Okay, so this post is hugely overdue, but since I had a few minutes, I thought I'd finally do what I can to recap this very special long weekend :). It's a whole lot of pictures, without a huge amount of content, so take it as you will!
Back over Memorial Day weekend, we were lucky enough to have this cutie come to visit, along with her parents (my sister Ashley and brother-in-law James).
Amelia had a really fun time exploring our house and checking out all our fun stuff.
They all enjoyed playing on our new piano.
The backyard was also a big hit. It was nice to see our lawn getting used :).
There were lots of exciting bugs to check out, that Amelia was excited to observe.
Another fun play area was the "big blue bed." The game?
Peek a boo of course :).
Our big adventure, though, took us outside of the house. We decided to head to the Phoenix zoo! Thanks to renting some "culture passes" from the library for free, plus Ashley and James' LA zoo membership perks, meant that this was an amazingly inexpensive trip.
We were a bit worried about it being hot, but we got there early enough that it was completely fine.
We had a great time seeing the official exhibits, but there were some pretty fun unofficial animals too, like this Horny Toad.
I was pretty excited to see the mountain lions lounging (and safely behind bars).
Lots of animals were taking it easy in the heat.
It had been a long time since I'd been to a zoo, and it was very fun to see the animals so close (and see Amelia excited by them).
Amelia and I were both fascinated by the rhino. It was so massive, it almost didn't seem real.
James got a cold treat to make the heat a little more bearable,
which Amelia was only to happy to share.
Our final stop was the carousel, which Amelia did awesome on,
so long as her Daddy was nearby :).
The three of us rode, and we waved to Ash and Ed with each rotation past.
We stopped by Liberty Market for lunch, which was a hit, if only for their straw wrapper headbands :).
After we rested, it was time for the pool!
Amelia wasn't super sure about it to start, but definitely warmed up to it.
The raft ended up being a pretty fun place to hang out and get pulled around the pool.
And once we got out, she did love her Hello Kitty towel.
We all took turns cuddling with the little swimmer.
...who was super happy about her adventurous day.
The goggles were fun, in and out of the pool.
Back inside, Amelia has some fun up in the loft looking down on us.
And just having some hang out time upstairs.
Father Daughter drawing time was a big hit.
Which then turned into watching Dad draw time.
Their last morning, we had one final breakfast together. Amelia's already perfected her mom's "I am not amused" look when we asked to take her picture a little too early in the morning for her liking.
Amelia's booster seat was my complete works of Shakespeare, which worked fairly well.
On their way out of town, we all had a nice breakfast together.
While we were sad to see them go, it helped that I went straight to seeing Ed perform in a concert for the holiday. :)
It was too bad the Suhrs had to miss the concert, but long drives trump concerts :)
After he performed, we went inside the Gilbert Historical Museum and learned a bit about our new hometown.
(Downtown Gilbert way back when)
It was so wonderful to get to share our new home with family!
