Spring Break

 We changed it up this spring break and headed to Scottsdale, AZ for MLB spring training.  We were all ready for a little getaway full of sunshine, baseball, good food, great friends and family time!  This was definitely a bucket list check off for the Miller boys and Harper and I were so glad we joined the fun!

We definitely missed the empty flights and extra seats we had in 2020.  Our flights were all back to being completely full!

We landed and headed straight to Rehab Burger Therapy to fuel up for the day!

After lunch we hiked Pinnacle Peak.  The weather was a little chilly with the clouds and we even got some sprinkles.  Can't beat the great views and fresh air!

Love these hiking buddies of mine! 

Post hike calls for Happy Hour at my favorite, Diego Pops!  Can't beat their margs, brussel sprout nachos and queso!  We earned it all!

We made the rounds through Scottsdale our first day!  Burgers for lunch, Mexican for happy hour and sushi for dinner!  Our favorite (and most memorable) vacation dinners are always sushi.  For some reason sushi dinners bring out the best and most laughs at the table!

The next morning our good friends the Paynes arrived!  We met for brunch and then headed to our first baseball game, Padres v Diamondbacks!  These boys could hardly contain their excitement walking in!  Of course spring training looked a little different in the Covid world.  Different is definitely the new norm.  All seating was in pods, stadiums were at very low capacity, no players autographs, no batting practice, etc.

Great seeing Tatis Jr in the game, highest paid MLB player this season!

Our outfield pod . . . the kids didn't exactly stay in the square but we kept them close 

Could not love this group more!  Crazy to think Angela and I went to high school together and were both Chios at OU but it took our boys playing sports together to develop our friendship.  Love how kids sports turn into so many great friendships!

All the kids ended up with balls from the outfielders or bullpen this first game!  The perfect souvenirs from our trip!

Day 2 started with more pre game brunching in Scottsdale, this time included bottomless mimosas!

Then off to the Cubs v Angels game at Sloan Park!

My Cardinals loving family had to do a thumbs down pic in front of the Cubs stadium!

Day 3 we started the day off with hiking Piestewa Peak.  It definitely wasn't easy but these kids were troopers!  There were a few moments we thought about turning around but we powered through and climbed to the top!

The kids loved the rock climbing, however us parents were questioning our hike choice!

Made it to the Peak and the views were stunning!  

3rd and final baseball game was the Dodgers v Rockies at Salt River Fields.  Pretty cool seeing the 2020 champs in action!

With the three stadiums spread out throughout the Scottsdale/Phoenix metro we were able to explore a large part of the city!  Such a fun few days with my crew and the Payne crew!  

FINALLY

 After one full year the kids have finally returned to school on a more full time basis!  On March 11th the kids went back to school 4 days a week, with Wednesdays remaining a virtual day!  We all had mixed emotions but the excitement overwhelmed them all!  They will definitely miss their smaller A/B class sizes and will miss their more frequent mask breaks but seeing all their friends and the structure of being at school will be worth it!  I'll definitely miss having my buddies home but lets be honest we all need a little time apart!  And after a solid year of being together it was time for school!  I'm excited to ditch the teacher roll and be back to my fun mom roll! 

A full bus stop was a great start to the day!