Phoenix - December 2008

A couple of weeks before Christmas, Daddy had a business trip in Mom's favorite place on earth - Phoenix, Arizona! Well, he was actually in Scottsdale, and Mom and I actually stayed in Chandler, but it was all close enough to Mom's old stomping grounds to make her happy. She was able to drive into Phoenix several times and visit her favorite places.

While there, I got to meet several of Mom's closest Phoenix friends and play with their kids. Mom was excited to finally meet babies/toddlers who she had only seen on blogs for the past three years!

We want to send a big thank you to Brant, Kapri, Rome, and Scarlett Roberts for hosting us! Although Rome beat up on me a bit (he's 2 1/2 and I am 16 months), we also had a great deal of fun together, as you will see below. Mommy met Kapri through the pageant circuit several years ago, and their mutual quirkiness and sense of humor made them instant friends. Kapri was a bridesmaid in Mom and Dad's wedding!

Our first morning there, Rome took me for a walk around the neighborhood (The mommies came too; don't worry). It was so fun to see all of the Christmas decorations! We live in a town home community so people don't really have front yards and therefore do not do much decorating. I could not get enough of the lights, Frosty the Snowman, and Santa Clause. I still have an obsession with Frosty, and every time I see a man with a white beard (including a picture of Noah that I saw in church) I yell, "Ho! Ho! Ho!"

We were at a HUGE playground, but Rome and I thought this was the coolest thing to play with. Boys...

This was my favorite part about Rome's house - he has a fish tank! It happens to be in his dad's office. Brant (Rome's daddy) was very nice to let me come in so often to see them.



Kapri reading us a bedtime story.



Scarlett -- the family princess. She weighs the same as me and she is five months old. Don't you just want to squeeze her?

This is Cheyenne Robertson and her newest family addition, Jacob. Cheyenne is a very special person to Mommy. She came to Mommy's apartment in Phoenix for all of the missionary discussions and played a big role in Mommy learning more about the LDS church. She (and her husband, Zack) also traveled all the way to Kentucky for Mom and Dad's wedding!

Here we are with the addition of Kai, Cheyenne's oldest son. He is around 2 1/2 years old.

Kapri, Me, Cheyenne

As you can see, our trip was filled with cute baby appearances. This is Andrew Chipman. His dad and my dad go way back from days in SLC. Mom met Andrew's parents when they showed up at her baptism and she was instant friends with his mommy, Jill (Don't worry Doug, she thinks you're pretty cool, too.).

Does anyone need a doctor?

Aside from being hilariously funny and incredibly cute, Jill is also a hair stylist. Over dinner I told her I wanted to add a layer to my haircut and ten minutes later she took me outside to her porch and took care of it. I wish I always had that kind of service! Also, she has two kids less than two years apart, so she was giving me some good tips on how to stay sane. Her boys are little angels though, so she makes it look really easy!

The boys with their boys.

(Doug Chipman and sons)

One of Mom's favorite stops was the Biltmore Shopping Center. She used to shop here when she was a teacher making 20,000 a year, but now she can no longer afford it (WHAT IS WRONG WITH THAT PICTURE?). I liked it because it had a fun fountain where I could play.

This is Kapri's living room. Isn't it gorgeous? Her whole house is basically black and white with silver for the Christmas decor. Daddy enjoyed giving me piano lessons, and I think I have real musical talent. Maybe I will be famous one day.

Dad might kill Mom for posting this, but she could not resist. Dad and Mom went on one date night while we were there and the Robertson's took care of me. They went to dinner and then (per Brant's recommendation - thank you) walked around the famous Phoenician Hotel and Resort for an hour or so. This is their cactus garden. Mom told Dad to pose and this is what she got. Can you see why he claims to be the one that keeps her young?

Pageant Pig-Out

This was a pageant reunion luncheon. Kapri took the picture (Miss Arizona 2001), on the right is Jaime Fryer, my local director in the Miss Mesa pageant, and next to me is Trudy Hill, mom to Miss Arizona 2003 and adoptive mom to every other pageant girl in Arizona. I miss these ladies so much! They were with me through a really... interesting time in my life. Don't pay attention to the fact that we just devoured tons of Italian food... and I am still working on the last bit of mine. Following that we had my favorite dessert of all time (the whole reason for going to Oregano's for lunch) -- The Original Pizza Cookie (called Pizzookie). Here is a description for your taste buds' delight:

1/2 pound of Chocolate Chip, White Chocolate Macadamia Nut, or Peanut Butter Chocolate cookie dough, slightly baked in a 6-inch pizza pan then topped with 3 scoops of vanilla bean ice cream

On our last full day there, we met up with the Birkmeyer family for breakfast. Baby Rocklin is about 11 months here. Kristen used to live in Atlanta, but moved to Arizona when she came to her senses (okay, that wasn't why... she got married). It was great to see all of them again!