The Common Mommy Denominator: More on AZ

So Thursday was spent at Mom and Dad's and the Ostrich Farm,

and Friday including more (much-needed) relaxing at Mom and Dad's...and then a trip up to Mesa to meet up with Stan (Jay's eldest brother), Katrina (second-to-elder sister) and her husband Jason (yes, she married a man with her brother's name...still weirds her out a little, too...), their baby Zac, and Ninja son Brandon, and Jay's next brother up, Keith and his wife Wendy. We went to a funky place off the 202 called the Kona Grill, and it was UBER-BUSY...but Stan, in his brilliance and infinite wisdom (and like the concierge he was, doing all the planning for our trip! THANKS AGAIN, STAN!!!) had made reservations, so we were seated in no time.

Foodie that I am, let me say a quick something about the Kona Grill: yuuuuuummmm.

Sushi in AZ is expensive, of course, considering how far they are from the ocean, but that doesn't mean they don't do a good job of it! And as far as a sushi place that serves other food, well, this place is as versatile as a chameleon at the zoo. My sis-in-law Wendy is the first to admit that her appetites for the odd are, shall we say, limited? so she's never been eager to head out to dinner with the group when we go for sushi...but the Kona Grill fixed that. She had pizza, we had sushi, the pizza was good (or so I hear) AND the sushi was good, and...TADA!

Everyone was happy, and we got to enjoy Wendy's company AND sushi, all in the same meal!

I will say, though, that I saw a lot of CA in AZ at the Kona Grill: one of the host girls must've had a Beverly Hills plastic surgeon for her boob job, (uh...WHOA!) and, like any CA guy, one of the AZ sushi chefs had a thing for check-you-out eye-contact. (Okay, check me out. Not that I really minded. That doesn't happen very often.) I noticed years ago - within months of starting at the Y, actually - that the CA male's propensity for triple-takes is unique to Californians. In other words, when flirting, a CA guy will look, and look again, and look again, and make it really obvious that he's looking. A UT boy will NOT. In fact, you could end up marrying the same guy who didn't once present a single clue until you were engaged that he found you even mildly attractive. Not so with a Californian...or an Arizonan, it seems. Huh. NOW I learn that! (Again, not complaining!)

Anyway, after dinner it was back to K&W's to pick up the munchkins, then off to Stan's with Brandon for a semi-slumber party, complete with Wall-E and Stan's homemade cookies.

The next morning was a minor bust...poor Stan had planned for us all to head to an air show out in Glendale (?), and it ended up being a total impossibility: over 100,000 people showed up in that 2 horse town, and after the drive out there, a mad wait in tons of traffic, and winding up aghast at the parking-and-tram-and-security-checkpoint situation, we gave up and headed to Pete's Fish and Chips.

And since I'm a foodie, allow me for just a moment to wax poetic about Pete's. You see, we MUST go to Pete's Fish and Chips every time we go to AZ, or it's just not a trip to AZ. Their fish is this wonderfully crunchy, wonderfully flaky, wonderfully un-fishy, wonderfully SQUARE deep-fried treat...with a dipping sauce I'd kill for. (Okay, maybe break a few arms for.) I'm still trying to put it together, exactly, but I'm guessing it's a mix of ketchup, apple cider vinegar, and either Frank's hot sauce or some red pepper flakes.

Not sure, but I'll figure it out at some point, and when I do...ooooooooooooohhh, that'll be the DAY.

Then it was back to K&W's to relax a little and meet up with Jewels (Jay's elder sister), who drove up from Tucson with Reilly, and Jared and Crystal, Jason's younger brother and his girlfriend. From there we headed to a park where we met up with Mom and Dad and had a family picnic full of good times, good food, and noodle salad. (See As Good as it Gets.)

We also celebrated Jason (Rogers), Stan, and (our nephew) Josh's birthdays, and got to see little Reilly's Cake Drunk expression when her mom finally stuck a forkful of frosting-coated cakey goodness in her little bird mouth.