Desert Randomness Part 2

The past couple of weeks have just flown by! We had another off day - can I get an Amen! - and went to the Grand Canyon. It was a spur of the moment trip and was awesome breathtaking glorious amazing wonderful perfect. I am going to do a full post on it when I get back to Texas. My computer is already packed to come home!



I could stay for days upon days at the Grand Canyon. The place is amazing and pictures don't do it justice.

 

We had a great sunset a few nights ago. The clouds are so dreamy! My sis-in-law said it looked just like heaven. Love!

 

Kelly had to come into work super early one morning so I asked if he could just take the car - so I could sleep - and then come back and pick me up. Being the super sweet guy he is, he said sure! So he picked me up in this.

 

 

 

I turned on my Pandora and we jammed to a little Reckless Kelly on the way to work. That's how we roll...

 

I have finally gotten up to 50 minutes on the elliptical machine. It takes an iPod, an iPhone, a magazine and a TV to do it but I get it done. Our apartment gym is really nice and I will miss it.

6 more days until we fly home. Can I get a yee-haw?!?!?

 

Desert Randomness

Out here it feels as if everyday is Ground Hog Day. You wake up, go to work, eat dinner, watch TV and sleep. The next day we do it all again. By day ten, I start to lose track of what day it is and really have to make an effort to look at the calendar. I miss appointments, birthdays, and TV shows because honestly, every day feels same. Home game days might be a little busier but it is still basically the same day. All of this means that I have made little effort to take pictures since we aren't living it up. I haven't even busted out my big camera once. Terrible! All of the below pictures are courtesy of my iPhone. Enjoy!

We enjoyed a relaxing night at Hoggy's house one evening. Sat outside by the fire pit and listened tot the waterfall. I swear if he would have had a hammock, I would have spent the night!

Did you know that out here in the desert, cactus grows anywhere!?!?

JD got this massive 5.5 container of Red Vines and graciously put them on my desk. Thanks Buddy!Good thing I don't like them or I might be in trouble. I encourage people to daily to take 5 or 10...or 15 of them!

There is the sweetest minor league player from Japan. He gave them to me and a couple other people in the office for being nice to him. Awwwww!!! I am bringing some back to Texas to share.

 

 

And yes, it rained again. This spring has had the craziest weather.

Our Off Day

We landed in Arizona on February 4th, started work the 5th and haven't had a day off since. That is a way too many days in a row without a break. Plus I am still use to my part time life...my body can't handle this! Good thing we finally got an off day. We woke up, went out to breakfast, Kelly got a massage while I worked out then we showered and hit Phoenix running. First stop was at the new outlet malls....the important stuff first! I wanted a new fancy shmancy watch and tennis shoes. The Tanger Outlets were disappointing - San Marcos Outlets are way better!Anyways, after I bought nothing, we googled some hot spots for lunch and went to....





This fabulous place. We now heart The Main Ingredient. It was so Austin-ish. We ate outside and enjoyed the nice AZ afternoon.

Next, we drove around Tempe to see if there was anything new (and no, we found nothing) so we just picked a road and decided to head north. We were killing time before our dinner reservations. Good thing we did because we found Hole-in-the-Rock. It was amazing and if I can climb it, anybody can. In fact, Kelly climbed it in flip flops!





Hole-in-the-Rock was used as a place for the local Indians (Pima) to tell time, predict weather and make a calendar or something to that affect (guess I should have read the sign better).

 





Anyways, it was a great place to take pictures! I am rocking my fiesta shirt. Ole!

Heather - the reason I look 4 feet tall is because I am standing on the rock that is lower than Kelly. I didn't shrink!

 





Safety never takes a vacation...unless you are rock climbing!





 

Hole-in-the-Rock has lots of holes! I totally recommend everyone going up to it. Really pretty view!





 

After we got done climbing  walking up and down the mountain, we sat at the park and read chapter 2 of  The Story. We are a little behind due to Spring Training and it was a great place to catch up.

 





 

When we were leaving the park there was a small rainbow for about 15 minutes. Perfect ending to our time at the park.

 



After we read, walked around the pond and harassed the ducks, we went to Elements at the Sanctuary (ran by Food Network Star Chef Beau MacMillan). This is a place that has been on our list for a couple of years and finally after seeing it featured on another show (Best Thing I Ever Made), I decided the time was now. It did not disappoint! We started with drinks outside where we could watch the sunset on the mountains. Love!

 

Self portrait of us at our table.There was a no cell phone policy so I had to take this with the flash off so that we wouldn't be busted. I am normally a rule breaker but I didn't want to get kicked out before eating. Priorities.

 

We had the shrimp and popcorn grits. They were so good. Can't wait to go back to this place again!

Kelly and I had such a good day - away from the ballpark. Now we are a little rejuvinated for the next few weeks.

 20 more days until we are back home!