Saturday, April 17, 2010

Finally..... an update!!!

Wow.... things have been super crazy busy over here at the Dawson home! We had spring break, my parents visited, we made a quick trip to Utah, and we've been slammed with homework. One thing at a time though!! First off, I had SOOO much fun when my parents came!!
Day 1: We hiked the Windcave trail at Usery Mountain Pass. It was the perfect length of a hike! The windcave at the top really actually ended up being an overhead hang with flower like pot things hanging from the top. Sadly, it was infested with bees, red beatles, and little chipmunks. Needless to say, we didn't spend much time at the top. Also... not long into the hike, I was leading the way in front of my parents. We were talking and all of a sudden we heard a loud rattle. I stopped immediately, and a rattle snake came out of the bushes and crossed the trail literaly a foot in front of me. My heart began racing and I couldn't move, then... it hit me and I started saying, "OH my gosh, oh my gosh it's a rattlesnake!!!" and I ran behind my parents. Haha the whole time they were saying, "Mary, get out the camera, that's really cool."
After the hike we went to Lee Lee's, which is an Oriental food market. My dad served his mission in Japan so he LOOVED Lee Lee's! I couldn't get my parents to leave, but i'm glad they had a lot of fun, and bought some really interesting food! After Lee Lee's we went to Boa Ba's, tried their really weird drinks, then picked up Derek from work. After that we we went to Barro's pizza, but... ended up on a very long detour! We finally made it and scarfed down our pizza. We ate at Barro's b/c they have a new gluten free pizza so my dad was able to eat it. My dad just recently found out that he is a celiac, so it was kind of challenging trying to find food that my dad could eat! After Barro's, we went to Alice in Wonderland 3D. Day 1 was a succes!!
Day 2: My parents and I went to the Phoenix zoo!! We had a lot of fun, and this day it got up to 91 degrees. It was SOO dang hot!! After the zoo, we chilled at the hotel for a bit, and then made our way to the Chandler Fashion Center. The Chandler Fashion Center is the BIG mall down here!! My parents couldn't believe how big it was, they thought it was so neat! After, the mall, we went back to my apartment. Derek and I made them yummy fajitas!! So delicious!! After that we went to the Mesa Temple and watched the Easter pageant!! It was unbelievable how many people were there!! The pageant was well done, and gave me chills at the end when Christ was resurrected. It was an awesome experience!
Day 3: Derek finally had work off! We spent the day at the Dodger's Spring training game!! We had another detour on the highway... but we made it!!! We were cheering for Manny the whole time, and I even bought a #1 finger. My dad made fun of me the whole time, but I just HAD to have it! haha. The sun was on our right side the entire time... so let's just say all of us came back a little uneven! I had a line right down the middle of my legs with the right side BRIGHT red and the other side still white. It was a little embarrassing. After the game, we went to RA sushi! Love the sushi, hate the atmosphere!! The sushi is sooo good, and we went during happy hour so everything was super cheap!!!
What a FUN time!! We were able to do so much, and my parents loved everything about it!! I'm so grateful for my dear parents!! I love them so much, and they are amazing!!! Here's some pictures, sorry they're not in order!























What a fun time we had!!! I wish they could come back and visit again!!! There are still things I need to blog about..... but that took forever so I am done for the day!!!! More news coming soon!! :)