Virginia, why can't you be more like Arizona?

I like Virginia. I really do. But this is the longest Virginia winter ever. Did you know it's supposed to snow again tonight? Ugh. We're into the muddy black snow phase and I'm ready for spring.

My trip to Arizona was fabulous. But it has made winter here all the more unbearable.

While Ben was in Paris and I was snowed in here, I found some great airfare to Phoenix and told Ben I was thinking of visiting my sister. His response: "You should do it." And without even hesitating, agreed to take a few days off work to watch the girls so I could go. I also never need to leave him with any instructions (other than a few reminders about what time Amelia's school starts) which makes it even easier to leave.

This is my third trip in a row without my kids and I have officially forgotten how stressful it is to travel with children. It was so nice to get off the metro at the airport, walk a few feet to the security line (with small carry-on luggage only!), board my plane, watch movies on my ipod and read books for 5 hours, step off the plane, and step outside into summer.

It was 78 degrees and beautiful during my whole visit. (It rained the day I left so my timing was good.) My mom was in town too so it was fun to hang out with her and Stephanie. I spent a few hours at the condo pool each day swimming, lounging, and reading with the leathery old people. We ate good food. Went shopping (usual shopping spree at the famous Last Chance). Relaxed. It was perfect.

It kind of makes me angry that there are people swimming right now, enjoying the sun.

Things spotted during a morning walk:







We ate dinner one night at this great Chinese-Mexican restaurant called Chino Bandido (featured on Food Network's Diners, Drive-ins and Dives). The food was delicious. And your meal comes with a giant snickerdoodle!



We also discovered the Fry Bread House:



One night we went to a really great performance at the Mesa Performing Arts Center called Tao, a Japanese drumming group. It was really cool.





It was right next to the Mesa Temple so we stopped there and walked around a bit. There were citrus trees everywhere. It smelled so good. (Okay. We might have taken a few grapefruits home. We had to jump up to reach them since all the fruit on the bottom was already gone.)