I flew out to Phoenix after work, and realized that I was going to be leaving AZ right before NBA All-Star weekend. I looked around to see if I could spot any NBA players and such, but didn't see anyone I knew. I saw some tall guys, but I don't think that was any of them.
Bro, V and Brady picked me up in the designated area, and we were all perplexed by the stupid airport vehicles that were situated in places that made it inconvenient for people to actually be picked up. I guess they were trying to prevent traffic jams, but it was actually just lame. I was hungry and was craving McD's Sweet Tea, and Bro was happy to oblige, addicted as he is to the cold version of Liquid Crack. So he got, I think, 6 of them. We laughed when the gal paused when she heard our order of one value meal plus 6 teas.
As I ate my dinner, Brady played Uno with Bro before getting ready for bed. They had sweetly designated that night as Tita Sherry Reads to Brady night, so I read about 3 books to him, including a hippo Boynton book. Brady seemed to enjoy my animated readings, and cuddled up next to me. It was utter cuteness. After Brady went to sleep, we watched that night's episode of "Lost" and laughed at tons of stories, including my mom's coupon story at Lowe's. OK, I'm giggling again. As did V half an hour later when she had already gone to bed, she told me the next day.
In the morning, Brady and V got ready to go to school, and I showed him the Lincoln sticker book that I had brought him from DC. He already knows Lincoln from all of the pennies he collects, but I wanted to show him where I had gone. Brady's pre-school is on the campus at ASU, where V works, so Bro drove them to work as I got ready.
When Bro returned, we went to Cracker Barrel for breakfast, because I was really craving their pancakes. I didn't even care that I wasn't that hungry. I wanted CB pancakes. Bro informed me that he didn't really like pancakes. I didn't understand this at all, and suggested that he try CB's, just to see if he, indeed, disliked even the best pancakes I've ever tasted. We shared my huge breakfast plate and he ordered some baked apples for himself as well. The pancakes came to the table, and I was happy. And so was Bro!!! Yay! I got him to like pancakes again! Now, if only I could get him to like Filipino food without tricking him, that would be an accomplishment.
We went to ASU, since V only had a meeting and actually wasn't supposed to be working because it was her furlough day. Yes, ASU is having furloughs, too. Sucks. Anyway, we met up with her at her cool new office, and she showed me her lab. The guys in there were just about ready to go to lunch, and after they left, she shared with us the fact that a couple of drawers had misspelled labels, like "Plyers." It had been bugging her, but she didn't have the heart to tell them after they were so excited to get the lab organized. So we hurriedly made new labels and were only able to place one of them on there before we heard them returning. It was just pure comedy with us trying to quickly put everything away, and trying to hide remnants of labels in our pockets. I realized that the scissors still had label backing attached to them, and sneaked over to take that off, too, in order to hide all evidence. It was difficult to stifle our giggling at the silliness of the situation, too. So V ended up putting the other correct label in her pocket and changed it at another time.
We walked to the student store and I got a cute ASU top. We walked to the main boulevard by the university, and ate at Ra Sushi. I ordered a Bruce Lee-Chee cocktail, hoping to get the taste of the Lychee Liqueur that my friends and I enjoy, but there was too much gin in the drink and I just ended up getting dizzy instead. V enjoyed her drink, The Grape Escape, which I would like to have when I return there. It was yummy. Bro liked his Okinawa Iced Tea, but The Grape Escape won. Bro and I ordered sushi while V had a combo of salad and CA roll. Look at the cute bowl that it came on/in!
We had the Fried Banana with Kahlua for dessert, and polished that off rather quickly, as the server noticed and laughed because she hadn't been gone that long before she came back to an empty plate. Bananas. Kahlua. Yum.
After lunch, we walked around, passed by the old Flour Mill, and went to the dry Splash Zone. Brady, of course, loves the place when the water is flowing. Bro wanted us to walk up to the big Yellow A on the hill, but I vetoed that hike because I wasn't really feeling all that well that day, which kind of pissed me off, because I wanted to really enjoy the day. I did, but I would have been happier if there were no ailments. We returned to the campus and watched Brady awhile from the one-way mirror before picking him up. He wasn't feeling all that social with the kids that day, but we were told that it was because they were playing with Play-Doh and he's not that fond of the stuff. He happily held my hand as we walked back to V's office to get our stuff. We were surprised to see one of V's co-workers step out of the elevator with his family. His little boy hangs out with Brady, so it was cool that they saw each other.
When we returned home, V and Brady killed me in UNO. Brady is very good at memorizing his cards (he loves the game Concentration), so he doesn't need to hold them in his hands. He places them face down on the table. I also got to watch him dance to one of his favorite songs.
We had some dinner, and thought that Brady was going to stay home with one of his parents while the other one brought me to the airport. He asked his dad where I was going, and why. Uh-oh. I had even kissed and hugged him goodbye. But he decided at that moment that he was coming to the airport, too. He had been very tired at this point, but we didn't want to argue, so we all got in the car and took the short trip to PHX.
When we got there, I hugged Bro and V, and then Bro asked me, "Did you kiss Brady?" I said that I said goodbye before I got out of the car, and had hugged him back at the apartment. He whispered to me, "He's crying." Awww....there he was, silent, a single tear rolling down his cheek. My heart broke, but I didn't want him (or me) to completely lose it, so I gave him another kiss goodbye and we said our "I love you"s. So I quickly walked into the airport to avoid crying, which I ended up doing anyway when I sat down and thought about it.
It was a nice day, and I'm glad that I put that free flight to good use. Thanks, Southwest!!! Thanks, Bro, V, and Brady, for your ever-enjoyable hospitality!
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