Good Memories, Fun Times

Old Town Scottsdale, such a nice place to walk and browse through the shops, take a horse carriage ride, and listen to the sounds of mariachis playing. My phone camera had to do.










So blogging has not been one of my favorite things to do lately. I knew going back to work full time would mean less time for myself to do the things that matter most to me. Training has become somewhat of a challenge, but I am committed to do this race even if it means waking up at the crack of dawn to get my miles in. This weekend we will be up to running 8 miles and it just goes up from there. December couldn't come any sooner. Having a running partner like my wonderful husband helps to motivate me even when we lay in bed at 5:00 a.m. and wish we could sleep just a few more minutes. Since Tucson does not have a time change, it can be pretty dark here in the early morning hours. Each day I tell myself, we can do it.



This weekend we met our friends from Japan in Scottsdale. Mike (pediatric dentist and his friend Chris next to Rene) the second person to the left of me was a good friend and is now stationed in Florida. Heidi the gal to the left of me was one of my docs at Yokota whom we met through Mike. Her husband is active duty and stationed her in Tucson. Unfortunately, he is deployed for six months and she is expecting her first baby in January. Luckily her family is from Phoenix. We had a nice dinner in Scottsdale on Saturday. It was so nice to see them both and walk the wonderful shops in old Scottsdale. We got to talking about the wonderful times we had in Japan. Times you can only reminisce about.......

Freindships

Larissa enjoying her DC cupcake, she loves this show. I am still trying to run off the 3 cupcakes I ate that week. They were so yummy!

Thursday morning after only a few hours of sleep, we woke up early to head to the Today show. It was neat to see how it all worked. Al shook Larissa's hand and Ann Curry looked amazing in person. We saw Star Jones with our own local Samantha Guthrey from the window taping, and we could see Cloe Kardashian up at the window with Hoda. Pretty Cool!

Here we are at the WA mall. Rex is stationed at the Pentagon and Adora was my co-worker in Japan. They are so giving and kind and made us feel right at home.

We met Patty and Eric in Japan. Patty was a contractor (Physical Therapist) on base. We ran many a miles with them. We had so much fun on our runs. We were so blessed to have met so many wonderful friends in Japan.

Central Park, where everyone was out and about taking pictures this day. It was beautiful!

Alejandro playing soccer in the apartment hallway. He was exhausted and too cute!

The Adams Family Show starring Brooke Shield's. The kids and I loved it.

This blog is not about our amazing trip, but about the wonderful friends we have all around the world. It was because of our friends that our trip was truly amazing. Fall breaks give us wonderful opportunities to take advantage of uncrowded tourist destinations. We truly enjoyed our vacation to Washington. At 44 years old, this was my first time in WA and NYC. My kids have seen so much in their short life than I have experienced in my lifetime. I keep reminding them of how lucky they are. I am not sure they truly appreciate the advantages they have. On our trip we were able to visit most of the sights in DC thanks to our friends and their willingness to drive us all around Washington. The weather was great other than some clouds and sprinkles every now and then. Some of the monuments were closed for repairs, but all was good. My personal favorite area was Georgetown with its quaint shops and charming upscale appeal. My friend Adora cooked for us each evening and what a good cook she was. Everyday she cooked for an army. Her home was large enough that we each had our own bedroom.

On Wednesday we took the train to NYC because I really wanted to see our running buddies from Japan Patty and Eric and little Alejandro. Our trip there was great. Patty and Eric were nice enough to invite us over for dinner. It was nice to see Patty's parents again. We had met them in Japan. They are some of the nicest people around. I was amazed at how functional Patty and Eric's apartment was, given the small space they live in. We got to see New York living at it's best. The bell man opening the door for Patty, the fruit, vegetable, and flower stand right outside her apartment. The front desk man, tenants, they all new Patty by first name. As a small town girl, I could never imagine living in such a big city, however, it all had a unique charm to it. My personal favorite was Central Park. How nice to have such a beautiful park just a few step down from where you live. So to Patty, Eric, Adora, and Rex, I want to thank them from the bottom of my heart for such a memorable trip. We look forward to visiting again sometime soon with Rene.