It's my favorite time of year here in Phoenix -- after the last of the overnight frost and freeze warnings have passed and the days warm up just enough to be comfortable in shorts and a t-shirt, but not so much that sweat is dripping down your brow or you gasp for air as you go outside (no, that comes in July).
Our mid-March spring break was perfect this year. It had just escaped days of crazy rain and unseasonable coolness, forcing a few more days of battling with the kids to keep on the sweatshirts and jeans. By the time the week-long school break came, it was perfect.
We got to share our beautiful weather with Brett's Mom and her husband Erik, who escaped their frigid, snowy Minnesota climate for the week.
I tried to keep us busy and enjoying the outdoors, and the fact that nobody passed out from exhaustion or too much time on the road is a good sign.
For starters I scored some Groupon tickets to the Desert Botanical Gardens in Phoenix, which seemed like a good touristy thing to do. The kids probably could have found a funner way to spend a morning, but they made it out alive ... and their knowledge of the prickly pear cactus has never been higher.
We also headed up to Sedona, where we ventured on a fun off-road Jeep tour. All four kids loved it and the best part was when we were heading down some precarious-looking, mammoth-sized rocks. Our tour guide stopped the Jeep, as it angled downward at a sharp angle, and said, "Knock knock."
"Who's there?" Nick replied.
"Yah," Brandon, the Jeep driver, said.
"Yah-who?" says Nick as Brandon nails it and sends us bolting down the boulders.
All four kids erupted in laughter and I don't think I've ever, ever seen Zach laugh so hard. Fun times, great memories.
