Arizona Vacation

This is very overdue..... Life has been run run run since we have been home.  Well at the beginning of the month we flew out to Arizona to visit Grandpa and Grandma.  We were finally able to go see what there life is like out there, sine moving there from Minnesota.  Plus it was perfect timing since the MN weather has been a little extreme this year and we were all going stir crazy.

It was the kids first time on a airplane... And let me tell you i was very nervous about how they would do.  Mainly Henry... ear popping, or being cranky pants or who knows what.  But it was a success!  He fell asleep before the plane took off and slept for 2 hours and then was up and happy the last hour. The girls enjoyed looking out the window and playing with there bag of goodies. The only time i heard complaining was Bella ears where not popping on the way down.

just got dropped off by the shuttle

made it through security very smoothly

walking to get in the plane

just sat down ready to leave

Mom and Dad met us at the airport and we headed back to there house around 6:30pm there time.  We settled in and visited a little bit, but I was exhausted and went to bed a few hours later. Yep you heard right!  Here is us exploring there yard.

front yard

there house

backyard

side yard

The next morning we got up and made a trip to the store to get diapers and a few snacks before we hit the road to the mountain to see the overlook of the city.  We made a few pit stops and got up close to some of the cactus and checked out the view along the road.  The kids kept saying "whoa look at the cactus!" a lot.  And i kept saying "Do you want to hug this cactus?" They always refused my asking!   After driving to the top and back down we stopped for lunch at Jack N the Box.... which was surprising like good. I had a sourdough melt, Bella had some tacos, kate chicken strips, and dad got a burger.   Then we loaded back up in the van to drive over to Scottsdale.

singing her heart out

Yep i was fake hugging that cactus

Scottsdale is a very tourist town for sure. Its cute and rustic looking!  We checked out a few shops that carry lots of souvierner and then we hopped on the bus that takes you around town to various stops. We got off at the mall... This mall is like no others~ its very high end and fancy.  I don't think i would ever buy anything there! But i'm not a mall girl so that doesn't help!  After that we hopped back on the bus and took a tour around the town and ended up back at the car.  By this time we were exhausted, and ready to go home. Mom made dinner for us and we chilled at home for the rest of the night.

They missed grass

this was a crazy cool tree

The next morning we drove to the white tank mountain and stopped at the library/nature center. The kids got to see of the local wildlife behind glass!  These girls are scared off reptiles!  We continued up the mountain to a spot where we could get out and hike to this spot that has a waterfall minus the water!  It was a couple miles to the end of the trail but it seemed like it took forever because i had one cranky little kate that didn't want to walk or be carried.  But finally she snapped out of it and had a fun time looking for stuff along the trail.  We made it to the so called waterfall at the end of the trail and the kids stuck there hands in the super cold water.  We stopped by a local Mexican Restaurant for lunch thanks to my Grandma Bette. She sends some eating out money with the grandkids when they go out of town. It was a yummy restaurant, but Henry cried every time our waiter came to the table. I don't know why, but he didn't get good vibes from him even though he was super nice.

library/nature center

this fluffy cloud went right over the hill and it was picture perfect

the so called water fall

lunch!

Day 4 the kids picked a orange off the tree in the back yard and were able to taste a fresh orange. They were so excited.  But they failed at eating it... Well Bella sucked the juice from it  :)  Grandpa worked on a home depot project with them. They built a race car together.  They turned out super cute!  Then we loaded up again and went to the duck pond to feed the birds. Yes this place says its ok to feed the birds. I have not heard of a park that does that!  We brought some bread and feed tons of birds and saw a few turtles.  The kids really enjoyed chucking tons of bread at them to see what they will do.  After we did this we walked to the park that was right next to it and were able to get some of there wiggles out.  The kids were also able to go play in the pool in the backyard that evening.  It was super cold but Grandpa heated the hot tub up enough for them to splash around in it. We took a little walk around there neighborhood and checked out the fish swimming in the canal between he houses. It crazy to see so many livestock in peoples front yards in the middle of a city.  There were goats, pot belly pigs, horses and the list goes on.

look at this ducks hat

kates collection

walking down by the canal

livestock in peoples yard

hot tub swimming

Day 5 Grandpa had to work part of the day and so when he got off work we drove to the park and enjoyed some time playing around there.  These Minnesotans love parks mainly because we only get them for a limited time.  After some time later we drove around town and stopped at the star tower which is a visitor stop that has a little water fall and tower that you can walk up to.

family moment on a turtle

the visitor tower

Day 6 Grandpa had to work again for part of the day so we relaxed at home till he got home. The girls made lemonade with grandma. They enjoyed using her juicer! In the afternoon we drove over to fountain hills and checked out this town that has a giant fountain that shoot up water every hour for 15 min.  This fountain goes like 560 ft up.  Holey molly.... I really liked this town, the houses were little different and they view was very nice.  We walked around the park and then stopped to have lunch at this place that was decorated like a 50's coke a cola store.  The food was yummy!  Then we drove around to see al the houses and then stopped at the park so Kate could go to the bathroom.  We all started playing at the park before we had to load up and head home. Well Henry and I got on the plastic tire swing and just as we were sitting apparently it slipped out from under me and we landed on the ground.  We it didn't end well. Henry got a red rash under his chin and hit my head and back of my neck really good. Bruised up my leg really good and i'm pretty sure i had a slight concussion. I almost puked!!!!! Well we called it a day and drove back home so i could lay down and rest up.  Not how i wanted to end that day or our vacation.

coming in to fountain hills

we bumped our elbows going down the slide

Day 7 we didn't do much..... recouping from the day before. We walked around the neighborhood and soaked up the sunshine in the backyard. It was the nicest day we had all week. It was mid 70's and we left for the airport with rosy cheeks..... we said our goodbyes and checked in at the airport, then ate some dinner before we went through security.  I was so glad to see a fun kids play area in the spot where we were boarding. We enjoyed a beautiful sunset as we waited for our plane.  The flight home was miserable but we made it home safe. We hit some turbulence and had to fly lower then they planned so it to longer to get home. But the plus of the ride home was we were lucky to have a open seat next to us. We made it to our truck around 12:30 and bed by 2 am.

playing in the sand for the first time

family in motion

the sunset with a plane taking off.

airport play area

they touched the plane before going in it

 It feels good that we were able to travel as a family and have it go pretty smooth. We enjoyed spending time with Grandma and Grandpa and able to relax from our cold Mn winter. Thanks for having us.