Well ... I can't believe we have been here for two weeks already! Where has the time gone? This week has once again whizzed by yet we seem to have packed so much in.
Last weekend we drove a couple of hours north to see the red rocks of Sedona. Ethan's verdict - "another pile of old rocks, except this time they're red ...". Whilst I can kind of see his point, I thought they were stunning!
On Tuesday we moved from the hotel we had been staying in, to a gorgeous furnished apartment down at the Scottsdale Waterfront ... well, when I say 'waterfront' ... it's not really how I would would have defined it. Waterfront makes me think lake/marina/ocean ... this is really more small canal, bizarrely covered with brightly coloured plastic water lilies (no, I don't know why either). That aside though, it is a fabulous location filled with lots of excellent restaurants, bars & speciality shops, all within walking distance from our apartment, plus it also happens to be right across the road from Fashion Square - the largest shopping mall in Scottsdale! Result! Yes, I think this will do nicely for the next few weeks.
Whilst Mr B has been at the office this week, Ethan and I have not been idle ... oh no ... we have been out with the Realtor viewing more potential house rentals. We have looked at another 10 properties this week out of which, disappointingly, only one was even a possible. Those who know me well will know that I am notoriously hard to please, especially when it comes to kitchens and bathrooms - I can spot a speck of mouldy grouting a mile off and one whiff of a greasy oven will have me running for the door faster than you can say Mr Muscle! One had dodgy carpets in a muddy brown, reminiscent of a shaggy wet dog complete with equally dubious stains - ugh; another was painted in a hideous dark mustard colour in nearly every room - yuk; and then another, which was looking very promising until we looked out of the bedroom window into next door's garden and discovered something resembling a teenage skate park, complete with a (very) well used half pipe, floodlights & stadium style seating! Er ... no thanks. Finally though, we did see one which, as Mary Poppins would say, was practically perfect in every way. Eureka! Now we just have to hope that we can jump through the right hoops to secure it. Appointment tomorrow to review and sign paperwork, so fingers crossed!
We finally received our new US cellphones this week (one of which was Ethan's 13th birthday present which he has been patiently waiting for since his birthday in early March!) and after the initial frustration of trying to sync with existing iCloud backups and move our iTunes accounts from the UK to the US store (that's two hours of my life that I will never get back!) Ethan and I spent a very amusing evening selecting our new ringtones. After entertaining ourselves with the various Minion offerings, we set about finding one to identify when Mr B was calling. Hmmm, now let's see ... Star Wars? The arrival of Darth Vadar? ... maybe ... oh no, hang on ... after the episode at the Bank last week, it HAS to be this one ... the James Bond theme tune! Perfect! :
Our pledge to spend more time together as a family has also continued this week with our new Friday night tradition of going out en famille for early Happy Hour drinks (which over here seems to start at 3pm and last until 6 or 7!) and dinner. Last week was Mexican at Blanco Tacos & Tequila (my headache the following morning confirmed that this had indeed been a good night!); this week's choice was Kona Grill for a cocktail (or three) and sushi, which Ethan had asked to try. I must say I have been amazed at the way in which he has embraced the diverse cuisine here in Scottsdale, trying lots of new foods that I would never have got him to go near back in England! Add to this a lovely afternoon spent with our friend John, who introduced Ethan and I to the delights of The Gelato Spot in Old Scottsdale and you could be forgiven for thinking that all we have done this week was eat and drink! **coughs nervously and attempts to look innocent**
Today we spent a lovely day today at the Scottsdale Culinary Festival, where we participated in ... er ... more eating ... trying lots of different food from local restaurants ... and sat in the warm sunshine watching the various bands performing some great music sipping a cold beer ... or two. A perfect end to the week!
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