sushi for two.

just one of those random weekday nights that we decided to skip the gym and bail on our list full of errands for sushi happy hour and then tunes on our back patio. ting was lookin' extra tasty so i snapped a pic. and i love it. that's it.

we gave the new sushi brokers in arcadia a whirl.

happy hour until 6:30 pm (major plus), good vibe, tasty sushi & you're guaranteed to bump into friends. 

two thumbs up. 

smell ya later, stingray.

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

my little sun chaser.

as the afternoon sun pours into our living room, hunter moves from spot to spot to make sure he's in the light.

just like his mama, this kid loves him the warmth of the sunshine on his coat.

the mcdowell mountain music festival.

our 2013 festival season officially kicked off last friday with the McDowell Mountain Music Festival. and guess what? i entered a "repost this photo" contest on Instagram and was the winner of two tickets! things were destined to be good. 

i scooped up colby from the airport around 2pm and we headed straight home, laid a blanket out in the backyard and opened a bottle of kim crawford. throughout the afternoon, friends rode their bikes our direction and joined the pre-festival picnic. 

we were super duper stoked to walk to the festival from our home, and were even more excited when we saw the huge festival crowd at the park. i was filled with phoenix pride -- the attendance was huge, the energy was high and people were super into the scene. 

we started the night with a fantastic show by Edward Sharpe & the Magnetic Zeros and ended on a more mellow note with The Shins. post-fest, our crew decided to walk back to our house where the dance party didn't stop until the wee hours of the morning. me, ting and colby finished the night on the living room floor snacking on hummus and turkey bologna sandwiches. i think colbs is hooked.

the friday night festival scene was just the very beginning of an arizona spring-break style weekend & got me even more excited for the festival that's just two weeks away. 

our view looking back from the edward sharpe set -- a massive sea of people. 

congrats on your first real festival, phoenix. 

you done good. 

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. 

quality time with the familia (two of them).

we did a whole lot of what you're supposed to do with family -- kick back, relax, chat, cheers and laugh. danny and i decided that instead of coming up with an out of the ordinary itinerary for dad & steven's visit, we'd just simply do exactly what we'd do anyways and fold them into the mix. it worked out perfectly for everyone! it was fun to have them meet bunches of our friends and get a glimpse into our real life -- not the one that you create for visitors.

chillin' on the back patio enjoying the glorious friday weather

scrappy got to show off his mad soccer playing skills - video coming soon. 

and while scrappy showed off his tricks, hunter did what hunter does - laid around and watched.

"awe, come on dad... you're so funny." 

my flat-brim brother straight from so cal

playing with the ball...

...sleeping on the ball.

al fresco dinner at the Main Ingredient Ale House.

dad checkin' in with mom & filling her in on all the action.

my house full of men! six of them to be exact. 

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