Phoenix In February

Jana was scheduled to attend a conference in Phoenix so she and JJ and Finn and Al and I decided to make a mini vacation out of it. What would be nicer than to get of rainy grey Oregon and head down to warm sunny Arizona? In a horrible trick of fate, the sun was out beautifully, but the valley was experiencing the coldest temperatures in 82 years. None of us packed with that kind of cold in mind so we all ended up buying some more appropriate outer wear. Finn was sick with a cold the entire week were there so we didn't do much visiting and Jana and JJ missed a few dinners out so they could get Finn to bed on time.
Jeff & Kerry opened their home to us so we invaded in force. One tends to forget how much stuff you have to take when you travel with a baby. We had a delightful time catching up with Jeff & Kerry and their daughter Katie, and brother Randy and his sweet Robin. We had a Taco night (of course) and made the trek into Jordan's (our favorite restaurant when we all lived in Phoenix). We spent a couple of hours at Encanto Park, the site of many Sunday picnics, birthdays parties & duck feedings. The park is in the heart of downtown Phoenix and it is really lovely.
Once at the hotel, Finn & I just hung around while Jana was busy during the day. We brought our dinners in so Finn didn't get sicker and so he didn't expose others to his cold.
It wasn't exactly the vacation we had expected but it was really really nice to spend a little time with my brothers and sisters in law. And truth be told, I like Phoenix best when it's blisteringly hot. Next visit will definitely be in the summer :-)