Michigan, Part 2

KC was being a really good sport, coming all the way to MI just so I could have 2 extra suitcases to bring stuff back to AZ in! (Just kidding... but they did come in handy! ;)  It just so happened that his favorite baseball team, the Texas Rangers, were playing the Detroit Tigers 2 days in a row during our trip.  Well, the first game rained out, but that ended up being in KC's favor since he was stuck on a flight at that time and would've missed it anyway.  Lucky for him, it was rescheduled for the day of the shower, and he got to watch it w/ the guys (Tim, Jaime, Joe & Charlie) while the ladies celebrated Amelie's impending arrival.  As if that wasn't enough, the guys took him to Comerica Park to see the 2nd game of the day - woohoo!!

 

I'm so happy KC got to go to a ballgame, and I'm pretty sure it made his weekend.  Many thanks to Tim, Joe, & Charlie for hanging out w/ my baby daddy and showing him such a good time :)

While KC was enjoying his nosebleed section, I was noshing on some tasty Pizza House awesomeness with Kristen, Tristan, Patrick & Erica.  MMmmm, calzone!  I craved you for months!

Seriously, Pizza House makes the best calzones, and though I'm sure Patrick would've rather I branched out and tried something new in Ann Arbor, this pregnant mama had to fulfill the craving - and it turns out almost everyone else at the table did too!  Tristan & Kristen each got a calzone, and Patrick, the rebel, got a pizza pocket (basically the same thing, but with sauce on the inside).  Erica, ever the individual, got a sandwich - but that's ok too ;)

This trip marks the 6th I've made to Michigan (!) since moving to Arizona, and I'm pretty sure it's the first time I haven't spent a night out on the town during an action-packed weekend.  Babs & Fleetwood, you are missed, but pregnancy wears a lady out!  Thankfully, our hosts Erica & Patrick were cool to just hang out and watch a little Veronica Mars (good time) before calling it a night.  We did, however, get up relatively early on a Sunday morning to meet a friend/family member for breakfast.  I'd never been to Nick's House of Pancakes (though I did study a lot at its previous incarnation, Big Boy, during undergrad!) and boy had I been missing out!  Check out these tasty eats!

KC ordered the Fat Elvis French Toast stuffed w/ peanut butter and banana, and was a sweetheart for omitting the bacon so my vegetarian self could share.  It was so good, he had to pull the plate away from me after I had my couple bites!  I got the Lemon Poppyseed Blueberry Pancakes, and they were amazing!!  I'd never thought of that combination in a flapjack, but boy does the person credited for that idea deserve a medal!  YUM!

I didn't take a picture, but I also enjoyed Noodles & Company (twice!) on Sunday as well - thanks, Barb!  That was another place I'd been jonesing for over the past few months, and really wish they had locations in Tucson.  For a vegetarian, it doesn't get much better than a vast pasta selection that all comes sans meat, with grilled tofu as an add-on option!  Not to mention, I'm a huge fan of their oatmeal chocolate chunk cookies.  Does it seem like food dominated my weekend?  Yeah, pretty much ;)  I definitely planned my meals around the restaurants I had been craving!

We spent the rest of Sunday sifting through heaps of storage in my aunt's basement.  She has been generous enough to let me keep stuff down there since moving to AZ 2 1/2 years ago, and I promised I would do my best to cut it down to size.  Boy, was that a more daunting task than I had expected!  We managed to sort through a lot... separated some out to donate to charity, sold some stuff to Barb who will be moving soon (thanks, Barb!), gave a bit to my aunt to put to use, and packed some up in our empty suitcases to bring back to AZ.  But we still ended up w/ a significant pile that'll remain in the basement for now.  Many thanks to my aunt for lending us a small share of her basement!  Some notable items that made it back to AZ:  Most of my scrapbook supplies (YAY!), some cute butterfly drawers I thought would be cute in Amelie's nursery, and a waffle iron (YUM!).  We also brought some other kitchen utensils and some memorabilia items I'm glad to have with me here in Tucson.  Along with the baby shower haul, we came back w/ almost 200 lbs of stuff that we didn't have on the way out to MI!  It took some expert packing (*bow*), and a little bit of last-minute maneuvering in the airport to ensure all 4 suitcases were under 50 lbs, but we did it!

Monday morning we flew back to AZ at the crack of dawn, with a layover in Chicago.  It was a bit of a rough trip, complete with one overtired pregnant lady meltdown, but we managed to score front-row seats on both planes (hooray, leg room!!), and made it back to Tucson with all our luggage intact. *whew*!

What a great weekend!!!  I'll be back with Amelie in September for Patrick & Erica's wedding - hope to see you all again then, and catch those of you who I missed this time!