Jennifer's Trip Home: Part 1

I decided to take a quick trip back to Illinois last month, since, ya know, I had nothing else better to do :) It was a good excuse to head back, and after I eventually get a job, I probably won't be able to take any days off for 3 months.

I got in on a Saturday morning and went to Alexis' in-town softball tournament and immediately got an amazing sunburn. I'm still peeling. Mom took Lexi and I to my favorite pizza restaurant, Monical's and then we went shopping. Mom bought me some cute booties for wintertime and Lexi got me some Sillybandz for my birthday!

Lexi and I's Sillybandz!

Lexi and her pet guinea pig, Sheeba

On Sunday, Lexi, mom and I went to Mom's church and then Dad, Lexi and I went to the softball field to teach Lexi some softball situations. Dad cooked some hamburgers and Lexi and I walked Amanda's new puppy, Piper.

On Monday, Dad, Lexi and I went to Decatur to see Grandma and Grandpa French, Grandma Crose and Aunt Becky. We met Grandma and Grandpa French and Hometown Buffet and then went over to their house to pick some tomatoes. Grandpa gave me a shoebox full of tomatoes to take back to Boston...boy was that fun hauling around two airports, a subway and bus! :) But they were delicious and worth the trouble. After we visited Grandma and Grandpa, we headed over to Grandma Crose's apartment to meet up with her and Aunt Becky. We went over to one of the Crose Family's favorite restaurants, Ted's Garage, for dinner.

Lexi and Grandpa pick some huge tomatoes in his garden

Grandma, Aunt Becky at I at Ted's Garage

Tuesday was full of shopping! Lexi, Amanda and I went to grab Dad's present, visited Mom at work, went to Noodles for lunch and then back to the mall. Amanda got me some snow boots...Bloomington had some good deals on footwear, I guess!

Lexi tries on shoes in Sears and gives her best "Beyonce pose"

More on the trip in the next post...

Jennifer's Trip Home: Part 2

After shopping, Lexi had to make a quick stop at the orthodontist to get her rubber bands replaced. I think she chose hot pink and purple for her new colors.

Lexi gets her rubber bands replaced at the orthodontist

For dinner, we went over to Mom's place, where she cooked my favorite meal: salmon patties, cheesey rice and blueberry muffins. Mom also made a mint cake for my birthday. My family can't get enough of mint cake :)

The mint cake, with only 1/3 of the years represented

The party-goers...

We're the three best friends that anyone can have!

Amanda and the newest addition to the family, Bristol. She gives hugs!

By Wednesday, I was exhausted. We took it easy until the afternoon, when it was time to head to Peoria for a Chiefs game. We ate at Joe's Crab Shack and then got stuck in the restaurant after a huge storm hit the town. The game started about an hour late, but it was a lot of fun. Nothing says "Illinois" more than a "Farmer Night" and dancing corn stalks. We left the game a little early--everyone was so tired and we had to get up early (2 a.m.!!) to get me back up to Chicago for an early morning flight.

It's kinda hard to tell, but there are two corn mascots dancing after one of the Peoria Cheifs hit a home run.

It was nice to see the family...but now I'm trying to convince them to get out to Boston before the summer and fall ends! :)

OK, I'm back...and a few more PHX likes/dislikes

Sorry I've been away from the blog the past week, or so. We are now in Boston and getting used to Eastern Time Zone, seafood and the mass transit system. Definitely loving it here, but missing Arizona, too!

Here are some things that we miss:

THE PEOPLE
Where to start...Well, let's start with my family.

Sarah and I

• My cousin Sarah, her husband Justin and little boy Nathan were probably the best part of Phoenix for me. It was so nice to have family on so close to us. Not to mention, Sarah has been more like a sister to me since we were little. It was so difficult leaving her, the boys and the new addition that will come in 7 months! I may have cried a little (a lot) when Sarah dropped Luke, Hamilton and I at the airport hotel the night before we left Phoenix. I miss them already :(

Luke plays with the Church at Litchfield Park worship band.

• We found the The Church at Litchfield Park when we got lost finding a new restaurant (we won a gift certificate to the restaurant). Some may call it a coincidence, I like to see it differently. We made so many friends and had a blast attending the services and helping out. We love how accepting they are of everyone...no matter who they are or where they come from. I hope we can find a church just as awesome and welcoming as The Church at Litchfield Park.

• Our friends at work have been the best anyone could ask for! We have loved getting to know everyone at American & Western Art Collector magazines and the Republic. In a difficult economic climate, they have become priceless at keeping us smiling and giving us encouragement. We will be lucky to have co-workers half as cool as the ones we've had in AZ!

• Our landlords, Laurie and Ben, have been the best we will ever have. I don't believe it would be possible for another landlord to top them. They are some of the most caring, hard-working and kind people we know. We had a blast in our Avondale house...we got to experience a piece of what it is like to take care of a house. And if we had an issue, our landlords were there ASAP. Laurie, a personal finance specialist, also showed us how to save for our future. We owe so much to them and are so blessed they came into our lives when they did.

PLACES TO GO AROUND TOWN

At a Reds game in Goodyear this spring

Spring Training
We will miss the springtime so much. The weather is absolutely perfect and for a month we could drive anywhere in town to see a great baseball game. Fenway Park will help ease this pain, though.

Restaurants
There is so much good food in this town...it is eclectic, authentic and down home yumminess. Here's our list of some of our favorite places to eat:

Yogurtland!

• Yogurtland: The flavors of ice cream are what bring us back more than the ability to "make it your own." We are always wondering what flavors will come out next month. We hope there will be something similar to this in Boston!
• Cindy's Cafe: Located in Mesa, this was our go-to brunch spot when Luke was living out in the east valley. Their pancakes and home fries are awesome and it reminds us of the mom-and-pop restaurants back in our hometowns
• Pita Jungle: This place is awesome. I don't like hummus that much, but I love theirs. Things Luke and I also love there: garlic potatoes, sweet potato french fries, pita pizzas.
• Los Olivos: Some of the best Mexican food you will find. This place makes their own tortillas, chorizo and I'm sure a lot of other ingredients.
• Sens: While our ultimate favorite restaurant in town was Fate, Sens features the same chef: Johnny Chu. Best.Tofu.Ever. And the sauces will clear out any sinus ailments you may have.
• Red's Steakhouse: I'm not a big steak eater, but this place is awesome. I'd never had a piece of steak melt in my mouth before I came here (Maybe it was because this steak was A LOT of $$ and we had a gift certificate..haha). The sides and dessert are amazing, as well. The creme brulee is to die for!
• In & Out: I never heard of this place before coming to Phoenix, and I'm not much for fast food. But I will make an exception with this place. The fries are my favorite, along with the prices!

Next up, some posts from Boston!

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.

Parents come to town: Part II

The family at Macaroni Grill for lunch

On Sunday we took the parents to our church in Litchfield Park. They got to see Luke play in the church band at the contemporary service and we got to meet up with my cousin, Sarah and her son, Nathan. After church we went to the Macaroni Grill for some delicious lunch (that bread is addicting!)

The rest of the day was spent at the house relaxing and catching up. We hadn't seen them since the wedding, so we had a lot to talk about. And it was so nice to hear stories about when Bill and Kate were our age and how they got to where they are now. So much wisdom and experience! To keep the relaxing feel to the day going, we grilled out on our teeeeeeeny tiny grill. I unfortunately didn't take any photos...we were too busy talking and cooking. But believe me, the food was good! The Grillmen did an excellent job and Kate and I did a good job preparing the food :)

The next morning I unfortunately had to go to work :( But Luke took the day off so he could spend some more time with the parents. They first headed up to Cave Creek and did some shopping and sightseeing.

Luke and Bill do some sight seeing in Cave Creek, AZ

From there, they headed to the Desert Botanical Gardens. It is wildflower season, so they got to see the gardens in full bloom. And while I was at work, I got this little photo on my phone:

Luke and the parents at the Desert Botanical Garden.
I seriously almost cried when I got this...I almost got up and headed to the botanical garden, too :)

The headed over to Scottsdale after to take a walk around the library, Scottsdale Center for the Performing Arts and the Scottsdale Mall (not the actual mall). We met over by the big LOVE sculpture and couldn't resist taking some photos!

The LOVE statue at Scottsdale Mall

Then it was time for some food! We had planned on going to Sam's Cafe at the Biltmore Fashion Park, but when we got there we found out that they had shut down. So we walked around and ran into True Food Kitchen. They use local, in-season, healthy foods to make delicious drinks and meals. We got so much food, so much fun...it was amazing...I will let the photos do the talking:

The guy at the bottom right is the famous chef, Andrew Weil. He was giving a demonstration to a lucky group at the restaurant while we were there.

We had a great time with Kate and Bill...we only wished that they were here a little longer! But we can't wait to visit them in December!! :)

The parents come to town: Part I

A couple weeks ago Luke's parents, Bill and Kate came to town for a few days. We had a blast catching up and exploring Phoenix with them! They arrived on a Friday evening and I took them to one of Luke and I's favorite restaurants: Pita Jungle. It is a healthy eclectic place with a huge menu that both vegetarians and meat lovers will enjoy. The hummus, lemonade and sweet potato fries are a must!

The next morning, we took the parents to the Goodyear Swap Meet. It is a great place to people watch and find those one-of-a-kind items that you wouldn't find in the mall (I don't think they sell beer drinking monkey statues at the Scottsdale Fashion Mall (; )

We then took them to the Wildlife World Zoo and Aquarium to check out the animals. This zoo is a little different than Phoenix Zoo in that it has penguins (whohoo!) and it has more opportunities for visitors to interact with the animals.

Luke feeds a bird

A penguin!

Luke, Kate and Bill at the aquarium

After the zoo we grabbed a quick lunch and headed home for some rest...dinner was going to be a doozie, so the parents needed to be well-rested :)

We headed to Scottsdale to eat at Luke's favorite Mexican restaurant, Los Olivos. This was a place we had looked forward to sharing with the family. The big tortillas, chips and salsa and drinks were all delicious. The ambiance was great, as well...minus some drunk Scottsdale punks ;)

And if dinner wasn't enough, we took them to my personal favorite eatery (and probably Bill's): Yogurtland!

Can you guess which one is mine?
Hint: find the one with the most fattening toppings :)

Kate and Bill enjoying Yogurland alfresco.

Disney Trip: Days 6-7

Our last day at Disney was spent at EPCOT. Every time I go there, I always forget what EPCOT stands for. A long time ago, one of the Disney bus drivers told me it stood for "Everyone comes out tired." He wasn't lying, so we will just go with that.

We started the day by going to Test Track. This ride features actual tests that many manufacturers use. We went through various tests such as extreme temperatures, brakes, grades and we got to speed around the track at 60 mile/hr. After Test Track, we headed over to our favorite ride in probably all of Disney "Sorin'." This ride makes you feel like you are gliding through various parts of California. It is such an easy-going ride, but the whole thing feels so real...it is a great escape.

While we were there, the Disney Flower and Garden Festival was just getting started. It runs from March 3-May 16. Throughout the park there were various characters carved out of shrubs, flowers and other natural plants.

Luke and I in front of the Minnie and Mickey flower statues.

These things reminded us of the Edward Scissorhand movie.

Next up was the World Showcase. We started at the Mexico Pavilion, ate some lunch and did some shopping. Alexis and Luke picked up a mask and decorated them at each country we visited. We love shopping at the Chinese, German and Japanese Pavilions. And rumor is they might add a new country to the line-up: Turkey.

Luke is obviously enjoying decorating his mask with Alexis :)

Having some fun in Morocco!

After going through all the countries, we headed over to the big ball, Spaceship Earth. They recently renovated the ride (some of the stuff they had in "the future" part of the ride had actually happened!) and made it more interactive. Still, a lady fell asleep in on of the pods behind Dad and Kathy. Dad was nice and woke her up as the ride was ending :)

I had found a tea set in China that I was dying to get...a good price and made in China. I can't wait to find an excuse to get it out of the box! We had dinner at the Coral Reef Restaurant, where you eat seafood right next to a giant aquarium.

Spaceship Earth

The next morning, it was time for Luke and I to head back to Phoenix. It was quite an interesting journey back to the desert: we had a 3-hr delay due to terrible weather (planes were getting hit by lightening and tornados were all over the place) and I came down with the 24-hr flu bug (thanks, Lexi ;) ). We had a great time in Disney, but it was so nice to be home!

'Ohana: The best meal at Disney, Part II

Then came the meats...the waiters bring the meats around on big skewers. You tell them how many you want, and they give you twice as many. They had steak, chicken, pork and our favorite: shrimp. Last year, Amanda's friend, Dani, came to Disney with them and had about 30 of the massive shrimp. She's also 5'2", 100 lbs. It's the magic of Disney.

The cooks prepare the meats on a big indoor pit.

(I wish I would have taken a better photo
of the shrimp and other meats...I was way too busy at the time, though :) )

Again, the chef came over to present Luke his main course: fried vegetable tempura and tofu on a bed of rice and dried noodles. It was massive and tasted so good! The chef got a good kick out of our reactions. Though we go to Disney often, these sorts of things really make each vacation stand out.

Luke's main course: veggie tempura with rice, dried noodles and tofu.

And then finally, the dessert - the one Dad had been waiting for 365 days to eat- the bread pudding. Words cannot describe how delicious this stuff is. It is addicting. And the waitress brought out two helpings. We were nearly dead by the end.

Dad is serious about the bread pudding

But there were a couple people at our table that weren't enjoying it as much as Dad, Kathy, Luke and I were. The chef, who was working on the other side of the room, took note. He brought this thing over for Amanda and Lexi:

Amanda with the "Chocolate Volcano"

Seriously.

This chef is the best.

Again, we thanked him profusely, and even got a picture with him.

Us with the Chef at 'Ohana. (I obviously didn't get the memo.)

We sat at the table for a good 15 minutes after, unable to get up. The Hawaiian dancer hit on Luke and gave us some leis. It was awesome.

Needless to say, we will be back next time we go to Disney.

'Ohana: The best meal at Disney, Part I

If you know the French Family well, then you probably know that we venture to Disney on a regular basis (1 time a year, sometimes 2). Over the years, we have memorized the maps, experienced all the rides, received countless autographs from the Disney characters, but the one thing we have grown to love more as we got older was the food.

For the past few years, we have used the "Disney Dining Plan." With this plan, we get one quick service meal (think McDonald's), one snack and one sit-down meal every day. So besides breakfast, we were set for the day. I kept all of the receipts from our trip, and it turned out that we saved about 50% on our food bills. This plan pretty much locks you on Disney property (if the resort hasn't already), but if the food is this good, so be it!

So, after a long day at Animal Kingdom on Tuesday, Luke, Alexis and I headed to the Polynesian Resort to meet up with Dad, Kathy and Amanda. They were lounging on the beach next to the Seven Seas Lagoon. The resort is so peaceful and is in the best location possible. Someday we will stay at that resort...someday.

Once it was time to check in for our reservation, we headed to 'Ohana, the place we would be feasting for the next two hours. We were seated right next to where they cook all of the meats, and a prime location to watch the parade of little kids with the Hawaiian singer.

'Ohana is set up a little different than other restaurants at Disney. The meal is already chosen (no menus needed) and everything is family-style (big plate of food; share amongst yourself). The meal is also 50% meat, so Luke made sure to ask the waitress for the vegetarian options.

Little did he know, he was in for the meal of a lifetime.

I started off the night with some alcoholic drink in a huge pineapple. Not sure what all was in it, but it did the trick.

Fruity drink in a pineapple

The first course was some coconut bread, salad, pork dumplings and bbq chicken. We could have just eaten this and walked away happy. Luke received a some hummus and pita chips, presented by the head chef himself...pretty fancy, huh?

Pork dumplings and bbq chicken. Salad in the background.

Hummus and chips

The second course was broccoli and noodles. Luke got his own course: fried green tomatoes on a bed of mashed potatoes with Cheetos and some amazing Asian sauce.

Broccoli and noodles.

Fried green tomatoes on a bed of mashed potatoes, accented with Cheetos.

Next up, the main course!

Disney World: Day 5

Since Luke and I received a free day at the park, we thought it would be fun to go to Animal Kingdom, since Luke hadn't been there before. The park is only open from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., so we got up early to get there when it opened. Around 7 a.m., Lexi walks in and says that she wants to go with us. Dad and the girls were not planning on going to Animal Kingdom since they were going to see La Nouba at Cirque du Soleil. However, Lexi being the youngest and most apt to getting her way, came along with us. :) We didn't mind...we don't get to see her often, so it was nice to hang out with her. It also gave the rest of the family some time to do whatever they wanted to do.

Luke at the entrance of Animal Kingdom

We started out the day by running aaalllll the way to the back of the park to the Kilimanjaro Safari ride. This is by far one of the coolest rides at Disney: You ride on a huge jeep through an "African safari." Though it is definitely not the real-deal, it is about as close to it as it can be. It was so neat riding around and seeing zebras, elephants, lions and other animals. And it looks like they had quite a bit of space to roam around.

Lexi on the Kilimanjaro Safari ride

After the safari, we ran to the other side of the park to get Fast Passes for Expedition Everest roller coaster ride. Fast Passes are great if you hate waiting in lines. All you do it grab a fast pass ticket and come back during the time frame on the ticket and you can pretty much walk right on the ride. So we headed over to the Finding Nemo Musical. This production isn't the typical theme park kinda show...the singers are amazing, and the puppetry is very cool. After the show, it was time to ride Expedition Everest. Lexi and I shared a seat and as we were heading up the first big drop, she yells out "I don't think I should have gone on this ride!!" I cracked up as I saw the terror in her eyes. (Good sister, I know) But after a few seconds, her hands were up and she was loving it.

We grabbed some lunch back at the front of the park and made our way to Dinoland U.S.A. And being smart people, we thought it would be a great idea to go on the Primeval Whirl...a roller coaster ride that spins...and spins...and spins. And then jerks you around. Awesome.

Lexi on the Primeval Whirl roller coaster

To finish the day, we did a little shopping, saw some animal exhibits and watched the Festival of the Lion King Musical. It is almost like a mini version of the Broadway show. Again, excellent singing and acting..and kids were dancing the entire time.

Us with Jiminy Cricket

Luke experiencing the joys of being a big brother ;)

We left Animal Kingdom and made our way to the Polynesian Resort for dinner with the rest of the family. There will be a separate blog post for the dinner. It was that good. :D

Disney World: Day 4

On Monday, we headed to Magic Kingdom. We have been here so many times, but it never gets old. Walking through the turnstiles, hearing the music and seeing all the colors and happy faces makes me feel like I'm 5-years-old all over again.

Luke and I were able to get a free day at the park this year by participating in Disney's "Give a Day, Get a Day" program. Back in February, we went to ASU and helped high school students sign up for scholarships and summer camp programs. We had a blast, and it has even encouraged us to do more volunteerism.

We started the day by taking some quick pictures of us and the castle. One of the Disney photographers even helped us take some pictures and gave us a couple tips (Get everyone in the picture, and a little bit of sky). We then headed over to Space Mountain and only waited for about 5 minutes to get on the ride. After a quick ride on the Buzz Lightyear Space Ranger Spin, we wanted to get Luke on some rides he has never been on: the Tommorwland Speedway and the Teacups. We were hoping to get him on the Dumbo ride, but he said he would save that ride for when we have kids..haha!

Lexi fulfilling her sister-in-law duties by driving Luke nuts

Lexi and Luke on the teacups

After a few more rides (Haunted Mansion and Big Thunder Mountain Roller Coaster), we headed to Main Street U.S.A. to do a little shopping and wait for the afternoon parade.

This is just ridiculous...

Luke and I before the afternoon parade

We did a little more shopping and then it was time to head over to the Contemporary Resort for the character dinner at Chef Mickey's. This is a great time to see all our favorite characters (minus the enormous lines that you would find at the park) and have some good food..the mac n' cheese gets me every time...seriously I'm 5-years-old there.

Dad and Kathy with Pluto at the Disney Character Dinner at the Contemporary Resort.

After dinner it was time to go back to the resort and digest. Luke and I (and a last minute addition) had to wake up early the next morning to go to Animal Kingdom.