It has been one week and our tans are starting to fade into Wisconsin whiteness. Everything lined up and we were able to scoot down to Arizona for the last week of April. We spent quite a while trying to figure out how to get to Chicago by 4 in the morning until Megan suggested we fly out the night before. This was genius since my meeting was done right around noon. We went to the Lakefront Brewery for a tour with Lauren, drove down to Chicago, hopped on a plane, got picked up by the Milanas and went to the Four Peaks Brew Pub in Phoenix for dinner. Quite a day and a lot of delicious beer.
Our friend Molly, who happens to be a city planner for the City of Phoenix, stopped by Megan and Matt's place. We asked her if it was legal to have a goat within the city limits, but she couldn't answer us definatively. Needless to say, even though it is a bit odd, the neighbor's goat wasn't causing any problems and seemed pretty cool. Hmm, maybe
we should get a goat instead of a dog...chevre anyone?
After a couple days of hiking, painting and relaxing we headed south to Green Valley. Green Valley has become quite the retirement metropolis. After telling a few of my co-workers about where we were, I found out that quite a few locals from Boulder Junction head down there for the winter.
Green Valley was a chance to relax, play cribbage with Grandma and Aunt Debby, climb a mountain, sit by the pool and eat a few great meals. We went to Madera Canyon for a hike that was supposed to be a leisurely. After we got to the saddle in what seemed to be no time, I decided that we should go for the peak which was another 3 miles up. As it turned out, we didn't have enough water and lacked sunscreen but after we got wind of a group of 14 from the Quail Creek Retirement Village ahead of us, there was no turning back. We made it with only minor dehydrations, minor sunburns and burning thighs.
After a few great days we headed back up to Phoenix, returned to Four Peaks for dinner and made it to the airport by 4:45 am the next morning. By the time the sun set in Boulder Junction, we were unpacking our bags and putting away our groceries. It was a great way to spend a week before our busy summer season.
A few weekends ago the Maurers and Lauren came to visit us in the Northwoods. We had quite a fun filled weekend which included meeting Paul Bunyan himself at his restaurant, geo-caching all over the area, playing board games and going for a paddle in the North Canoe. We didn't get much rain in April so we couldn't have a bon fire because Smokey said "no" but that didn't stop me from doing one of my favorite things, roasting marshmallows and eating s'mores. After that visit Aunt Brookie had to take a two-hour nap because she forgot how energetic three kids can be. Her hosting skills were later compared to Grandma Lauerman which is a huge compliment. Thank you Maurers :) "Who needs more food?"
