Some Serious Mid-Winter Fun

So maybe the gymnastics portion of our Arizona trip wasn't quite as successful as we'd hoped, but the rest of the trip was dreamy.  And by dreamy I mean crazy-fun!  

It's hard to stay too disappointed when you've got views like this:

This was the third year in a row that the girls competed in Arizona.  Being able to visit our dear friends, the Biddulph's, is without question the best part about this meet's location.  And since the meet coincided with mid-winter break, we got to stay in the sun for a few extra days.  

We couldn't have better accommodations if we stayed at a 5-star resort.  I mean, really, a game room with Ms. PacMan?  What more could Jon wish for?

And Caleb declared their foosball table the nicest one he'd ever seen.  We had a movie night one night and it looked mighty impressive on their massive movie screen.  

Their whole ginormous house looks like something out of a magazine.  Caleb had his own room with a comfy queen bed and a ceiling fan that he loved to turn on the highest setting.  The girls each had nightly sleepovers in Brinkley's and Kennedy's rooms, which was ridiculously fun for them.

Jon and I stayed in their beautiful casita.  It's across the courtyard from their front door.

It includes a full kitchen, living area and everything you could possibly desire for a comfortable stay.

The backyard is stunningly gorgeous!  Caleb couldn't get enough of their basketball court.

The girls enjoyed every moment they had together.  They took lots of selfies:

One night, Jon and Brian took the big kids to the Gilbert Temple.  They had a great time and Jon was really impressed with the temple's efficiency.

Natalie and Kennedy took great care in preparing a dinner theater for us one night.  They were so thoughtful in their decorations and entertainment preparations.

Their dances were adorable.

One portion of their show encouraged audience participation.  Brian and Jon's moves left me in a fit of laughter with tears streaming down my cheeks.

 Madi and Caleb even got in on the action.  Such a fun, fun night.

One afternoon, we went to ASU to watch a gymnastics practice with some of Alyssa's teammates.

These are my gym-mom besties.  I really love them:

And their daughters, Alyssa's teammates, are her dearest friends.  They had a blast swimming together once their meet was over.

We spent President's Day driving/riding ATVs in the desert.  To say it was fun is a gross understatement.  It was daring, dirty, high-flying adventure.  This sort of activity epitomizes what it's like to spend time with our friends, the Biddulph's.  

We each had to wear massive helmets and goggles:

Look how huge those helmets look on those tiny bodies!

Kennedy and Natalie rode in the back of the ATV driven by Brian and Madi.  Jon and Caleb shared a two-seater.  Caleb loved see how fast he could make his go.

Tracy and I took turns driving the yellow one, with Alyssa and Brinkley as our passengers.

Brian got a little crazy and decided to do some donuts in the sand.  It didn't take long to roll his ATV. Natalie thought that was a total blast!

We took a break after a couple of hours to eat some Subway sandwiches mixed with just a little bit of dirt.  The weather could not have been more perfect.

The girls' hair was so wind-blown that they each wanted their hair braided before we headed back out for more racing through the desert.

Have a peek at this extreme fun:

We each rated this activity a 10 out of 10.  It really was an epic day!

For our last hurrah in Arizona, we visited Top Golf.  It's a three-story, golfing-meets-bowling kind of thing.  Each player takes turn hitting balls and scoring points depending on which target your ball lands in.  

We are all really bad golfers.  Except for Dad, he's quite good.

Natalie favorite thing were the doughnut holes that came with syringes of chocolate and bavarian creme, used to inject the filling into the middle.  Yum!

Can you believe all that fun?  It's always hard to go back to reality.  But back home we did go, though only for a week.  Pasadena and Alyssa's big comeback were awaiting us.