In early March, Todd and I attended the “Wild Out West” dental conference in Phoenix, Arizona. We hadn’t been back to Phoenix since we moved from there -- nine years ago. Where does time go? Our trip was also planned around seeing some of our great friends who we have kept in contact with but don’t get to see nearly enough. Sooooo much has changed in the valley of the sun over the last few years – we were amazed by all the growth. A new Cardinals stadium, dozens of shopping centers, and many houses now exist in all the fields we used to drive by to get to the base and our home. Speaking of our home, our old base house has been torn down and a new built in its place. A much needed improvement.
Our classes ran from Thursday to Saturday. We stayed downtown so we could walk to the convention center. Spring time in Phoenix is the best. The palm trees are magnificent, all the grass is green and the flowers are in bloom. The air is warm and fresh with orange blossom sweetness. It is great. Friday night we drove up to Scottsdale to meet my friend Elizabeth for dinner (picture was taken this summer in Mtn. Home). Elizabeth and I worked together at Albertsons for a short time in Phoenix and then again in the Boise office. She is fun and adventurous. Saturday, after the conference, we drove out to Goodyear and stayed with Earl and Barbara. Todd and I attended church with them while living in Phoenix. I transferred to Boise for work five months before Todd and he finished his undergrad degree at ASU. Earl and Barbara "adopted" him during that time and we have been close since. We love them dearly and had a great time.
We also managed to sneak in a spring training baseball game. The Indians and Reds built a new ballpark in Goodyear – so of course, Todd had to check it out. We had great seats for a good price, awesome weather, and enjoyed watching the pros play ball.
A couple of weeks ago, Todd spent a long “guy’s” weekend in Colorado skiing with some friends he went to dental school with. His trip started out on a low note when his flight out of Boise got cancelled – the first flight they could get him on was for the next morning. Super bummer. So after some planning and more than a few phone calls, he rented a car in Denver and met up with the guys a day later. He missed out on a day skiing but he did get the opportunity to drive a Kia Rio. Tradeoffs right? When he was describing the car to me over the phone I asked him if it was the kind of car you’d expect a bunch of clown to jump out of – he responded with a laughing yes. So for the rest of his trip, whether it was choking up the mountain passes or stuck in the snow in front of the condo, it was only referred to as his clown car. The weekend picked up, however, once he met with the guys and he got in two great ski days on the beautiful mountains of Colorado. Todd, much like everyone else who gets the chance, fell in love with the state’s beauty and wonder.
Ted, who planned the weekend, lives and practices with his dad in Loveland, Colorado. His parents have a condo near the resort they skied (Copper Mountain) so it worked out great for the guys to have a place to stay. Jeff and Marc flew in from Indianapolis – Jeff works with his brother in a practice and Marc is a pediatric dentist, working with his dad, in Lafayette, Indiana. It may make you ask “Where is Todd’s dentist relative so we will know where we are supposed to end up?” Its okay, I had the same question. Another Todd, Ted’s roommate from undergrad, was able to join them for a day also. So for a couple of days the boys got to be boys – no girls to bother them. I know I didn’t get all the stories, and I’m sure I don’t want all the sorted details but I do know Todd had a great time and that’s all that matters.
