Arizona Awesomeness & Brushwood Bash 2015: Saguaro Nat'l Park & Saying Good-byes

Sunday:

We were officially on Tucson time. We slept in a small bit to let the husband and little lady catch up on their rest. When Auby did wake up, we enjoyed some hotel time. She loved finding herself in the mirror of course with Dotty the giraffe at her side.

 

After a quick pack up, we met up with our Brushwoods for breakfast. James and Kaylan make some delicious migas. We then enjoyed our breakfast on the patio.

 {Breakfast with Kaylan, Luis, and James}

 After  breakfast we made our way to Saguaro National Park to see the Desert Museum and Zoo. Enjoy pictures from our time at the park.

 {Kaylan, James, Luis, and Elliott}

{Daddy Kiddo Picture}

 {Cactus Fun with his son}

 {Stroller Push'n Mamas}

 {Mamas and our cuties}

{Our Family of 3}

What an amazing time in Tucson at Saguaro National Park and the Desert Museum. The weather was in the dry and in the 80s. It was definitely a must see and our time that afternoon was pretty perfect. I have to say I loved seeing all the different desert animals as well as the cacti or saguaros.

After our trip to the Desert Museum, we went back to our Brushwoods for some pre dinner hang out. We watched Luis (or Wees as Auby calls him) ride his bike and scooter. The boys also threw a football around. He really is so athletic. Talk about a kid who can throw a spiral.

After some afternoon play, the Brushwoods made us dinner. They are fantastic cooks and hosts. It was a fun time to play with Luis. To talk about my magic tickle fingers that I borrowed from his CC. He's a great kid. Plus I was able to cuddle this cutie.

{Baby Elliott- 11 weeks}

Monday:
Monday was a hard day. It was a day we said our good-byes to our sweet Brushwood friends. We loved our travels, our quiet catch up time, and our time touring Tucson. We enjoyed lunch before we left. We ate at Tucson's Tamales. It was amazing!

Thank you to our sweet friends to my travel partners. I am thankful for this time of fun and all of the memories made on this very special trip.

Arizona Awesomeness & Brushwood Bash 2015 Friday & Saturday

This past weekend, Ray, Auby, and I made a 2100 mile trip to Tucson, Arizona to visit our sweet Brushwood friends and their two adorable kiddos. This trip was filled with a lot of laughs, a lot of love, a lot of miles, and a lot of fun. Join me for a long and crazy ride.

Our trip began at 4PM Friday afternoon as I turned my classroom light off and gathered my materials for the day. Thursday was an unexpected snow day which allowed for our little family to enjoy a day at home and some early packing and organizing of materials. With bags packed, travel snacks ready, and babe picked up from school, we were ready to go and officially welcome our Spring Break family vacation to Tucson. Our planned stop would be El Paso, TX which would be10 hours of driving. So with the ipad switched to Mickey, toys and books by her side, and plenty of squeeze pouches, we were on our way. I have to be honest, I was beyond worried of how Auby would travel this trip. Our girl while so sweet can be a difficult travel buddy and knowing that 15 hours stood between us and our final destination, I have to say I was definitely uneasy. But I couldn't have been more wrong. Auby was an absolute champ and our drive, while very long, was excellent. So here we go! Enjoy the details of our trip!

Friday

We left at 4PM and stopped for dinner at 6 in the small town of Ranger, TX. The DQ was all we could find but Auby didn't seem to mind play driving in the front seat to stretch her legs.

 {My travel buddy}

 

Friday night was a bit of a blur. I loved watching the land go from flat to hilly. I loved the great conversation Ray and I had as baby girl napped in the back. I am very thankful for my husband as he made the drive until 2AM (1AM mountain time) when we arrived in El Paso. The lights from the border were pretty amazing and the town was hopping.

Our hotel was actually pretty great. It had a great bar and grill as well as a night club. But all we could do was catch some Zzzzzs. We knew we had another long trip and a few more states to drive through in the morning. Another great bonus was that it stood right next to a Starbucks. Yep, perfection! 

Saturday

Saturday morning arrived. We were tired but excited. Auby let us sleep in until about 7:30AM. After getting dressed the alarm went off in the hotel. This was not the way I had envisioned our wake up; however, after a few minutes we were back in the room and ready to go. We should have picked up on the fact that no one from the hotel was outside so this must have just been a simple test. Oh well. With bags packed, we were up, and ready to go. We did make a few extra stops on our way to Arizona. Here's one and I can't get enough of this face.

 

As a native Houstonian, I have to say, I get pretty giddy about nature and God's amazing beauty. The land was gorgeous. Please forgive my phone photos from the car window. You'll soon come to figure out my camera actually broke this trip and the majority of my pictures are all iphone creations. I guess it's better than nothing. Here are a few of my favorites along the way.

 

 

And then, we were there.Our next stop would be to Hops and Vines winery in the Sonoita region of Arizona where we would meet our Brushwood friends for some wine and a picnic lunch. 

 

 {Family Photo}

Aubrey loved playing in the rocks. It is definitely a different experience for her and she absolutely loved it.  It was also so fun to see her amongst the mountainous terrain and winery vines. After a few minutes of exploration, we met up with our Brushwood friends for a picnic lunch at Hops and Vines.

I absolutely adore Kaylan, my new mama friend. She is fabulous and I honestly can't say enough about her. It was such a special trip. A trip to celebrate new adventures for their family of four, to welcome the new babe, visit with their older, as well as catch up with some amazing best friends that live a little more than a hop, skip, and a jump away. So this time was precious and so truly memorable.

 

I mean seriously can you get a better view than this? (please excuse the random smudges on my camera lens... again you'll learn that my camera broke this trip- my heart is still getting over this fact)

With a delicious lunch eaten, we played with some of the wineries ducks. Quack Quacks! Auby was so excited.

 

From delicious eats, games, and many fun photo opts, it was time to go in and sample some wine. Hops and Vines winery was such a great place. Perfect for picnics and family fun. I loved their pairing with potato chips. Pretty genius in my opinion.

 {Our Brushwoods and Zellners sampling the wine & chips}

They also had this perfect door that I thought would make for Auby's month-iversary series. Happy 17 months big girl. What a perfect place to celebrate.

After our first winery, we decided to go to another. When in Rome right? Same thing. When in the Sonoita wine region... you get the picture.

After our time at the winery, we made our way to Tucson. We enjoyed a pizza dinner and much needed catch up time with our dear friends. I would say it was a perfect ending to an absolutely perfect day! Thank you to our Brushwood bunch for hosting our visit. We truly are thankful for your family and our friendship.

Brushwood Visit and our Holiday Baby

  

We sure do love our sweet Brushwood friends. This Christmas season, Kaylan and James traveled from Arizona back to their original home for a fun festive visit with family and friends for the holiday. Friday night we met up with our Brushwoods, Paige and Dustin, Kristin and her little man, Bryson (who will be turning four in a few days) at Rudy's BBQ. It was such a special treat for the two to meet Miss Aubrey and even pose for a few memorable pictures. Of course we had to take our lady's and gent's pictures as well.

 {Bryson, Kristin, Aubrey and I, Kaylan, and Paige}

{James, Dustin, and Ray}

 

Sadly our Duke friends were unable to attend as they were at home with a sick toddler and our good friend, Mike, was out of town with his girlfriend. While we miss our sweet friends, it was so much fun to visit with our Brushwoods and college crew. From good food, good friendships, and a little holiday cheer, our night was a true celebration. When it was time to leave, the weather had quickly turned into a cold and rainy night.

 

This holiday has also been a special one as my parents are in town to celebrate our first Christmas at home as well as Auby's first Christmas. I couldn't resist taking some adorable pictures of our holiday baby and her sweet little outfit. I love this little outfit from Target as well as Grammy and Papa Z's cute little socks. Look at that sweet face and her super sleepy eyes.

 

Merry New Christmacheese!

Last night we rang in the New Year with an epic theme party. It included typical celebrations incorporating a wine a cheese, white elephant Christmas party, and of course 2012 New Years bash. We enjoyed a Rudy's BBQ dinner party, appetizers of pecan tassies and deviled eggs, our annual deviled egg picture, white elephant gift exchange, giant jenga, dance parties, karaoke to Toto's Africa, and many opportunities to celebrate the blessings and possibilities that a new year will bring with great friends.

So here it is... a huge picture post to begin our brand new year... a year of continued traditions, but plenty of new ones will be created. It was a wonderful end to a great year. Many of these friendships have lasted almost a decade. It has been amazing to watch us all grow up throughout the years. I sure love growing old with these fabulous people. Happy New Year!