Rixens come to visit!!

I was fortunate enough to have the Rixen family spend their spring break in Arizona with me!! They rented a beautiful home north of where Krisanne and I live, which became then my residence for the week. Below are some highlights of their week.

Saturday: their flight arrived at 12:30am with no problems at all. We eventually got to the house around 2:30am to find that Jenny and Krisanne had spent the entire evening at the house preparing for them to come, and baking Erin a birthday cake. We decided to call the birthday cake "Grand Canyon cake for being in the Grand Canyon state". Here is why:









After we slept in, the day was spent relaxing around the house, enjoying the 90 degree weather with the paddle boat and fishing off the dock. That evening, we drove to South Mountain to get a good look of the Phoenix metro area. Topped off the evening with a steak dinner and a lot of laughter.













Sunday: Big day for the Cubs!! We all went to Mesa (Krisanne included) to watch the Cubs vs Brewers spring training game. It was 93 degrees and sunny...beautiful day for a baseball game!! Cubs won this game 6-2!!! We went back to the house, grilled chicken and pasta. Mmmm...I was eating too well!!



















Monday: Jenny was off to work for only a half day...yeah! This afternoon, we went and hiked Camelback Mountain. Everyone did very well, and had a great time, despite the 93 degree sun! We made it to the top and had a snack and enjoyed the Phoenix view from the East.




Monday night we decided to head out for an authentic Mexican dinner. I had been to El Encanto before, so I suggested that. The food was excellent, the margaritas were delicious, and the geese were hungry. We had a guest join us, which turned out to be quite entertaining.



















Tuesday: Grand Canyon!! The Rixen clan was up and at 'em early to make the venture to the Grand Canyon. They did a day hike on the South Kaibab trail to Cedar Ridge and back. They say they surprised themselves in hiking out that it didn't take them any longer than hiking in. I was impressed having done that trail!! They took some beautiful pictures, and seemed to have a great day visiting northern Arizona! When they got home, we ordered pizza from Barro's, which was delicious, and relaxed the rest of the evening.




















Wednesday: Jordan and Jarod went golfing in the morning; Erin and Debbie decided to go shopping; Jim was willing to be the chauffeur; Molly relaxed at home. Jordan and Jarod said the golfing was a lot of fun, despite the senior citizen golf tournament going on at the same time. Erin and Debbie came home with some really good bargains. I came home to have lunch with Molly, who was enjoying a little rest and relaxation playing Playstation 2. After work, Jordan and Erin, and Jim and Debbie were out on the paddle boat. They asked me to go with them, and knowing the boat can hold 5 people and up to 800 pounds, we thought "no problem". Well, it became more of a problem than we thought. Towards the end of the ride we had water in the boat...luckily we made it back and nobody had to swim to safety. This goose followed us the whole boat ride and decided he wanted to come to visit us at our house.



This night, Jordan and Erin grilled ribs for us with corn bread and green beans. It was a delicious meal for their last night here.


Thursday: Travel day. Jenny took off a little time in the morning to help take them to the airport. It was sad to see them all leave, and I know they didn't really want to go...they enjoyed the weather being in the 90s every day. Knowing I will see them all in a few weeks made it easier; while they were here, it made me miss Jonathan even more. I am looking forward to "moving" back to MN just in time for spring!! We had a great week, packed full of fun and adventures! AZ will be another destination for a future vacation I am sure!!