Get a drink and go to the restroom first....

this is going to be a long one!! Our grand vacation to Arizona. So much to tell you all, I will start at the beginning. We made good time to the airport, avoided any additional probing by security and had a lovely flight. After dealing with a very nice, but not so prompt or knowledgeable attendant at Budget, they upgraded our compact reservation to a 2 door silver Mustang- we quickly named her Sally and learned how to use the cruise control function so as to avoid any speeding tickets. Let's be honest, cops target sporty cars & I am just glad that Sally wasn't red!
We had an all too brief lunch at Coronado Cafe with our friends Marcy and MG, it was fun to catch up, if only a little.
Then began the 3 hour trek to Taylor AZ. Home of Alma's parents. It was a nice drive, and I was wise to bring some cd's along to make it entertaining. Below is a picture to prove that AZ can be green.
Once we got there, one of our goals was immediately met. We were acquainted with our newest niece Abigail. She has big brown eyes, and she enjoys activities such as eating, sleeping, sucking her thumb, and making others quickly fall in love with her.
And of course there were GAMES. We played lots of fun games, and Roger even abandoned the "Shumway rules" to make it easier on those of us who were out of practice. How handsome are all those men?! The Shumways were so kind and treated us to some delicious BBQ one night for dinner. Thanks guys, it was delicious and we had so much fun. And thanks for taking time off to hang out with us!
The next day was my birthday! I got to sleep in (awesome) and woke up to Rosemarie's special bread which Alma helped to make (even more awesome)!

Abby came over and we got to hang out some more before we all went to dinner at Enzo's. A nice Italian place that Rose and Sol treated us to. I got lots of nice phone calls, cards, and messages. Thank you to all who thought of me.
Friday morning we left Taylor to drive to Prescott Valley AZ. Sam had surprised us the day before by telling us we were going golfing on Friday. We met Sam, Maren and Kai at the course that is in the community they are moving to. It was a beautiful course, and I felt intimidated. But then I did pretty good. I would tee off, and Maren would play the fairway. We took turns putting, and all in all turned in a good game. It started raining after about an hour, and surprisingly the game got even more fun. Thanks Sam & Maren for the fun day!
This picture is Alma driving the cart through a puddle that had formed from all the rain. That's right, there is a cart under there. There aren't any more pictures of us after that since we all looked like drowned rats. That night we went to Texas Roadhouse for some delicious food.
Saturday was a relaxing "do whatever you want" kind of day. We played games, and watched the Olympics. We had lots of fun cheering on the USA. Here we are playing Wii.
And this is a little game the Yamamoto kids like to call, "Smother Uncle to death with Kisses!" They always win, but Alma never seems to mind losing. What a good uncle!
What a sweet little family. We had a super fun time, as always, especially for the last time in the Old House. Good luck with the move, wish we could have stayed to help. Have fun in Kindergarten Kai!
Then it was on to Queen Creek on Sunday afternoon. First we explored the 202 with all its vast lanes, and 65 mph speed limit. Just lovely. And then it was more games! (we are certainly a game loving family) Here we are playing the old classic Twister. Thanks Michelle, you really got some good pictures. We had a lot of fun playing with Aaron, Michelle, Brodie, and Griffen. We too watched more Olympics, and had fun watching Michael Phelps swim like a dang fish.
Monday, we got to hang out with Michelle and the boys, and after Aaron was done with work we dropped the little ones off at their grandparent's house to enjoy a quieter meal at Oregano's. Then we picked them up and it was off to MFY. Yummy! This is a great picture of the QC Yamamoto Family inside the shop. The girls were off to a huge decor store (thanks Michelle- this could be trouble) and the boys headed home. We all had a great time catching up.Then just like that it was over. Time truly flies when you are having fun. We were so glad to be able to spend time with family, even if only a little. We love you all, thanks for making our trip so fun and special.