Back to turkey day. Rob's parents arrived on Wednesday. Rob had to work until later in the afternoon, so I picked them up from the airport and we went to Paradise (my favorite) for lunch. (It is a Panera-esque restaurant with the world's greatest cookies.) We spent the majority of the day catching up and getting a head start on Thanksgiving baking. The head start left us with just the turkey, stuffing and potatoes to cook on Thanksgiving. We spent most of Thanksgiving day working on the giant crossword that comes in the newspaper here, eating and relaxing. That is, until Thanksgiving evening. Rob's parents headed back to their hotel and Rob and I went on (another) day after Christmas shopping excursion. An outlet mall that was (only) 45 minutes away opened at 10:00 Thanksgiving night. No need for early wake-ups! We hit traffic about a mile from the exit on the highway and I thought Rob was going to kill me. I did manage to get some amazing deals at JCrew and was quite pleased with the adventure. (A side note to Kaiser/McCandlish ladies: Rob maintains that two years in a row of Black Friday shopping is his limit. He also isn't the best shopper. Please come next year to shop with me!) Back to Thanksgiving. Our food was delicious and the company was great :) There are a few pictures below of the cooking process...Rob and I preparing the turkey, Rob putting it in the oven and Don chopping onions for stuffing.
Rob worked at Cutter on Sunday afternoon, but was able to get out a little early, and we all went to Olive Garden for dinner. Rob's parents headed back early Monday morning after a great visit. It was the first time they had the chance to make it out here together, and so we crammed a lot in, but I think everyone had a great couple of days.
We went on a tour of Arizona the day after Thanksgiving. First, we headed to Sedona to show Rob's parents the park where we got engaged. Then, we continued on to the Grand Canyon. We arrived just before sunset, which limited our time there, but because we weren't planning on doing much hiking, it wasn't that big of a deal. Rob had been to the Grand Canyon with his dad when they made the trip out here when he first moved to Arizona, but they both really wanted his mom to see it too. We detoured through Flagstaff on our way home, showing his parents where we hung out on Rob's birthday weekend and stopping at Starbucks :)
the four of us at the Grand Canyon
On Saturday, we spent time exploring Phoenix/Phoenix suburbs. We showed Rob's parents our hopeful house and my school out in Queen Creek. The current owners of the home were in the process of moving out when we walked through. It was the first time we were really able to get an accurate idea of the size of the house/rooms because they had a lot of clutter that was somewhat distracting. I think it made all of us love the house even more, which makes me even more frustrated with Bank of America continuing to do nothing. I am thinking that all my finals stress will make for a fantastic frustration letter addressed to them. Honestly, I have nothing good at all to say about Bank of America...in the mortgage or short sale department. I want to do everything in my power to stop everyone I know from banking there. Please support me in this effort. Back to Saturday...after spending time in Queen Creek, we showed Rob's parents his flight school, his old apartment and our favorite park in Gilbert. A few sight-seeing pictures are below. (The picture of Rob and I is taken on the back patio of the house Bank of America is keeping us from celebrating the holidays in. Bad words.)
On Sunday, Rob took his parents flying. (I stayed home to finish my online class and get ready to head back to school. It would have been too much weight in the plane for the three of us to go together.) The plane's home base was moved to Phoenix/Sky Harbor airport, which meant Rob was able to fly out of busier airspace for the first time. I think all three of them really liked doing that. Rob is at work now and I wasn't flying, so my knowledge of the flight is hit or miss. I do remember Rob saying that they flew over Queen Creek and through the mountains a bit. They also flew over the canyon lakes that we flew over with my mom when we took so many pictures. A few pictures from the airport are below...
Rob worked at Cutter on Sunday afternoon, but was able to get out a little early, and we all went to Olive Garden for dinner. Rob's parents headed back early Monday morning after a great visit. It was the first time they had the chance to make it out here together, and so we crammed a lot in, but I think everyone had a great couple of days.
Now that my craziness is about to end and Rob has a lighter schedule at work, we are gearing up for Christmas. We shopped a lot yesterday morning, made a gingerbread house last night and are planning on going for a night flight in the helicopter to look at Christmas lights tomorrow night. I am heading home on the red eye Friday night, and am hoping to post sometime early next week/from home about all of our Christmas festivities here in Phoenix. Rob is following on a red-eye Wednesday the 23rd, so he will be home early Christmas Eve morning. We are both crazy excited to be home and see everyone! Not much time left :) Love, Sarah and Rob
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