Arizona Blast From the Past

Well, even though we just got back from Hawaii a few weeks ago, this week we took off on vacation yet again.  This time around; however, it was necessary to mix a little business with our pleasure.  As past posts have discussed, each year Nick has an all-expense paid trip to a CME conference.  These conferences allow him to keep up on his medical skills, while they offer the kids and I a pricey get-away on the hospital dime.  If you can recall, last year we took our conference in Washington D.C.  This year I gave Nick a little more leeway and let him actually pick a conference he was interested in rather than picking a destination we wanted to visit and finding a conference That coordinated.  Fortunately for us, the Mayo Clinic conference he picked was in Phoenix, Arizona, only a few hours from my parents home in Show Low.  So, we came out a few days early for the conference and played with Grandma and Grandpa McArthur.  It was the usual routine--

with a little schoolwork on the side.  (mostly botany since there is nothing alive at this time of year in Bismarck.)

Then we brought Grandma with us and headed down to the valley.  Nick attended his Mayo Conference at the beautiful Fairmont Princess, rubbing shoulders with all of his old Mayo colleagues, and grandma, the kids, and I hung out and and played on our one-time Arizona stomping ground.

Our first stop was back to the Pheonix Zoo where we splurged on the total experience ticket.  This ticket included the regular Phoenix Zoo Admission, plus: 4-D Theater admission, Stingray Bay tickets, a Carousel ride, a Camel Ride, and a trip on the Zoo Safari Train.

 

 

The kids had an absolute blast while we were there, and we even visited the Amazon River Exhibit to reminisce about the good old days when Mason tried to feed himself to the Piranhas. 

We finished our time with Grandma off by making a visit to the newest Arizona Temple, and then spending a little time shopping at Deseret Book and eating at Cafe Rio.

After Grandma headed back up north, we mostly spent our remaining time in Phoenix  

 hanging out in our freezing pool.

 We also; however, took advantage of being in a place with actual stores.

Here are a few fun photos of:

 the kids while daddy was shopping,

the kids while mommy was shopping,

an afternoon snack at an old family favorite,

 

and daddy doing a little window shopping.....

 

And of course we couldn't end our time in Scottsdale without an evening dining in one of our favorite restaurants--Blue Adobe. 

 

 

Then, on the way to the airport the next morning, we capped off the trip by picking up a box of Sprinkles Cupcakes to nibble as we waited for our plane. 

It was a wonderful little get-away, and a bit of a blast from the past in many ways.  Unfortunately, however, it's time to go back to real life for a bit.  Good-bye Arizona.  See you again soon!