Our 13th wedding anniversary fell on the first day of school this year, so we decided to take a belated getaway trip to AZ! Brandon had come clients to meet up with and he had the brilliant idea for me to tag along with him! Don’t twist my arm, especially if we could see the Calders while we were there.

My dad was nice enough to watch our children for a few days so we could go, which we are so grateful. And it turns out, our swimming pool would be craned in the day after we left, so he got to play live news anchor so we could watch it via Facetime.

We loved hanging out with the Calders and seeing their new home, visiting Scottsdale for an afternoon (and sneaking into a hotel to find this fun mural), acting like kids in the pool, going to lunch together, playing games with their kiddos, and posing in the giant Barbie box Marcelle had made for her daughter’s birthday.

As bad timing as it was to leave mid-construction project, it was just what we needed to relax, reconnect, sleep in, and take a break from playing general contractor.