Our winter vacation

We want to start "trying" to take more vacations as a family. We have broken it down into a winter, and summer vacation. Sounds fancy, huh? On our super fancy winter vacation we drove all the way to frosty Flagstaff Arizona. Watch out now! We're high rollers, what can we say? Besides the fact that Richard and I bickered almost every time we got in the car (please tell me we are not the only ones?) It was actually quite enjoyable. I have about a zillion pictures, and I want to start to journal it here before I completely forget. If you care, read on. If not you may exit.....now.

We left just after sun up on Friday the first. A big thank you to the Phipps for watching Rose. We finally reached wing mountain snow play area just around 10:30. (You can see some of the pictures I tweeted on my left sidebar.) The kids were so excited, and thanks to some great friends (thank you Beth, and Abby) we were able to bundle up all three of our children in proper snow attire. They were also able to sport their new beenies, and gloves we got them for Christmas. The big kids were hitting the slops before I was even able to catch up.
We finally decided to try and go somewhere a little more reclusive. But it seemed as if everyone else did too.

So our efforts where fruitless. By the time we arrived to our new destination I was already pooped. Then on my first attempt down I broke one of are disks. So it was back to the car (carrying Tate) to get some money to buy a new one. Secretly I was a little pleased. I wanted a bigger one, anyways. We had two little disk, and a two person flat sled. But I envied those who could carry their kids in the one's with the sides. Plus the over protective side of me thought it would be safer. You know for the kids. When I finally got back I realized I lost my beanie. Total bummer:( and a detail nobody else cares about but me. So we stopped for some hot chocolate, and a new sled.
After a few more times down
we decided it was picture/snowball fight/snowman time. So we ventured around trying to find a good spot. After treading through knee deep snow we finally found it. Where we began well...picture taking/snowball fighting/snowman building. See I got the pictures to prove it.


When finally done we treaded back for one last time down the hill. Turns out I was right about the sled with the slides. On our way back to the car Tate laid down, and had a nice little nap. Soooo cute! The big boys were a bit jealous too.


After checking into our room at the Highland Country Inn. (Which was very clean. As an extra bonus they were very hospitable. Which is hard to come by these days, and I am planning a whole nether post about that. Believe you me.) We enjoyed a nice lunch of strawberry uncrustables with cheddar sun chips for the kids, and jalapeno chips for the "grownups". After naps we ventured out. We were hoping to dine at Brandy's but they were closed for the Holiday. So we headed back toward the little shopping district. We knew we were bound to find something tasty around there, and find something tasty we did. We went into Alpine Pizza which was pretty empty. We were hoping we didn't walk into a dud. After placing our order Richard played pool with kids.

They really enjoyed that, and it was nice for them to have something to do while we waited for some of the best pizza I have ever had. The crust was perfect, the mozzarella cheese was divine (and I don't use divine lightly) and the toppings were big enough for a king. Which is what we ate like. While Alpine pizza was bit on pricey side I give it **** stars. YUM! After dinner we walked a bit more, and I took this dapper picture of my gentleman.


Then it was back to the room for a marathon of Sunny with a chance.


Which was pretty entertaining for a show on Disney. Well I'm sure you can imagine what we did after that. But if your curious as to what the next day held in store stay tuned for my next instalment. Oh yes there's more.

La Piazza Al Forno

You know how me and my family love to try new things. This last week we tried La Piazza Al Forno. As seen on Food Network's Dinner's Drive-in's, and Dives. One of our favorite shows. It is a cute little Italian place that uses a wood burning oven. If you haven't ever tried it, you should. Make an afternoon out of it. It is in one of our very favorite neighborhoods. That's old town Glendale. It is so charming, and holds many memories for me. Some of the buildings are from the early 1900's. There's lots of history, antiques shops, an ice cream parlor, and don't forget Cerretta's candy factory. Richard highly recommends the French Mint Truffle. As do I. Ooops, back to the pizza. It was great. The joint is a little stuffy. Because of the fire, and it being July in Arizona and all. It is a little small too. But definitely worth it. For something new and great, try the chocolate cannoli. Overall a great place. I give it 4/5 stars.

After the reunion

Yes, there's more. After the reunion we went back to the room so the kids could nap, and Richard went to take down the camping stuff. Jaren got sick and threw up:( After wards he fell back asleep. When he woke up he felt better. So we decided to sight see. We were totally bummed when our favorite place to eat was closed. It is a meat shop that makes sub sandwiches.(I can't remember the name off the top of my head.)So we ventured around until we found somewhere else. Not to far away was the safire. It had a sign that said "Friday night fish fry", and I couldn't resist. I always wanted to go to a fish fry! I loved it! I give it 4/5 stars. The Safire is pretty old, and used to be frequented by John Wayne when he lived at his ranch up there. The catfish was excellent, and the cole slaw too. Oh, the fries where the big fat kind, delicious!

Then we went by where my Nana's house used to be. It's not there anymore, but I remember it pretty well. It was so old it had to be torn down. The tire swing still hangs from the tree in the front. Just like I remember it. We didn't get out and take a picture because some other people where there we didn't recognize. After that we went to this cute little candy store. Country Candy. They had every kind of Taffy, and I couldn't resist! One of every kind please. It was great, and surprisingly the key lime was my favorite. After our adventures we all went back to our room. But Jace and I left soon after to go to the Bon fire my cousin was having at her house.This is the view from her drive. Now I know why it's called round valley.The fire was huge, and HOT!(obviously) You couldn't even get within five feet.John was so nice he braved it, and dumped little piles of coals for the kids to roast marshmallows. Later Uncle Kenny brought every one dilly bars from Dairy Queen. It's family tradition. I wish I had a picture.

Our 24 hours

Or 22. But who's counting. I had previously arranged a night for the two of us to be by ourselves for Father's day. My Mom was so nice to watch the kids for us. I don't know if you guys know this, but looking after three boys is hard. (Please don't laugh if you have more than me. I will probably cry. I have two sisters, so three boys was never even in my wildest dreams.) Especially when one of them is cranky and has a fever. Anyways back to the point. When I told my husband about my devious plot to have him all to myself he insisted we celebrate my birthday. I thought this was very sweet of him, and took him up on it. Mostly when he suggested we get massages. I have been asking him to do this with me for years. We crammed as much as we could into one day. Starting with the couples massage at Lavenders. Then we were off to Caramba's for some taco's. After that we did a little shopping. Then headed our little relaxed self's to see Transformers.

My short review- Lot's of funny banter.Too long. Too much action, not enough talking. Too many robots.

After the movie we went home and got ready for dinner. I felt young again when we went to dinner at 8:00 p.m. Don't laugh y'all. We are usually done with dinner by 5:30 max. We wanted to try something new but still stay close so we went to Vogue Bistro just down the street from our house. It was nice. Very expensive, and if for any reason at all we never go back that would probably be it. The food was good. I give it 3/5 stars. After dinner we went to Culver's which was still hoping after 9:00p.m. It was delicious, who knew something so good, was so close. After dessert we walked around Tar-jay. Picked up a couple of necessities and where home at the wee hours of 10:30. Oh wait, it gets better. We got to sleep in until 8:00 a.m. When I couldn't take it any more and had to get out of bed. Then I took my sweet little time getting ready for the day, and get this I wasn't interrupted one time. It was pure bliss!

Rock n Roll Fingers

Sorry two post in a row. I guess were on a restaurant kick! We don't really eat out that much. Well it depends on what you consider much. Maybe 1-2 times a week. But when you consider you eat 21 meals in one week. I'm thinking that's not that bad. Today me and the kids met Richard for lunch. A couple of weeks ago a friend took him to rock n roll fingers for his birthday, and he really liked it.
It is a very cute place! They have records on the wall, and rock n roll memorabila. They play rock n roll music, and have fabulous food! They biggest problem for me is they are in Tempe. So there deal is chicken. Yep, you guessed it chicken fingers. Except these aint your typical chicken tenders. They are YUM! They make it when you order it so it takes a little bit. Not to long, definetly worth the wait! They have 8 different dipping sauces to dip your chicken in. All the ones we tried were deliscious. They also have sandwiches and salads. But I don't know if I would waste my time with the bun and greens. The fingers and fries alone were enough to fill me up. So this girl gives the quaint little restaurant 4 1/2 stars!

What a burger

Someone told the Mr about Hazelwoods in Phoenix. They have a 2lb hamburger with fries for $9.99. He had victory in mind with this monstrous burger. But was defeated about 60% of the way through. Which means he ate over a pound of hamburger. GROSS! But he wasn't hungry for dinner. So it is what we like to call a twofer. Anyways, here's a picture taken with a cell phone for your viewing pleasure.

In case your curious he gives it ****!

Tarbell's

We celebrated Valentines with a great dinner date! My husband knows me, and knows what I love! He took me to Tarbell's in Phoenix. My husband is so great at coming up with surprises. Sometimes I wonder if he has a secret helper.(JK) Tarbell's is owned by Mark Tarbell and to some of you that probably means nothing. To us Mark is the proud winner of a 2007 episode of "Iron Chef America". That's right his "cuisine rains supreme". Me and Richard have watched food networks "Iron Chef" since we were first married. When it was filmed in Japan, with the dubbing and all of that. I know we are dorks, what can we say? In case you don't know what Iron Chef is. It originated in Japan (I think I already mentioned that). Competitor's take on fierce top notch chefs. There is a secret ingredient and they have one hour to prepare, and plate their dishes. Then it is judged to see who is the best. America started it's own version a few years ago. Hence the "Iron Chef America".

Back to the date. It was awesome!! We don't get to do gourmet a whole bunch. You know, budget, blah, blah, blah. But every once in a while it's nice to splurge, and we always enjoy it. Mark was there with what we assumed was his wife, and daughter. We were definitely the youngest in the joint (besides his daughter). We enjoyed the atmosphere, and trying new cuisine. We had

• Tempura calamari - This was a first for the both of us. We both liked it! I personally couldn't eat a whole bunch of it. But it had a wonderful salsa verde, and spicy tomato dipping sauce. YUM!


• Grilled Mahi Mahi - I ordered the mahi mahi. It was delicious it came with roasted parsnips. They were tender and, oh so good!


• Grilled Scottish salmon - Richard ordered this. He said if this is what the food tasted like there he would definitely take me. It was served on top of a crispy potato cake, and had a molasses lime glaze.


• Marscapone Cheese cake - I have always wanted to try marscapone (its supposed to be like an Italian cream cheese). It was topped with a carmel sauce, and plated with pralines. It was so stinking good, and although everything was delicious this was definitely my favorite.

I forgot to bring my camera but the picture above was taken from almost exactly where we were sitting. So this was our view. Well technically Richard's view. My back was to it.

Oh, and just in case your wondering. I give it 5/5 stars!

Thai Basil

I was feeling really guilty for the Bun Huggers review so I thought to redeem myself I would tell you all about this wonderful place I ate at on Monday. Thai Basil. It was "favoloso"! Richard has eaten at the one in Tempe a few times. When me and some girlfriends met for lunch at Park Central Mall, in Phoenix. I suggested we try it. I'm glad I did. We all really liked it. I had the Thai Basil Seafood. Yummy! When you go in, and sit down they bring your water, and a little side salad. You all know nothing makes me happier then instant food! I think that's why I love Mexican so much. You sit down. BAMM! Chips, and salsa. Ordering was simple, and you can get anything med, hot, or thai hot. I choose medium and it still had quite a kick. So I would definitely check this out if you are in the mood for something new. I give it 5/5 stars.

***UPDATE 1/27***
Look who Richard found on Phoenix New Times Best of 2008!

My first restaurant review.

I wouldn't normally do this on here. But I felt the need to warn you all. Just in case you happen upon Bun Huggers in Flagstaff, AZ. I've really been wanting to check out the more orginal places to eat. I have Guy to thank for that. Anyways, their sign says they have been open since 79. The place was packed so I thought this ought to be good. WRONG! The food wasn't that bad, but it wasn't great either. We waited 45 minutes for our food which wouldn't have been such a big deal if it were a fancy smancy restaurant. The set up is a bit confusing. When you go in you walk up to the counter, order your food, get your drinks, and wait. . . and wait. . . and wait. The people were a little unfriendly to say the least. Then they give you your food, and its Fuddruckers style. Where you do your burger, your way. Which I really like to be honest. But what the heck took them so long to make our food? I was checking them out online, and the reviews weren't so good. (note to self: check reviews before trying a new place.) For about every 4 bad reviews there was a good 1 saying they had "grown up on this place". Sorry Flagstonians (I just made that up) you need to get out! So my review is this:

If you want a mediocre burger.

You have a lot of spare time.

Arn't in the mood for chit chat from the staff

Leave the kids at home, and go to Bun Huggers.

I give it 1/5 stars

Jaren covering his ears. The place was crowded, and noisy. It didn't help that Tate was screaming either.

Jace was so tired at one point he laied down on the bench (which I'm pretty sure was an original from 79) and started to fall asleep.
Tate finally happy after we jacked some saltines from the salad bar.