Tim's best friends from high school. The cool part is that I remember Ally from when I lived in Yuma, too. Tim, Ally, and I were all in the same family ward. She is one of the nicest people you'll meet. (And I stole all these pictures from her!)
We had such a fun time seeing them again, and I loved seeing Tim reminisce with all of them!
It was an amazing trip, and we are already wishing we could be back again! (Now we just need to convince Tim's family to let us move in with them...)
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