My Parents Turn to Visit

I am playing catch up today on all the fun events that have taken place this past week.


A week ago Saturday my mom, dad, and brother flew out for a visit. We had a lot of fun each day. My favorite part was I got to sleep in. My parents would always be awake before me and so when the kids got out of bed they would grab Macy and Kelsey before they could make their way into my room. Thank you!

The kids were excited to see grandma, poppy, and Uncle Jeff. The first thing Jeff wanted to do was check out the pool and go swimming. I warned them that the water might be cold, but that did not stifle the desire of Jeff, Macy or Kelsey. It was too cold for me to go in. The water temperature didn't stop my dad from swimming later on in the trip. He even took an evening swim one night.


Saturday night after the kids dried off we went to Schnepf Farms for the Pumpkin and Chili Festival. There was a little petting zoo where Kelsey was able to chase some little goats. Macy just turned her nose up at the animals. She said they stink. There were rides for the kids and we even watched some pig races. We tried pumpkin donuts that were delicious and grabbed a huge bag of kettle corn after wandering through the corn maze. That bag lasted us 3 days.

Sunday we went to the LDS Mesa Temple and Visitors Center. Monday we tried to go to the Children's Museum in Mesa, but I forgot that it is closed on Mondays. Luckily we found a really good cafe for lunch. This is where Kelsey found one of her most prized possessions: a little plastic tambourine. She carried that with her the rest of the week.

Tuesday we took a road trip to Sedona and Slide Rock State Park. At Slide Rock there was water so Macy wanted to get in. During warmer seasons this is a popular swimming hole, but that day was not a warmer season day. Macy tried to convince me otherwise. Here the kids were able to throw rocks into the water to their hearts content. In Sedona we walked around and ate fudge. When we got back home we all voted for a night free of cooking so we could celebrate Kelsey's birthday and carve pumpkins. Cheesecake Factory was the winner. By the way Ghiredeli chocolate cheesecake is still the best in my book.

On their last day here we went to the Cerretos Candy Factory. We didn't make it for a guided tour and the self-guided tour was not worth the drive. In fact it was a disappointment so I am hoping that the guided tour is what put this destination on the "100 places to take your kids in the summer". The bright side of things we bought some yummy candy and chocolate.

On the way home from the factory we made a spontaneous decision to try the Hanger Cafe at the small Chandler Airport. At this airport it is mostly flight schools and small private planes (no jets that we saw). Besides Halloween, this stop saved the day. The cafe is right by runway, so we could watch planes land and take off all through lunch. Nearby was a helicopter school so we saw several helicopters flying around and practicing. The kids thought this was neat. The food was good and we had a perfect day to eat outside.

Of course that night was Halloween night. We did some trick-or-treating and then said goodbye to Poppy DeVon, Grandma Wendy, and Jeff. Come back anytime.