Our Holiday Overnighter in Phoenix Part 1

Even though Christmas had come and gone, our family wasn't finished partying yet. And by "partying," I mean, "traveling up to Phoenix for an overnighter and a trip to the Mesa Temple." So, not partying, per se, but taking a day trip, visiting some new places, eating out a few times, and generally having fun with the family.

We made it up to Phoenix in the early afternoon of December 28th; Nathan and I decided to each attend a temple session solo, while the other person watched the kids. This is usually our arrangement during our family temple trips; however, this time we had slightly more ambitious plans for what to do while we attended the temple...at least, Nathan did. My goal was to simply keep them entertained and hopefully help them get some wiggles out.

Nathan got first "shift" in the temple, and since it was lunchtime (albeit a little late), I cruised around central Mesa trying to find a place to eat. I finally settled on this place...

Look! They conveniently carve their names on every booth, in case you're old and forget where you are!

...a decision I would come to regret for a few reasons. I guess we've been spoiled living in Tucson, which is a Mecca for high-quality, authentic Mexican food, but everything at this "family restaurant" tasted "off" to me...especially my chicken cooked in spicy ketchup (ugh...). The girls seemed okay with most of their food, but a sit-down restaurant is still very hard for them; they wiggled like crazy the entire time. Thank goodness we were there at off-peak time, because they put up quite a fuss (and as you can see from the picture, Aurora turned her utensils into musical instruments for a distressingly long portion of the meal).

Thankfully, once all our bellies were full, the kids were able to run to their heart's content for an hour or so at Pioneer Park, a large park (with a large playground!) just north of the temple itself.

 

Here, Lorelai and Celeste played an interesting game called "Space Danger," which involved scenario after scenario of a spaceship being attacked by aliens/destroyed by asteroids, and the "astronauts"/us having to jump out into space to "survive." Kind of a psychologically stressful game, but the girls enjoyed it.

Aurora, on the other hand, was content to run and run, as is her wont:

Pretty soon after that, Nathan got out of the temple, and it was my turn to attend a session inside. While there, Nathan took the girls back to the SeaLife Aquarium at the Arizona Mills Mall, a place the girls and I had visited over the summer. Nathan regretted missing out, so we got him some tickets, and off they went for another round! He didn't take any pictures of the event; I imagine it looked just like it did last time we attended. They all had great fun, and they arrived back at the Temple's Visitors Center just a short time before I made it out of the temple itself.

The girls always enjoy sitting near the statue of Christ...

...and feeling the prints of the nails in his feet.

By this time, the temple was starting to look very festive; one reason we love coming up at Christmastime are the beautiful lights all over the temple grounds.

 

 

 

 

 After taking in the beautiful lights, we drove around aimlessly looking for some dinner (we finally settled on a nearby Red Robin). By dinner's end, our kids were exhausted, and it was time to hit the hay. A friend of mine from my mission lives in nearby Gilbert, and she graciously let us spend the night at her cozy apartment, since she and her family were out of town for the holidays. It was so nice to have a "real" home to sleep in, instead of an impersonal (and more expensive!) hotel. Yulia's apartment was clean, cozy, and felt full of love. The girls enjoyed playing with the little girl toys lying around, and then everyone quickly fell asleep.

The next day of our Phoenix trip would bring even more excitement!