Head for the Hills

Getting away is so good for the soul.
It resets my heart and reminds my
blood to flow properly.

We went out of town last weekend, and
it was wonderful. The perfect end-of-
summer-send-off. The timing was fabulous
-- sandwiched between four very busy
weekends for us where we saw little of each
other and the start of my fall semester.

Jerry and Victoria Penington (I've blogged
about them before -- they took us to a
baseball game earlier this summer and to
the airshow last fall) have a place in Prescott,
Arizona. It's only a two and a half hour drive
to get there, but it's a complete change of
scenery. It was like 25 degrees cooler (or
more), calm, a slower pace, quiet, tons of
trees. (We miss trees!) They offered to let
us go up there for the weekend. They said
take the dogs and enjoy. We were so excited
by their kind offer!! Here's a peak at their
absolutely beautiful vacation home...









The very best part of all is the location and view. Their
home is situated on top of a huge hill, and while they
have neighbors, they're far enough away that it's still
really private. This is a poor picture, doing little justice
to what their view really offers, but at least you'll get
the idea...



It was a much needed getaway, and we had such a
good time!

• Friday -- went to the grocery store, made a wonderful dinner (David did), drank in the view and some wine, played golden tee (yes, they actually have one IN THE HOUSE), listened to music, and hung out together.




• Saturday -- started the day off enjoying the view and doing a few minutes of yoga to relax the body, made breakfast, played Sequence for two and half hours (so fun), watched a movie (Cars), took a huge nap on their very comfortable couch, made another amazing dinner, relaxed, went to bed early, and read celebrity gossip magazines together!


• Sunday -- took the dogs for a hour and a half walk where we saw lizards, birds, a rabbit, and all kinds of fun things; got ready and went into town where we had coffee, people watched, poked around, and did a tiny bit of shopping. David bought me a new purse that I'm absolutely in love with. We also got a couple of pieces from this place called The Betty Co., (which Sandy discovered when we were in Prescott with her and Jim in March). They're hand painted dishes that can go in the oven, microwave and dishwasher. Love them! Then, we headed back, got loaded up, cleaned the house, and enjoyed the beautiful drive back into Phoenix.

I had planned to take a million pictures over the weekend,
but we were so busy having fun and vegging out that
there didn't seem to be the time. I did snap a couple
quick ones in town...


David standing in the square, looking around.


The court house. In the middle of the square,
surrounded by trees, grass and benches. There
were a lot of people walking around with their
dogs, chatting in the shade. and we were told
they hold different markets and shows here
at least a weekend a month. Very cute.


Timeline of the country that loops around the
sidewalk at the court house entrance.



These are the dishes from The Betty Co...





I still have to get a stand for this one.

Right before we left, Killian and Norah got a little love
in the mail from their Grandma and Grandpa Phillips
as a welcome gift for Norah. Of course, I thought that
was the sweetest thing EVER. Here's a couple
pictures of them playing with their new roosters...