Snails in AZ

Well, she did it. She traveled by herself to big bad AZ. I had a great time with Haley, who came for the weekend so she could check out Gateway Academy. I think she had a superb time. You'll see, most of the pictures I have are of eating something or another. I sure hope Haley had as much fun as calories we consumed. She arrived Thursday evening, and I couldn't be there to get her because of work, so Shelle picked her up at the airport. She arrived in one piece with all of her things, yea! Shelle took her to Grammy's where she had dinner, then I showed up, ate a little with them, and then H.T. and I headed for Mesa. I got her all tucked in, then made sure she had everything she needed for the morning, so she could leave with Shelle and be on time. It sounds like she had a great time at the school and thinks it will be a good fit. I guess the other kids thought it was pretty cool that Haley had ridden a plane all by herself from Ohio to be with them. She also had some ideas to get the school up to speed with her likes and wants. After the school, she went with Shelle for the day, which included shopping at Nordstrom. She got a dress there, half off. As a matter of fact, it's what she was wearing when she traveled home on the plane today. After the shopping spree, we met at Grandma T.'s for dinner. She made some scrumdidly-pork chops and we had a nice time visiting. After Grandma's, we went to an ice-cream shop called Sub Zero where Haley got a huge pumpkin-flavored ice cream. It was Ash's idea and we all had a great time visiting and eating yummy stuff.

Saturday consisted of a big breakfast, then to the IMAX to watch Rio. It was good. Haley laughed at least 239 times. Then we picked up Grandma and went to Ro-Ho-En, a 3.5 acre Japanese garden area which was quite peaceful. There was a large Koi pond and they were fun to feed the little bits of fish food we purchased. After the Koi pond, we went to help Paul with a sore eye. He'd gotten something in it, and felt like it was still there. I didn't see anything, so I just ordered him some drops for pain and to prevent infection. Then it was off to dinner with Raj, who spoiled us royally. We did a little shopping and ate at a very nice italian restaurant called Marcellinos. After the dinner, we watch a little of the movie Karate Kid. Then Sunday morning came and we went to Grammy and Grandpa and Grandma's ward. It was nice to see everyone. We left an hour early or so to make sure wouldn't miss Haley's flight, and she arrived safe and sound, but hopefully with a little excitement for a move to AZ.I had a great time with you Haley, glad you could come!