the nguyen-ers

Arizona Getaway

September 11-14, 2008

Huy and I were able to go to Arizona for the weekend. Huy attended a design conference at the Biltmore in Phoenix and I tagged along to relax and visit some friends. My mom was kind enough to come to Texas and take care of the kids for us. It happened to be the weekend that Hurricane Ike hit land in Houston and as much as I had prepared my mom for lots of rain and wind, and after watching the Weather Channel as much as possible on Friday in AZ, the only thing that Austin got was a little wind. Can you believe that? We could have used the rain, but my mom and the kids were safe so that was what was important.

Anyway, while in Arizona, I enjoyed visiting my good friends, Stephanie Fillmore and Jennie Ricks. I went to Steph's home in Chandler and saw her cute kids and we went to an Enrichment meeting in her new ward. It was a great time. And then the next day she came to the Biltmore for a little shopping and lunch. Jennie met us for lunch too and we ate at the Cheesecake Factory. The food is always good there, but Jennie introduced us to their 6 layer chocolate cake. We came close to finishing it, but there were a few morsels left. I think one of us could have polished it off, but we were all being too polite! After stuffing ourselves completely, Steph had to head home, but Jennie and I layed by the pool for some relaxation.

My friend, Stephanie.

My friend, Jennie.

Our friend, chocolate cake. (Before we had eaten too much of it!)

And the story behind the water bottle photo... kind of embarrassing, but kind of funny...

As a sort of celebration for all the wonderful things in our lives, Huy spoiled me (as he often does) and took me to Ruth Chris' Steak House for dinner one night. He had told me it was the best steak ever so I had to try it. You know how most restaurants will bring you a glass of water before your meal, sometimes with your soda or choice of beverage? Well, a server (not our meal server mind you) had these two bottles on a tray and came to the table and asked us if we'd like some water. I actually did want some water so I said I would like the "plain" water. He kind of asked, under his breath, if I wanted tap water or this water (pointing to the Acqua Panna bottle). Not exactly sure, I just said (pointing to the bottle of water), "that would be fine." And Huy said he'd like the Pelligrino. So the man poured our water and set the bottles down at our table and left. That was the last we saw of him until he came to de-crumb our table after the meal. But anyway, after enjoying a delicious meal (and yes, I agree with Huy, it is the best steak ever), we realized we would be paying for our water bottles. But $8 seemed a little extreme, especially since we hardly drank any of it, and since we didn't have much water at the hotel either, we decided to take our pricey water with us back to the hotel, since we HAD paid for it. So to our embarrassment, we quickly exited the restaurant with bottles in hand, and enjoyed our full stomachs and our good water!

On Saturday, Huy and I went to the Ricks house, saw their cute kids, and watched the BYU/UCLA game (59-0). The screaming (mostly from Huy of course) and excitement from the huge win was fun to enjoy with them. Afterwards, we went to dinner at a local brewery place that was yummmy! We had a great time and shared some stories that cannot be posted on a blog. I am still laughing! Thanks guys.

We had a wonderful time and it was a nice break. Thanks Mom for taking care of the kids, and oh, the puppy. He was probably the most work while we were gone. The kids keep asking when we're going again so you can come back to take care of them. Did you spoil them? We love, and miss, you!

Thanks Grandma!