IKEA and Jackfruit

Beth’s Mom came to visit this weekend and it was pretty packed, which is why I’m just now writing about it.  It’s always really great to have family come visit and get to see a little of what our life is like out here in Arizona.  Beth and I really enjoy it (especially when free breakfast is in the deal).

After she arrived on Thursday, we had dinner and then when to BTO (which is quickly becoming a staple in our life).  Beth, her mom and Mary Frances all went to the Grant Stone Market, which is an oriental market near our house and got all sorts of interesting foods, including the jackfruit pictured below.  I had never heard of one before, but the fruit is actually very good, although it requires a decent bit of work to extract.  It tasted like a mix of peach and mango.

On Friday, she and Beth hung out and I  joined them at her hotel’s pool after work.  We then quickly got ready and went to Lis’ birthday party at the Saxton’s.  It was a lot of fun and I’m glad she got a chance to meet so many of the people that we are with regularly.  I don’t know when exactly the picture below was taken but there must have been something funny going on, because I could only find 1 out of 8 that didn’t have someone with a weird facial expression or closed eyes due to laughter.

Saturday morning we went to Phoenix to pick up a washer and dryer we found on Craigslist.  We also took a detour to IKEA to allow Beth’s mom and Mary Frances to get a taste of the craziness that is IKEA.  I’m convinced you could essentially build your house from IKEA.  Anyway, after a few hours perusing the showroom, studying layouts of kitchens, and eating Sweedish meatballs, I think we were all ready for a quick nap.  However, Beth and Mary must have just gotten too comfortable in the bedroom section and crashed out on this nice round bed (that Beth keeps bugging me to get for the new house).

We capped off the weekend with a Sunday afternoon trip to the Trout’s house for some lunch, swimming and ping pong.  I really enjoyed playing Beth’s mom at ping pong (she’s a pro) , but I think that Walcott takes the cake with his swimming pool antics.

It really was a great weekend and I know Beth and I are sad to see life get back to “normal”.  Hopefully we’ll be able to spend some time with our family again soon.