Visit from the Trowbridges

Two weeks after my family came to visit, we were lucky enough that Mike's family could come down too!  Ellie LOVED having so much time with both of our families.  

One of Ellie & Kingsley's favorite things to do was play with Grandma on the iPad.

Eating lunch at South Mountain Park in between General Conference sessions.

 We were able to do a lot more, since they were able to stay for a week.  The only downside was Mike wasn't on Spring Break, so he was at school most of the time.  Here are some of the highlights:

We took a walking tour of downtown, guided by Mike and me.  I love downtown Phoenix.  It's so beautiful and there's so much to do!

The Orpheum Theatre

St. Mary's Basilica, the oldest church in Phoenix.

The Courtyard at the Basilica.  

There was lots of shade and lots of grass, making it a nice cool spot to rest!

Heritage & Science Park, where there are a lot of original homes from the 1800s.  One of my favorite spots in Phoenix!

Riding in the mining carts

(Not the real Boot Hill, but a nice little replica)

 We drove to Tortilla Flats, which used to be a stop on the old stagecoach trails.  They're famous for their Prickly Pear Cactus Ice cream.  It was delicious!

Encanto Park

One day, we went to the Pueblo Grande Museum, which has 1500 year old Hohokam Indian ruins.

They have umbrellas so you can still walk around outside even in the scorching sun.

Demonstrating the Hohokam's extensive irrigation  technology

Having an Easter Egg Hunt @ Heritage & Science Park

 I think the highlight of the trip for me, besides getting to see family, was touring the Victorian style Rosson House.  Built in 1895, this is the only home from that period still on it's original site in the entire city of Phoenix.  The city bought it in the 80's and it was really interesting to hear about the restoration process.  Before the city bought it, it had changed families several times, and ended up as a boarding house.  It was in disrepair, but the city decided to restore it to it's near original condition.  It was really neat, and reminded me of Downton Abbey, on a much smaller scale of course.  (Oh how I LOVE Downton Abbey!)  The original owner was a doctor, so they had one room they thought had been his office that had some really old school medical equipment.  And the kitchen had some really neat old contraptions.  Anyways, I loved touring the house!  It was beautiful!

Ellie had so much fun, she hardly had time for sleeping.   Which caused her to crash  in some pretty fun places and poses.

We had such a great time with Mike's family and were sad to see them go!  Come visit again soon!