sunday pool time at the saguaro scottsdale hotel.

the morning after the paella party, a group of us gathered at the saguaro scottsdale hotel for a pool party.

thanks to an Instagram photo, a longtime girlfriend and i were able to connect in scottsdale. 

heather, one of my lifelong friends, joined us at the pool. it'd been years since we'd seen each other. 

heather, me and carly, another LA-based friend who also happened to be in scottsdale for the weekend.

gotta love the girl photo line. 

heather / rachel / alicia  teri / angela / carly / heather / erinn

john & nicoli gettin' their holiday tan on.

alex was tossing rachel around like a "piece of styrofoam"

e-raaaayyyy in the house. 

tip: the saguaro scottsdale is an awesome option for pool-less arizona locals who are looking for a fun, but low-key, pool scene. and by low-key i mean that although it's in old town scottsdale, you don't need to have high-heels and full-face of make-up to attend. swear. the saguaro welcomes locals to enjoy the pool amenities. it's easy to get a comfy lounge spot without having to buy overpriced cabanas, the cocktails are tasty and the DJ plays a great poolside set. a great place to have some fun and escape the heat this summer.  

posts from past times we've spent at the saguaro scottsdale hotel here & here.

scenes from rachel's birthday bike ride bar crawl.

the vig arcadia // o.h.s.o. nano brewery // JT's // the little woody // taco bell

birthday girl with a crown & a clapper.

ting, mikis & the boys playing an exhilarating round of trivial pursuit  

birthday girl lookin' fly.

andrew, say cheeeese! 

a glitter star clapper used to demand the attention a birthday girl deserves.

saaaay spritzers!

wee wee and mee.

welcome to 29, my friend.

bikes, bikes & more bikes. 

"because <festive les> don't care! she loves it!"

and yeah, rachel and i got pretty much the same outfit memo.

will prepping for some festive secrets. 

o.h.s.o. canal patio.

happy birthday, rachel! 

oh how we love your annual bars on bikes celebration. 

.....

adults can have spring break, too.

colbs and i hadn't seen each other since new year's eve eve (and it was just one measly night) and we just couldn't take it any longer. so we planned a last minute trip for a springtime weekend together in phoenix. 

it was even better than the itinerary could have planned. 

we started the weekend with the mountain mcdowell music festival and despite our attempt to be grown-ups and have a relaxing saturday afternoon poolside (swear), the minute another girlfriend texted that the W Scottsdale had a cabana waiting with our name on it, our mellow day turned into a full blown scene from spring break '04.

i blame the "colby-style" pitchers of muddled strawberry lemonade for our antics. as the sun began to set on the hotel's rooftop pool scene, we continued onto an old town scottsdale hotspot for dancing on booths (& bouncers) before being picked up by my dear husband who had a box of wheat thins and three bottles of water waiting in the car. and before we even had to ask, ting was calling in our papa john's order. there were two pizzas, garlic butter and breadsticks - ya know, to be "healthy" and not eat cheese. ha. 

my most favorite part? that looong after i had called it a night, d and colby stayed up, snacked & hung out. and then the next morning, colbs and ashton crawled into our bed to recap the night, laugh, look at pics and fill me in on what i missed. it was just like the 'ole days. happiness. 

conservative my ass. yes, as a guy walked by our daybed he said, "oh, there are those conservative girls" 

-- dad, aren't you proud? 

we quickly removed "the lid" (a sheet) from our daybed to let the sunshine in!

all for a day: ashton was fancy & i had two pseudo sisters.

...and the sun begins to set. 

"how'd you get this prime real estate?" asked a group of college kids. #weknowpeople (love you, steph!)

----

look who we bumped into! miss carlyn. 

doubles all around. #notmuchhaschanged

unce. unce. unce.

that moment when colbs and i found ashton getting her hair teased & styled by the bathroom attendant.

spring break hair, don't care.  

hahahahahahah

i've got that feeling.

it's gonna be a FANTASTIC weekend. 

temps are in the low 80s.

colby is flying in this afternoon (eeeek!) 

we're going to the mcdowell mountain music festival tonight.

we've got a poolside daybed at a resort tomorrow. 

brunch with friends & babies on sunday. 

let's DO this. 

take us out to the ballgame!

dad and steven came to phoenix for a weekend of sunshine and fun! whoop! dad's always wanted to check out a spring training game, so the four of us scored tickets for saturday's game at talking stick fields. it was a super fun-filled day. we started with a pre-game brunch at tarah's house and spent post-game at the brat haus with alicia, john & erinn drinking pints and playing lifesize jenga.

fourth row seats.

checkin' spring training off the old bucket list. 

green grass & blue skies.

steven took down three bags of peanuts. 

me with my grand canyon girls tarah & heather

the brat haus

beergarten & games

ping pong.

life-size jenga

fact: tether ball is a very awkward sport to play & watch