We were so excited to attend the ColoGuard Classic (especially after the boys and I met Aaron Rodgers during the ProAm event). As a military veteran, Erik received 2 free tickets for him and I to use and the kiddos got in for free as well. We were also able to sit in the hospitality area on the 16th hole of the course that was reserved for Veterans and their families. They provided food, drinks and a nice place to sit in the shade while watching the golfers tee off on the Par 3. I sent this picture of the tee times to my dad because I knew he'd appreciate all the great players that now play on the Champions Tour. 

We watched many groups come through the 16th while relaxing in the shade with the kids, then walked the course a little bit to follow Jerry Kelly and Steve Stricker. We also promised the kids that we would hit up the Top Golf booth before leaving for the day. Here they are practicing their hitting.

We happened to see Jerry Kelly right outside of this area after he finished on the 18th. The boys were so excited and ran right up to him and hugged him as though they were old friends. It was absolutely hilarious, given tat they had met him for only a few minutes on Wednesday. Jerry was so nice and I also took the opportunity to introduce him to Erik, seeing as how the kids and I were old friends of his and all... ha!

The next morning was a Home Depot Kids Workshop so I took my little cowboys in to make a clock. They absolutely loved being able to hammer nails into their own projects and then finish it off with stickers and paint.

We had been gifted tickets to a Brewers Spring Training game the following Sunday so we loaded up the kids and headed to American Family Fields of Phoenix to watch our Brew Crew take on the Cincinnati Reds. The kids had so much fun, the weather was beautiful and it gave us a chance after the game to see Erik's Uncle Paul & Auntie Pat who would be spending the next 6 weeks in the Scottsdale area. Auntie Pat & I even took the kiddos to run the bases after the game while the men waited for us. The kids started off by holding our hands and then took off running on us so we ran together instead. It was such a fun day for all of us.

We had tickets from Pat & Amy for our first UofA Basketball game so we headed downtown for brunch with the boys before the game. They are all decked out in their UofA garb and ready to cheer on the Wildcats! It was another excuse to ride the Streetcar with these guys and they were pretty pumped about it.

We stopped and walked around campus a little bit on our way to the game. Found this cool sculpture for the boys to take a picture in front of.

After the game, we walked through the Union and stopped for some pictures with the kids.

Old Main was the first building constructed on the UofA campus, opened for classes in 1891, is one of the oldest surviving educational structures in the western US and has been on the National Register of Historic Places since 1972. Pretty cool!

It was a bit of a nightmare of a drive home in rush hour traffic after the game, complete with an emergency potty stop, but we met Erik for dinner at Dove Mountain Brewing and officially welcomed Melissa back to Tucson.

The next morning, Erik took the boys to the golf course and she and I set out to hike the Upper Javelina trail from our house. I'm pretty sure we clocked between 7 & 8 miles that morning. It was mostly uphill, and I had done part of the hike with Erik and the boys early on Thanksgiving morning. It proved to be a bit difficult, but we survived!

We lunched at The Gallery and then headed home for some relaxing, swimming and dinner later.

The next morning was St. Patty's Day! I was beyond excited when I realized that Melissa would be in town to celebrate with us. We headed to the St. Patty's Day Parade and festival in downtown Tucson. It was windier and thus a little chillier than we expected, but that didn't stop the fun!

After the parade there was a little festival in Armory Park with lots of food trucks and kids activities. We let the kids so some of the bounce houses while we enjoyed some beverages of the Irish. After we took Melissa to HUB for our favorite cheese curds and some Reuben sandwiches. 

We stopped into one more pub and then headed home. Everyone napped and then we relaxed for the rest of the evening. 

The next morning, the boys, Melissa and I hiked at Catalina State Park. I had never been there before but had heard great things about it. It did not disappoint. The first stretch was a pretty easy path after crossing 1 of the 4 creeks we would cross on our journey.

We made our way down into the trail and came across the flowing creeks of water from mountain runoff. We took off our shoes and socks and waded in the water for a little while before continuing on. There were people picnicking and swimming at different areas along the creek. 

Catalina State Park and its views are so beautiful. We made our way back toward the car and tried our best to help the kids cross the rocks in the creek to keep from getting too wet. But, by the 4th crossing we gave up and all just walked right through. Now we know for next year at this time!

We got the boys to the car, removed their wet shoes, made a quick stop at the gift shop for Melissa and then stopped at In n Out for lunch... it is very conveniently located right across from the entry of the park. Funny enough, we have seen many hiker there on weekends and I never understood why. Now I know!

Melissa's last day in town we took her to Old Tucson. We rode the train, watched a "gun fight" (which John and I had to leave for because it was too loud for him) and walked around exploring the old movie memorabilia.

After finishing our fun trip to Old Tucson, it was time to take Auntie Melissa to the airport. We had such a fun long weekend with her and are so glad she was able to be here for the first part of Spring Breaks! The boys were sad to say goodbye... but the good news was that we would be dropping off an Auntie and picking up a Grandma!

It's a good thing we really like to host visitors!

Grandma's visit meant a surprise trip for the boys for a Staycation at the Loews Ventana Canyon Resort. Here they are all ready to go!

We stayed for 2 nights and although it was not typical swimming weather, we spent a lot of time in the pool! The boys also did a morning camp where they got to take a hike and make crafts and they loved every minute of it and still ask when they can go back again. We also watched a lot of March Madness and the boys kept a close eye on their brackets to see if their teams were going to win.

We dropped Grandma off at the airport and headed to Davis Monthan Air Force Base for the Thunder and Lightning over Arizona event. 

Erik got to visit the aircraft he used to work on while he was in the Air Force and to show it to the boys!

There was a strength contest at one of the booths at the show and John decided he was going to give it a go! 

After seeing his little brother try, Will was next :)

And since we like to keep things interesting and busy here in Arizona, we took the boys to a Roadrunners hockey game that same evening (after a much needed snooze in the car).

Uncle Paul & Auntie Pat came down for a quick over night visit while they were staying in Scottsdale area. We played games, went out to dinner and did a quick hike. the boys love having visitors and had such a fun time with Erik's aunt & uncle.

We ended the month with a visit to Erik's new office building. The boys got to sit at Dad's desk and see all sorts of cool stuff there!

That's a wrap on March in Arizona!