**WARNING** This is super long. It is a basically a travel log, which I always hate reading. But I am writing it all down more for journal purposes than anything. Also, I am adding a ton of pictures. This is mostly for grandparent purposes...
Scott had to go to Phoenix earlier this week for business, so we thought we would all go along with him and make a little vacation out of it (Lily is on Spring Break). His brother lives there and one of my favorite cousins lives in Mesa. Plus I grew up in Mesa and I haven't been back in about 12 years, so I thought it would be fun to see the old sights - and the warm weather was very enticing!
We had such a fun time! We left early Sunday morning and got there in about 11 hours. I know that sounds long, but when you are used to 13-14 hour trips back and forth from Washington, then 11 hours doesn't seem so bad (we are really glad to not be making those long Washington drives anymore). The kids did really well on the long drive. We spent Sunday evening at the park with Scott brother Brian and his darling wife Callie. It was so fun to see them.
Monday Scott went to his seminar while I took the kids to see the town. I decided to take them to the Phoenix Science Center. It was really neat and we all had such a great time exploring. I forgot my camera that day, so I have no pictures (bummer). If you are ever in the Phoenix area I totally recommend going - it was really fun. Then we met up with Scott for lunch and for the afternoon the kids and I went back to the hotel to swim. It was warm enough to be in a swim suit, although not warm enough for me to go into the pool. The kids had fun though and it was so relaxing to just sit and watch them play in the water as I thawed out from this long Utah winter. Then we picked up Scott and we went to dinner. Scott took us to Papadeux's (I think that is how it is spelled) - it is New Orleans food and it was so yummy, plus the kids were so well-behaved. Apparently our pre-restaurant pep talks on manners are starting to work.
Tuesday I took the kids to a really fun park near downtown while Scott worked. They had so much fun playing and chasing and feeding the pigeons. I think the bum on the park bench was even amused. After lunch we picked Scott up and went to the zoo with my cousin Marian. That was so great! Thanks Mares for taking us (and waiting for us when we were so late). After the zoo we went to Mesa to see my old house, school, etc. My house is completely different - they tore it down a few years ago and built this awful Southwestern monstrosity in its place. But it was fun to see my neighborhood. Tuesday was Lily's sixth birthday so we let her choose what to have for dinner. Of course she chose spaghetti - so we settled on Macaroni Grill (I say "settled" because Scott doesn't love that place - his excuse is that he hates going to the same old place. I had to remind him that we haven't been there since we were first married almost eight years ago, so that is hardly going to the same old place). I have to say, I really liked it and so did Scott (way better than Olive Garden, for sure), we were so pleased with how good it tasted. One of the servers came and sang Happy Birthday to Lily in Italian and gave her the yummiest chocolate cake ever. She was thrilled. It was such a good day!
Wednesday we got up, packed up the car and started our drive home. Of course about twenty minutes before we left Adam fell and gashed his head open on the side of Brian and Callie's bed frame. It probably could have used stitches, but a butterfly bandage would just have to do. Scott was NOT making a trip to the hospital. So off we went. Thanks to Bri and Cal for having such a well-stocked first-aid kit that was so easy to find (and for the totally comfy bed).
Scott had to go to Phoenix earlier this week for business, so we thought we would all go along with him and make a little vacation out of it (Lily is on Spring Break). His brother lives there and one of my favorite cousins lives in Mesa. Plus I grew up in Mesa and I haven't been back in about 12 years, so I thought it would be fun to see the old sights - and the warm weather was very enticing!
We had such a fun time! We left early Sunday morning and got there in about 11 hours. I know that sounds long, but when you are used to 13-14 hour trips back and forth from Washington, then 11 hours doesn't seem so bad (we are really glad to not be making those long Washington drives anymore). The kids did really well on the long drive. We spent Sunday evening at the park with Scott brother Brian and his darling wife Callie. It was so fun to see them.
Monday Scott went to his seminar while I took the kids to see the town. I decided to take them to the Phoenix Science Center. It was really neat and we all had such a great time exploring. I forgot my camera that day, so I have no pictures (bummer). If you are ever in the Phoenix area I totally recommend going - it was really fun. Then we met up with Scott for lunch and for the afternoon the kids and I went back to the hotel to swim. It was warm enough to be in a swim suit, although not warm enough for me to go into the pool. The kids had fun though and it was so relaxing to just sit and watch them play in the water as I thawed out from this long Utah winter. Then we picked up Scott and we went to dinner. Scott took us to Papadeux's (I think that is how it is spelled) - it is New Orleans food and it was so yummy, plus the kids were so well-behaved. Apparently our pre-restaurant pep talks on manners are starting to work.
Tuesday I took the kids to a really fun park near downtown while Scott worked. They had so much fun playing and chasing and feeding the pigeons. I think the bum on the park bench was even amused. After lunch we picked Scott up and went to the zoo with my cousin Marian. That was so great! Thanks Mares for taking us (and waiting for us when we were so late). After the zoo we went to Mesa to see my old house, school, etc. My house is completely different - they tore it down a few years ago and built this awful Southwestern monstrosity in its place. But it was fun to see my neighborhood. Tuesday was Lily's sixth birthday so we let her choose what to have for dinner. Of course she chose spaghetti - so we settled on Macaroni Grill (I say "settled" because Scott doesn't love that place - his excuse is that he hates going to the same old place. I had to remind him that we haven't been there since we were first married almost eight years ago, so that is hardly going to the same old place). I have to say, I really liked it and so did Scott (way better than Olive Garden, for sure), we were so pleased with how good it tasted. One of the servers came and sang Happy Birthday to Lily in Italian and gave her the yummiest chocolate cake ever. She was thrilled. It was such a good day!
Wednesday we got up, packed up the car and started our drive home. Of course about twenty minutes before we left Adam fell and gashed his head open on the side of Brian and Callie's bed frame. It probably could have used stitches, but a butterfly bandage would just have to do. Scott was NOT making a trip to the hospital. So off we went. Thanks to Bri and Cal for having such a well-stocked first-aid kit that was so easy to find (and for the totally comfy bed).
We decided to stop along the way and see the sights. This added several hours to the trip, but I have to say it was totally worth it. We stopped at Montezuma's Castle and that was really neat. It is a little more than an hour north of Phoenix and there is just a short little hike to see it. It was really cool. My favorite part about it was that on all the signs about this Indian tribe that lived there it was sure to mention that they mysteriously left after living there for 300 years. Well, I can think of several reasons why they might have left and quite frankly who cares. I finally just turned to Scott and said, "Maybe the historians expected them to leave a note...'hey, we are leaving because....'" It was a fun stop.
Then we decided to take a scenic byway through Sedona. Okay, this was one of the coolest things I have ever done. I would really like to go back in about ten years with the kids. The scenery was incredible and the town was bustling and just so much fun. It would have been great to have some time to get out and go for a walk. This was a long detour, but so worth it.
Then we took this little highway over to Cedar City (hwy 14, I think) and that was also really amazing. We drove over this pass to about 10,000 feet and a ton of snow and when we started down we came around this bend and beheld the most fabulous view. Seriously it was amazing - we could see for miles and it was all that beautiful canyon land (I think it was Bryce canyon that we were looking at) with little dustings of snow here and there. It was breathtaking. I am just grateful the road was deserted otherwise I am sure we would have crashed into someone. Then we drove through the most beautiful rock structures and formations. It was really enjoyable. It amazes me that we live in a state with such incredible landscape. It was such a fun trip and so needed.
Okay, so a word about Lily's birthday. Let's just say she was a really great sport. It was not a typical birthday in the sense that I made a special breakfast, decorated the house, and made it a really special day for her. Because we were on a trip she definitely had to be a little more flexible with what we were doing. She is so cute and I can hardly believe she is six! I am so grateful to have her in our family. She is so smart, beautiful, and creative and she adds such a great flavor to our very quirky family. I was trying to explain to her that March 31st is a special day for me too because my life changed forever that day. She doesn't quite get that I wasn't a mom before she came. She really changed me forever and everyday I grow because of her (and my other littles). She is so darling and I love her so much.
Then we decided to take a scenic byway through Sedona. Okay, this was one of the coolest things I have ever done. I would really like to go back in about ten years with the kids. The scenery was incredible and the town was bustling and just so much fun. It would have been great to have some time to get out and go for a walk. This was a long detour, but so worth it.
Then we took this little highway over to Cedar City (hwy 14, I think) and that was also really amazing. We drove over this pass to about 10,000 feet and a ton of snow and when we started down we came around this bend and beheld the most fabulous view. Seriously it was amazing - we could see for miles and it was all that beautiful canyon land (I think it was Bryce canyon that we were looking at) with little dustings of snow here and there. It was breathtaking. I am just grateful the road was deserted otherwise I am sure we would have crashed into someone. Then we drove through the most beautiful rock structures and formations. It was really enjoyable. It amazes me that we live in a state with such incredible landscape. It was such a fun trip and so needed.
Okay, so a word about Lily's birthday. Let's just say she was a really great sport. It was not a typical birthday in the sense that I made a special breakfast, decorated the house, and made it a really special day for her. Because we were on a trip she definitely had to be a little more flexible with what we were doing. She is so cute and I can hardly believe she is six! I am so grateful to have her in our family. She is so smart, beautiful, and creative and she adds such a great flavor to our very quirky family. I was trying to explain to her that March 31st is a special day for me too because my life changed forever that day. She doesn't quite get that I wasn't a mom before she came. She really changed me forever and everyday I grow because of her (and my other littles). She is so darling and I love her so much.
The kids totally conked out at the hotel. It was so cute to see them all the bed together. Just before I took the picture Adam had his arm around Grace.
At the park on Lily's birthday.
Adam wearing his "golf" shorts. Aren't they cute!
At the Phoenix Zoo
Playing the splash area at the zoo. I didn't know there was one, so I didn't bring their suits. I just let Gracie go in a diaper (I know, totally tacky - but when you look that cute in just a diaper I think you can get away with it).
Lily's Birthday at Macaroni Grill
Adam's cut head.
Montezuma's Castle
In Sedona, it was so pretty.
