we made a quick weekend trip to Arizona to watch one of my dear friends from my mission marry her lover boy! although we were only there for a total of 40 hours, it seriously felt like we were there for 4 days with all the things we did! discovering a new place has been super fun, but doing it with friends makes it 1000 times better! so here's a photo compilation of the adventures we had within those 40 hours:
friday night
we landed in AZ at around 10pm and it was about 93 degrees outside. 93 degrees!!! it was our first time there and that AZ heat welcomed us real good. we got picked up by our sweet friends, Austin and Mikayla, and made our first stop to grab some in-n-out togo cause daniel has never had it before, and since being in the west coast, it was appropriate! it was so fun to start our first night off with food and friends (which we had a lot of on this trip!!)
saturday morning
the next day rolled around and since FL is ahead of AZ by 3 hours, we woke up at 6am all ready to get the day started. Aust, Mik, and Stark (their cute labradoodle) took us to a preservation that gave us a glimpse of what an Arizona dessert looked like! it was super neat seeing a bunch of tall cacti there and everywhere we drove!
we then ate the most delicious brunch at The Coffee Shop which used to be an old farmhouse that they restored into a restaurant. they had a couple of the farmhouse buildings in that area that were converted into a little hall full of vendors and treats. we took photos at a photobooth that was originally from the 70's (!!!) and did our best trying to swap in and out of the booth before the flash, so you can def tell which photo strips were done on our first try lol.
saturday afternoon
we then hit up downtown Gilbert! we met up with a friend and ate at a taco joint called Joyride and had some delicious guac and tacos! and checked out a few art murals while braving the heat! the vibe in downtown Gilbert was a mix of old and new; with older structural buildings and trendy food spots! i wish being full from eating wasn't a thing because i wish we could try all the foods!
saturday evening 
that night we attended the sealing of my dear friend, Tylissa, and her forever boo, Kevin at the Gilbert temple. and it was soo beautiful! because of COVID, we haven't been inside a temple in almost a year, so being able to be inside one brought a lot of peace. it was just such a beautiful evening. we love going to a wedding and feeling the love a couple has for each other emulated in their loved ones, friends, reception, and even in simple things like decoration! it was super special to be able to be there even though the time we spent was so little. we love them and hope they have the best time being married!
later that evening we met up with more friends for some pizza and ended the night playing a few good rounds of the Resistance and Chameleon! soo fun spending time with more friends and ending the night by staying in!
sunday
we then grabed some yummy ice cream to top it all off! daniel also got to finally see the scorpion he was determined to see all trip in the form of a christmas ornament I've been determined to find all trip haha (we try to get christmas ornaments from places we've traveled to, and I found a key chain of a preserved scorpion inside it. it was a running joke that daniel was hoping to find a scorpion while in AZ. turns out they're not as common there as he thought, but now he has an ornament of one haha).
we loved spending the time we had in AZ! especially loved spending it with friends and celebrating love! already planning our next trip there, but this time around it will definitely be longer than 40 hours ;)
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