The day after Christmas I put on my cold weather running gear, tightened my watch and headed out for a morning run with Sandy. Thanks to a cold, dark mornings and air pollution I had not been able to run for over a week but was determined to get in 3 miles. We made pretty good time and thanks to my new watch actually ran an accurate 3.1 miles. By far my favorite way to start a day!We spent the remainder of the day running a few errands and preparing a few more courses for our anticipated family dinner. With the appetizers nicely displayed and the floral arrangement perfected by Carolyn we welcomed our guest's arrival a little before 6 PM that evening. Almost instantly upon their arrival our little atomic ranch rilled with familial warmth, chit chat, laughter, and plenty of entertainment for Jackson. Despite a few pieces of ham jerky, secretly joked about by Jed and myself at the end of the table, dinner and dessert went pretty well.
The following day Sandy and I again suited up and braved 30+ degree weather to get in a short run to start our day. After breakfast and a quick Jackson walk we loaded into the car for a little downtown touring and made a few stops at a few vintage shops. Despite a bit of purchase indecision over a classic optical cabinet, I managed to make the only purchase of the day which happened to be a print from a local tattoo artist that caught my eye and couldn't be passed up. I've seen work by this artist before, and just may have some plans for this artist in my future, but I digress. Anyway, back to the day at hand, we all decided it was a good time for a lunch break and stopped at Windsor for a tasty meal. We recently discovered Windsor, located around mid town and have had consistently great experiences.
Despite our chilly start to the day the temps were in the low 70s by the time we took Jackson for afternoon walk. We pretty much hung out until dinner when we made another culinary adventure to Hana, by far one of the best Japanese sushi restaurants I've ever enjoyed. Yeah yeah yeah, get your jokes in about buying sushi in a land locked state, but I dare you to try Hana's sushi and make any other comment than a food appreciation noise.
On our final day to visit with the Hupps we spent our time outside, enjoying a beautiful day at the Phoenix Botanical Garden before enjoying a family dinner at Pomo, a neapolitan style pizzeria. Jonathan and I have been interested in the Botanical Garden for quite some time, but have never made time for a visit. Thank goodness for out of town visitors because our day at the botanical garden was fantastic! The light crowed, thanks to a work day visit, made for a terrific viewing experience of not only an exceptional amount of cactus and desert plants, but also of a visiting exhibit of gigantic, beautifully crafted insects. Their larger than life size made them a delight to come across while admiring the diverse flora and fauna. My favorite insect fact had to do with the praying mantis who greeted us upon our entry into the gardens. Apparently, before the matting process takes place, the male praying mantis offers his head, resulting in an eventual decapitation, to his mate in order to provide a protein boost to the future mother of his children. This protein boost is intended to ensuring a healthy brood of mantis babies. Talk about taking chivalry to a whole new level. Pictures of our trip can be seen on the right.
The following day Jonathan dropped his parents off at the airport bright and early as Jackson and I got back into our pre-dawn walking routine. Both Jonathan and I agreed that returning to our respective works and settling back into our daily routine felt a little odd after so much time off and so many family festivities. We are certainly fortunate to have enjoyed such a wonderful holiday season with so much family and are happy to report that all family members arrived home safe and sound.
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