Odds and Ends in Arizona

Aside from the big birthday celebrations and Easter family fun, Fletcher and I were able to catch up with different people for different reasons during our stay there in April.

On his birthday, we were able to meet up with some friends that I used to swim with on the Glendale Gauchos Swim Team. (For those of you that don't know, Amy, Aaron, and I grew up swimming on a USS competitive team. We spent more time with fellow swimmers and their families than we did with friends from school or church because of the time commitment of practices and meets.) About 8-9 years ago there was a large fundraising reunion of swimmers, families, and coaches and it was so fun to get together. Since Facebook seems to connect everyone everywhere, a lot of us have reconnected via the social network. Each time I'm home, some of us get together for a party I try to throw together and this time we threw together a last minute casual reunion.

 Amy, Laura, Lisa, Louise, Pam, Ellen, Sarah, Clarence

 Tony, Neil, Tommaso, Rachel, Jessica, and Nate

Andrew, Katherine, Anna, Rachel, Jennifer, Jessica, and Charlie

Not pictured: Irma, Jackie, Fletcher, Budd, Rylie, and Reece

We were also able to meet up with Corey and Sarah for dinner in Scottsdale. We all went to ASU together and Corey and I met Freshman Year and have remained good friends. In a strange twist of events, he and Sarah wound up living about 2.5 hours away from us here in NC for two years. We went to Charleston, SC and Savannah, GA with them for two separate weekend getaways. We were also able to visit them in Davidson a couple times, have fun on the lake and Sarah and I went to a show, and our dogs just loved playing with each other! That was all pre-child. This time, Fletcher loved to meet them, see their new place, and have a great dinner!

We were also able to head to North Phoenix to see my college roommate, Liz, her mom, Kathy, and our friend, Shelly. My mom was kind enough to drive over separately and then take Fletcher home so we could head to RA for happy hour and then later, Liz and I went to Blue Martini at City North. It was a great night of people watching and the band and martinis were great! Of course, the company is always fun...just wished I lived closer to her!

 Liz and Kathy

 Shelly, Liz, and Anna

My mom was also kind enough to watch Fletcher for me one afternoon so I could drive across town to the East Valley and meet up with two of the lovely ladies I taught with my first year of teaching. Elizabeth and Michelle. We went to another favorite spot for happy hour at Kona Grill and enjoyed some adult beverages and food specials. It was great to catch up with the two of them and see where life has taken them. They were always sooooo much fun in 2002-2003 and that hasn't changed a bit! So many of my friends live in the East Valley and my whole family lives in the West Valley, which will make choosing a place to live if we ever do move back there a very hard decision!

Anna, Elizabeth, Michelle

The day before Easter, some of my friends from high school got together at Janet and Joey's place in Central Phoenix. Janet and I went to school together from 2nd Grade through Senior Year of high school. It's always fun to get together and catch up. It was great seeing Jan's family, and a bunch of our friends. It was nice to cross paths with Kelli too, as she travels all over the globe working, going to school, and falling in love! It was nice to have time to catch up with Amy and Stephanie too. I also ran into Joey's sister, Angie at Einstein Bagels the morning before, so I had a brief conversation with her as well. Fletcher loved the ladies at the party. He also loved Amy's phone and the cheeseburgers!

 Joey, Janet, Fletcher, Anna

Apollo Class of 1998 and Future Class of 2028!

Anna, Stephanie, Janet, Fletcher, Kelli, and Amy