Mother/Daughter Weekend in Arizona!
you know those weekends you want to last for at least another 5 days? i just had one of those. i am a little bit in denial it’s monday morning and i’m not waking up to hike and eat donuts with my mom and sister. for the past few days i have been in phoenix, arizona visiting my sister and her husband. they bought a house at the beginning of the year and i had yet to visit!
i am one of those very visual people that loves to picture where my family and close friends are working, living, eating donuts so that is what part of this trip was! check out the mountain that lives at the end of their street.
my mama flew in from colorado too! she is all about the fitness and the food (that must be where i get it) so each morning we hiked at least 3 miles and then rewarded ourselves with some type of treat. we started off hiking to the top of the mountain on their street. it was already 100+ degrees by 8:30am so hello sweat.
there was very little talking on the way up the mountain because there is like a 1,500+ elevation increase so i was concentrating very hard on getting oxygen into my lungs. on the way down though, lots of laughs and thoughtful conversations with none of us falling into a cactus or being bitten by a rattlesnake. these conversations ranged from not wanting a baby right now, new techniques to deal with curly hair and a women’s empowerment event my mom went to recently.
after rehydrating, we made a quick stop by where my sister works. she is an elementary school social worker (SO proud of her because her job is anything but easy). the students were on a fall break so we were creepily alone in the school. i sort of felt like i was going to get in trouble by the principal.
the perk of this was that i could wear something totally backless AND spend way too much time in the school library. my mom and i used to read ‘nancy drew and the…’ every. single. night. when i was at her house. we got so excited to look at all the old titles.
i could have sat and done this for another 20 minutes but my sister was finally like “heeeellllo weirdos, there is a pool calling our names!” my sister’s in-laws have the nicest view from their pool. i severely underestimated how pretty a desert can be – my apologizes.
i like the desert a lot more when i can experience from inside a cool body of water.
then we came home and terrified her husband by putting mud on our face. thankfully he was around to take our photo (sorry kyle). this wasn’t just any mask, but rather mud from the dead sea in honor of my grandparents just returning from israel (yes, they are the coolest). after this, my mom said to me “you look pretty with that on your face.” umm, thank you?
we paired very well with the massive spider on the wall…
oh, what’s in the cages in that room in the hallway?
a snake and a snapping turtle…my roommates while i was there. they also have two rowdy but adorable dogs (no photos i took of them turned out because they move too quick) and a tortoise.
i was totally fine with them but if they would have had a spider in one of those cages…no thank you.
my mom put together a mother/daughter brunch at a super cute place called ‘the herb box’ in scottsdale. look how cute my sister is with her mother-in-law janet (left) and our mom (right).
it was a pretty setting and now i have a strong desire to have striped umbrellas on my patio one day. also joining us were our cousins (hi debra and emily!) and janet’s soon-to-be-daughter-in-law and her mom (hi jenny and patty!)
if you ever go here, be sure to check out their bakery around the corner because whoa.
it was great to get to see my sister and her husband’s life they are creating together in arizona. i’m so proud of them! in case you missed it, here’s the post about their amazing wedding last summer in south carolina. her husband had a field study trip that took him away for two days so i was happy i got to see him and then cherished the time with my mom and sister.
i was one of those older sisters that was not the nicest to the younger sister while we were growing up. i distinctly remember yelling at her for breathing ‘too loud’ when we were watching TV… multiple times. i never let her drive our barbie jeep and was super bossy.
i try to be less of all of those things nowadays and i am grateful for the relationship we continue to build as we get older.
we wrapped up the weekend with another hike yesterday through the sonoran desert preserve. this photo was taken moments after i exclaimed “OMG! this is where the sidewalks ends!!!! shel silverstein anyone?!”
the conclusion of our hike was rewarded by an amazing place called “desert donuts.” it’s like a donut bar and you can pick whatever toppings you want on your fresh-from-the-fryer donut!
it was a long weekend full of memory-making and reminiscing. i am so grateful that even though my family is spread out all over the country, everyone makes it a priority to see each other as frequently as possible. i always get depressed when i return home after spending time with my family (in-laws included) because i get sad that we can’t go get drinks and donuts at the drop of a hat.
what makes it better is knowing that at least everyone is just a plane ride away. what also makes it better is when your husband is standing at the airport to pick you up and he’s holding a bag of chips, a bottle of wine and wraps you in his arms.
i am feeling especially grateful this morning so linking up with ember grey!
Brittany
September 28, 2015 at 10:05 am
How fun! My sister, mom, and I had a weekend girl’s trip a few months ago in Asheville, NC and had a great time!
Brittany recently posted…10 Recipes to Get You in the Fall Spirit
chelsea
September 29, 2015 at 11:53 am
ohh i’ve never been to asheville but hear it’s some fun! i hope you have a great time with your sister and mom, brittany!
Sam
September 28, 2015 at 10:33 am
Gah…. I miss them so much!!
And what does Matthew say??
“I want to see the snapping turtle!!”
Forget them, they are only your God parents. No big deal or anything! (Insert sarcasm here)
I’m glad you were able to catch up with your family! 🙂
chelsea
September 29, 2015 at 11:53 am
haha that is hilarious that he still remembers the snapping turtle, sam! last time i saw him was when we were all in SC and he was so tiny – now he’s massive! hopefully you all get to see each other soon!
Audrey
September 28, 2015 at 11:59 am
I’ve never spent a great deal of time in AZ but your pictures are beautiful! One of my college roommates moved to Tempe and has invited us down/over any time, so maybe we’ll have to take her up on that some day! I’m glad you got to spend some time with your family!! Sounds like so much fun!
Audrey recently posted…Another Weekend in the Books | #gratefulheart
chelsea
September 29, 2015 at 11:52 am
i was pleasantly surprised by the unique beauty the dessert brings, audrey! you should totally go visit your old roommate in tempe – we passed through there and it was cute!
chelsea jacobs
September 28, 2015 at 12:03 pm
So fun!
chelsea jacobs recently posted…Why I’m Starting NaNoWriMo in October & I Think You Should, Too.
chelsea
September 29, 2015 at 11:51 am
it was pretty fantastic!
Whitney
September 28, 2015 at 12:44 pm
OK! Couple of thoughts…
that smores pumpkin cake thingie looks AMAZING
Love the face masks
Love girls weekends
andddddd
what is the tattoo of on your back?
Loved reading!! Happy Monday 🙂
chelsea
September 29, 2015 at 11:54 am
if you ever see a smores pumpking – GET IT whitney! it was SO good! my tattoo (when not so strangely stretched out) is a take on the tree of life 🙂
thanks for reading and for your comment!
Elyse
September 28, 2015 at 3:25 pm
Yay for girls weekends! Looks like a lot of fun!
Elyse recently posted…5 Mistakes Men Make In Marriage
chelsea
September 29, 2015 at 11:48 am
it was sooooo fun!!! still feeling a little sad it’s already over.
Courtney {Alkeks Abroad}
September 28, 2015 at 4:14 pm
So many great things in this post! I would be in heaven hanging out in the school library. That pool is amazing, those donuts look delicious and I’m jealous of your family time!
Courtney {Alkeks Abroad} recently posted…Tuk Tuking Through Thailand: Elephant’s World
chelsea
September 29, 2015 at 11:49 am
we talked about how grateful we are that even though we don’t live in the same state, at least it’s pretty affordable to get to each other (unlike if family/you are abroad!) although it looks like you’ve been having some wild adventures so looking forward to catching up, courtney!
Rachel G
September 28, 2015 at 5:12 pm
Aww, that sounds like such awesome family time! And the pool looking out onto the desert, that’s really cool. I’m more of a rainforest gal myself, but Angel loves deserts.
Rachel G recently posted…Blue is Back
chelsea
September 29, 2015 at 11:50 am
it was excellent family time, indeed! yeah…desert living is intense. that heat! it was prettier than i thought it would be for sure 🙂
Emily
September 28, 2015 at 5:40 pm
SO much fun!! My mom and I are planning our “Southern Roadtrip” (to be taken next summer), so this really gets me pumped for a mother/daughter trip 🙂
chelsea
September 29, 2015 at 11:50 am
ohhh how FUN! i love that you and your mom and planning a southern roadrip emily! how fuuuuun!
Janet
September 28, 2015 at 8:32 pm
Loved the blog. Loved being a part of the weekend. I read the blog (very nicely written) and then had to go back and click the link about the conversation of not wanting children yet. My opinion of reading your blog is that you are not being selfish. Its a very scary change. You asked if anyone ever had those thoughts and I would have to say I had them. (It seemed like yesterday.) After talks with my husband and trying to decide when was the best time, we both decided there really wasn’t a perfect time… and yet you make it work out perfectly anyway. Trust me that when the time comes, the first moment you hold that baby, you will never be able to picture your world without that baby again. Everything else comes naturally. And it’s great! And then you blink and they are grown up. You will never be sorry you have them. You may be sorry you didn’t have more.
chelsea
September 29, 2015 at 11:58 am
it was great to see you janet! i also appreciate your comment about the article from last week about babies. well said that you make it work out perfectly anyway when the time comes. i hoping that everything does come naturally 🙂 thanks for sharing your thoughts on this!
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