We're Back Home.....

Hello, bloggy friends!!! Logan and I are back home, and I am snug in my bed! We had been in Scottsdale, Arizona since Thursday with Dickey and Cinda. We had gone there for the boys to go to the Scottsdale Center for Dentistry for continuing education and some other teeth related stuff! We had so much fun!! We stayed at the Fairmont Scottsdale, a huge resort on a PGA golf course. The landscaping in Phoenix/Scottsdale this time of year was amazing---huge bougainvilleas everywhere (top picture), massive pride of Barbados (bottom two pictures), and awesome palms and dutch irises. (I am such a gardening nerd!) I have some pictures to show you what I'm talking about....
Speaking of plants: Logan, Dickey and I went jogging on Friday morning, and we found a Meyer lemon tree near the golf course. A quick lesson on Meyer lemons: they are HUGE, usually bigger than the size of a softball, and very sweet. Most gourmet foods containing lemon specifically use Meyer lemons. If you've never had a Meyer lemon, you are missing out on life. And unless you have your own plant--you can buy them at your local nursery--you can't often find them to buy. They have an extremely soft skin for lemons and are relatively fragile, so supermarkets rarely carry them. Whole Foods or Central Market will get them once in a while, but that's it. However, they can grow easily in Arizona because they love the arid climate, hot weather, and acidic soil. ANYWAY, I got on this ledge and stuck my hand through a thorny bougainvillea to get several of the lemons. So by that time, Dickey, Logan and I were jogging with our hands full. We found a green belt behind some gorgeous homes, and went back there to jog. We found a HUGE grapefruit tree, dropping pinkish-orange grapefruit on the ground. We gathered some and got a few more off of a LOADED DOWN tree. When we got back to the hotel, we had some of the best grapefruit in our lives.... NO JOKE. It was very sweet with a tiny bit of tart. (My mouth is watering right now just writing about it....) I have vowed to buy a grapefruit tree the next time I see one.
That was Friday morning. The boys went golfing and Cinda and I hung out by the pool. It was absolutely beautiful but HOT!!!! I went up to the room later to do some homework on my computer, and then we went down for dinner at a wonderful restaurant at the resort with all local grown, organic produce and hormone-free meat. My kind of restaurant! On Saturday, the boys had a dental thing all day, while Cinda and I went to the Fairmont's spa, the Willow Bend. It was incredible and smelled wonderful.... Cinda and I went and put the spa's big plush terry robes on and went to sit in the waiting room. We were both scheduled for massages first. They called my name. "Courtney?" There was only me, Cinda, and another woman in the waiting room at the time, so I got up for the appointment. The woman took me back to a massage room and I noticed there wasn't the layer of blankets on the table. I'll spare you the extra details, but the woman thought I was there for an "undercarriage" wax! I'm sure my eyes bugged out when I knew I was in the wrong room!
She asked, "Are you Courtney [some French last name starting with an "M"] ?"
"No 'mam, I am not." (I started laughing.....) "I am scheduled for the relaxation massage...."
"Oh--I'm so sorry, Mrs. Stanley....."
My massage was great, and then Cinda and I got a pedicure. While hers was finishing up, I went in the "inhalation room" (yes, there really is such a place) to read "The Shack," which is awesome. I'm halfway through. Cinda and I then went in the steam room, which was torturous, but smelled heavenly (eucalyptus). We then ate lunch in our robes (very good, but all spa food is for those women who only consume like 500 calories per day!) and went up to the spa pool and napped. AHH-- the everyday life of a stay-at-home mom.

NOT.

However, I was really missing my pookie bear. I will see him and Zoey on Tuesday at Mom and Dad's. Logan is really missing him, too, and wanted to travel to get him right when we landed today. However, I have to finish painting our bedroom tomorrow. Yes---begun painting probably 2 months ago, and have yet to finish. Let's face it: it's impossible to paint with a 2 year old, unless you do it after his bedtime. And by that time, I am already WIPED OUT.....
Anyway, Logan and I finished up our trip last night by ordering lamb burgers with cucumber and tziki and duck fat fries with truffle oil and aioli (yes, that is correct, and YES---they were really the best fries I've ever had) down at the pool. We then had a 'smores cheesecake with toasted marshmallows on top. It was very good, as well... Thankfully, it was dark outside and hardly anyone was at the pool, because my stomach was pooching BIG TIME after all of that food! And was Logan's? Of course not!!!!
Our little trip was a blast and we had a great time with the in-laws and a great time together, just Logan and me. I definitely want to go back sometime to that resort because I felt like a princess! (However, if we don't secure a Patterson Dental discount rate again, I'm sure that won't be happening!)