I'd rather stay in AZ...

Did I mention that Jackson voluntarily booked a nice hotel for us? Oh. I did. Oh well. It was worth repeating. ;) The hotel was so quiet and the bed was so comfy. I wish every hotel was a J.W. Marriott! 

Our morning view. Yep. God is GOOD.

The walk to the parking lot was even gorgeous

I think maybe Jackson booked this nice place because he knew he was making me climb a mountain while we were in town and sometimes those situations get sticky. We got up early, grabbed coffees at The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf Cafe (my new favorite- shh...don't tell Starbucks!) and headed to Camelback Mountain to try to summit it again. Last time we turned around as we weren't in shape enough to finish.

Camelback sits in the distance...

WE DID IT! WE DID IT! WE DID IT! WE DID IT! WE DID IT! WE DID IT! WE DID IT! WE DID IT!

The trail we climbed last time was closed so we had to take the rockier one. The word "trail" implies dirt and a forged path. It shouldn't in this case. We basically climbed rocks up the side of a mountain. Because, you know, that's safe.

The view was sure sweet

When you climb you're so focused and excited to accomplish your goal (reaching the top) that you tend to forget that you still have to get down. Getting down from a mountain is sometimes harder than going up. There may have been a tiny (OK, medium-sized) meltdown when we got to the top and I realized that going in reverse was going to be hard and scary. A girl climbing down in front of me actually fell and skidded down the mountain for a bit. She was pretty busted up. Poor thing. I was then even more on edge and the meltdown may or may not have continued. (God bless Jackson. Maybe one day he will learn to just leave me alone when I'm melting down, but after seven years I still have to remind him to get away from me when I'm mid-tantrum from a panic attack. It isn't easy being afraid of heights and having such a sense of adventure, guys.)

Best. Reward. EVER.

Alas, we made it down. All in one piece. We were even still married. Miracles do happen! One of my favorite things about Phoenix is their restaurant selection. They have seriously EVERYTHING. A personal favorite? Tropical Smoothie. YUM! A jetty punch smoothie and king Caesar wrap...nothing better! :) After lunch we hurried back to the hotel to shower and pack before our 2 p.m. extended checkout deadline.

We had less than an hour to make all of this crap fit back into three bags

We had a packing sprint marathon. We finished at 1:59. Amazing. The hotel was kind enough to give us resort keys so that we could still enjoy the property for the rest of the day even though we didn't have a room anymore. I told you I loved the folks at the JW Marriott.

The view from my lounge chair. Obsessed. 

We spent hours at the pool, in the hot tub, enjoying the lazy river (so fun!) and pretending we didn't have to go home that evening. We took a final walk around the resort before heading downtown to get our second Hard Rock Cafe pin of the trip (hooray! Palm Springs and Phoenix- check!!) for my mom's collection. We grabbed some dinner and killed time at a Starbucks before heading to their airport about THREE hours EARLY. That fact is important.

We finally got on our flight and headed for Indianapolis. I slept. Jackson acted as a headrest for me and the large lady next to him. Poor thing. We landed and all was well until we waited and waited and waited for my checked bag to arrive. It didn't. Yep. We paid $25 and arrived THREE HOURS EARLY for our flight and my luggage didn't make the flight. You better believe we got our $25 back.

Where is my bag?! NOT THERE!

Thankfully, my bag was located (something they were not sure about at first since it was not even in the system somehow!) and delivered to our house that evening. Let's talk about how flying would be cheaper if situations like this were avoided. I cannot imagine what it costs the airlines to have courier services like that.

Still cute...just tired.

I made Jackson stop for a "real breakfast" at Cracker Barrel after our redeye. Am I not a catch folks?! I wanted hibernation food! :) We stopped by Susie's and grabbed MacKenzie before finally heading home. 

Finally someone who appreciates unpacking

She enjoys laying on the bed when I unpack. It is really helpful. ;)

New cookie sheets!!

The thing I missed the most this Christmas was baked goods. This should be no surprise based on my body shape. :) I also got new pans for Christmas and wanted to try them out so after our nap we had Christmas rewind complete with leftover noodles (yum!), Lina cookies and homemade hot cocoa. It was wonderful! 

I HATE snow.

It was nice to snuggle in our own bed and have our puppy back. What wasn't nice? Waking up Monday morning to snow and ice. Sweet. I missed it. Not. 

What are friends for?

I made it to work safely only to get taunted via text by Shannon. Punk. :)

It was a wonderful trip and I'm so glad we went. I cannot wait to go to Florida now and experience some warmth again!