More family in town!

I has been great these past couple months to have so many family members come to town. Not only has it given us the opportunity to spend time with them, but we can also Luke and I can be tourists and get to see some of the great places in Phoenix before we leave.

Last month, my Aunt Becky and Uncle Mark came to town for Mark's conference. Their trip actually coincided with Luke and I's Boston trip, but I was able to see them when we got back a few time for dinner. I took Becky to Oreganos and Mojo Yogurt and we also went to Margaritaville. It was a lot of fun seeing them out here, and they even took a trip up to Jerome.

Aunt Becky at Mojo Froyo

My dad and sisters came to town about 2 weeks ago and got to experience a little bit of the summer heat. On the way to Phoenix from Flagstaff, the family even ran into a brush fire around the Sedona exit! Luke took them to the mall and Children's Science Museum before he headed off to work for a couple days and I took them to PF Changs and Saddle Ranch after I came home from work. Luke and I also took them to IKEA, Mill Ave and where every Arizona tourist should go: Costco.

The family at IKEA having lunch
...Dad got a "warning from the AZ Dept. of Transportation for being in the IKEA parking lot with an Illinois license plate saying that he needs to register his car in Arizona...Thank you Big Brother, Arizona.

We also took a weekend trip up to the Grand Canyon. Though Luke and I have been here for a while, we have never been to the canyon, so it was a good trip to go on before we leave! We went "hiking" around the rim (walked a couple feet, got on a bus to another part of the rim, repeat) and had a great time watching the sunsets and shopping. Amanda, Lexi and I went horseback riding in the Kiabab Forest while Dad and Luke went hiking into the Canyon.

These two kids had fun together, as always :)

Lexi, Amanda and I at our horseback riding tour.
We ran into a family of elk on our guided bus tour of the Grand Canyon.

The family at the Grand Canyon during the sunset.

It was such a great trip, and I wish I had more time to write about it, but here is a link to all of the photos.