AZ

To finish off my completely crazy busy summer of work, I took a roadtrip with my friend Mo to Arizona! It was my first time visiting this desert of a state. But I absolutely loved the drive. It was beautiful! The redrocks of southern Utah, signs for the Grand Canyon, the pretty trees in Flagstaff, and the real life cacti as you get further south in Arizona! You could feel it getting hotter the more south we went. Driving without AC would be impossible and even if you got too close to the window you could feel the intense heat. I actually think I could a little bit burnt from the drive. oh dear.

We met Philip in a random parking lot of the freeway and off we went. Philip's family had been discussing their plans for the weekend throughout the week and had decided to stay at one of the many resorts in AZ. On the drive down, Philip texted me and said that they couldn't get a room so it wouldn't work. He also said they had already made arrangements for where I would be sleeping that night so I didn't have to worry about that either. He then asked if I was sad, and I said that even though it was a little disappointing it didn't really matter because I just came to spend time with him regardless of what we were doing or where we were going. Thinking nothing of it after that exchange through text, I was completely shocked when we showed up at the Point Hilton Resort. 

He lied to me! Well, more like just playing a big joke on me haha!

I walked in, met the family, and then we hopped right in the pool. I had been warned that this heat was even unbearable for the locals so get ready. But it was unreal just how HOT it really was. Even after 10pm it's still over 100 degrees. And I'm used to pools and bodies of water that are freezing even in the summer. Nope, the water was lukewarm. It was so bizarre. The lazy river was so relaxing though. I was a fan! It was just so surreal to be with Philip again. part of me felt like we hadn't seen each other for years and part of me felt like we just picked up right where we left off.  That night we played games with the fam. Philip and I made a great team and I think we should've won all the games because we were the only ones who didn't cheat haha!

On Saturday, we had lots of adventures! In the morning, we went out into the pool again and then came back and showered and packed up so that we could head to the mall to help Jordan with his fall wardrobe. His mom gave us a budget and we just went at it. Except for one problem. I was really not feeling well. Probably a mix of exhaustion and heat and all that good stuff. Plus, I'm not a huge fan of shopping anyways. So we get into pacsun towards the end of our shopping escapade and the employee is like, wait a minute. Something's not right here. Usually there's two girls who are all gung-ho about the shopping and there's a guy walking behind them completely unenthused. But this time, it's completely opposite! There's two guys that are super excited about the shopping and the girl behind them does NOT look excited to be here at all. I would definitely calling the trip a success though. Jordan is completely ready for his last semester of undergrad! after we got a bite to eat and then Philip and I headed down to Gilbert to see Hermana Torgersen!

It had been over a year since we had last seen each other so it was SOO good to see her again! We just picked up right where we left off, giggling way too much as usual :) We talked about everything. School, Alabama, the MTC, elders and sisters from our mission, our summer adventures, boys, our families, you name it. I just love that girl to pieces! I wish she lived closer to we could see each other more often! 

We made a short stop at the Gilbert Temple on our way back up. It was so pretty. It was almost too much to be outside in the heat so we just took a quick walk around it and then got back in the AC. As we were driving away, there was a gorgeous sunset. I am so grateful for so many temples on the earth today and how you can find one pretty much everywhere you go! They are always a highlight of any place I visit! The beauty of the buildings, the ordinances that are performed there, and the spirit that is felt both inside and on the grounds is just indescribable. 

That night, we met back up with Philip's family and we went to Top Golf. It is pretty much the coolest place! It's just a huge driving range and you get to hit as many balls as you want for an hour. There's also big holes that are worth a certain amount of points. It was hoppin though so we had to wait about an hour. We stayed in the car and just relaxed and talked to Adam about coming to Provo. Can't believe that school is starting so soon. The boys just loved hitting it as hard as they could. I enjoyed just actually making contact with the ball ha! I had a great swing but sometimes I just missed a little bit. It made for some good laughs! 

On Sunday, we got ready for church and then went to Aunt Elaine's for lunch. Just me, Philip, and his mom. It was the best home cooked meal I've had in a long time. All I've done this summer is eat in a cafeteria or in a restaurant so this was a nice change. After we ate, we sat on the couches in the living room and she got out a box of old family photos. It was so much fun to learn all about their family and to put names to faces and try and connect all the dots. It was also so fun to see pictures of Philip was he was little. He was a cutie for sure. Still is ;) 

We then dropped off his mom and headed off to the young adult ward. It felt so good to be at church with him again! I remember going to his ward during the school year occasionally and we always had so much fun but also tried not to distract each other because we just love to TALK. I got introduced to just about everyone there and the funny thing was, they all knew who I was. Someone had been talking about me...

It was good though!

One thing I love about Philip is that he really knows how to become a part of a ward. Wherever he is planted he does his best to reach out to others, to fulfill his calling, and to make the most of any situation he is put in. It was so cool to be there with him because he had established relationships with these people and you could feel the love and the spirit that was there among these people. 

After church we took naps, watched a couple Sabbath day appropriate movies and then Philip took me down to Mesa. Before I came down to Arizona I made Philip promise me that he would take me to all the nearby temples down there. I'm so grateful he was so willing to do so! I absolutely LOVED the Mesa Temple. I didn't realize how old it was! Plus, there's a Visitor's Center there so that was fun too! As we sat at the Christus, there were some people speaking spanish and it was so fun to listen to them and just take in the spirit of being there. And the grounds are so GREEN! That's kind of unusual down here in the desert. 

Philip has this thing about not liking the way he looks in pictures. and let me tell you, 

sometimes it's a struggle to actually get him to smile. and even more difficult to get 

him to do his real smile haha! 

So for some reason he always likes the weird pictures. 

Like our sassy face picture below. Don't ask me why!

Isn't this picture gorgeous? Philip took one in black and white as well that you can see on my insta!

Another thing I love about Philip is how we can talk about literally everything! It's always just so fun to be with him! We spent a lot of time in the car and there was never a dull moment. Sometimes I was kind of sleepy so I tried to rest, but overall it was such a pleasure to just be with him again and to talk in real life. Although we have such great means of talking over technology, it just doesn't do justice to being able to talk to someone face to face. I'm grateful for the great communication that we have and that we're always willing to work on it and try to understand each other better and work on the problems we may be facing. 

This was the last morning. We all woke up, Philip picked Jordan and I up, and we headed to IHOP where Mo would take me away back to Utah. We made a pretty funny video but I don't have it to upload yet. I seriously love these two. They have been such great friends for the past 4 years and since we returned home from our missions, our friendship has grown and become so much better.! It was so fun to spend the weekend with them and see their hometown. Although it was blasted hot the whole weekend, I really did love Arizona! I look forward to going back and seeing it in a different season when it might not be as hot!

See ya in a couple weeks! It's been real AZ.