Since Nate returned from his big Middle Eastern trip, he was home for two days and then he left for California for work. Then he came home for two days and had to be in Tempe AZ for a week. Then as soon as he got back from AZ, he had to go back to CA. So since it had been a solid month since we had a Daddy, and it would be at least another two weeks before he would be home again, we decided to tag along to AZ with him. There's nothing like Arizona in the summer I always say...
The 12 hour drive was all smiles in the beginning:)...
Preston was especially enthusiastic!
We stopped in Cedar City and stayed the night at Uncle Chris and Aunt Lisa's house. We had a great time catching up and the kids loved having a sleep over with their cousins. Chris and Lisa were willing to watch Sasha for us while we were gone so we left her there and headed out first thing in the morning (after Chris made us homemade apple muffins and pancakes of course).
First stop: Walmart in Cedar City...apparently Preston left his shoes at home (shoe stop #1).
The boys had never been to Arizona before and they were so excited. We pulled over at the state line to let they leap over the border.
Spencer stepping into Arizona!
And this is what the boys look like in Arizona!
One foot in Utah, one foot in Arizona (we had a good time at the border).
We got to Tempe at around 5PM and checked into our hotel. It was a really nice hotel and we had a very spacious room which was a blessing to say the least.
Then the kids and I were on our own for the day. We usually headed back to the hotel in the afternoon so that Lauryn could take and nap. And then when Nate got home from the office each evening, we went out to dinner and then usually headed to the hotel pool to resume our normal body temperature.
Arizona Day 2: Sea Life Arizona Aquarium!
(star fish, bottom right)
Lauryn was in love with all the "thishes"
Pufferfish
Lauryn trying to kiss the pufferfish...
Touching star fish, anemones, and crabs.
Lionfish
Sting rays and sharks
Giant Squid
Inside the mouth of an "Elasmosaurus" (ancient ocean creature/dinosaur)
Seahorses
I love sea horses...
Tunnel of Fish. We were surrounded by 360 degrees of water, fish, sharks, sting rays and you name it!
It was awesome!
Preston's favorite, the Sea Turtle!
So pretty.
Fish under our feet
Jelly fish
One of my other favorites, clown fish.
Back to touching more sea life. Sea urchins this time.
Holding a hermit crab
We had an awesome time while Daddy was at work.
Arizona Day 3: Phoenix Zoo
It was SO FREAKING HOT!!! I knew it was going to be about 104 degrees that day so I had gotten up early and gotten ready before the kids woke up so we could leave as early as possible. The zoo is only open until 2PM because it's too hot by that time of the day. We got there at about 8:30 and by the time we walked from the car to the opening gate, we were dripping with sweat!
The drinking fountains were our favorite exhibits. We drenched ourselves at each fountain in order to stay alive until we got to the next drinking fountain. I'm sure the locals thought we were animals ourselves. We were in survival mode people!
It was a really nice zoo. The boys got to pet sting rays!
It was awesome!
Heading through the back country...It was so hot I had to drag the kids from place to place. They wanted to collapse and die.
Dragon land (too bad the komodo dragon was too hot and hiding in his exhibit)
The Flamingos. So pretty!
Baboons. The boys couldn't get over the baboon's bare bums. They laughed and laughed and laughed...
as boys do...
The best part of the zoo, the water feature! Ahhh.....now that's more like it!
A real live cactus. The boys thought they were so cool. But they came to regret touching them...
The worst part of the zoo (other than feeling like we were walking on the surface of the sun), Lauryn dropped her shoe into the lion's den....shoe stop #2...
Arizona Day 4: The Mills Mall
The boys did "Euro Bungy". They got strapped into a harness and placed on a massive trampoline and then jumped super high into the air for several minutes.
Here's Preston's jump
And here's Spencer giving it a go!
We topped off our day at the mall with some new school clothes, smoothies, ice cream and pretzels. And fortunately, we all made it back to the hotel with both shoes on!
The boys loved playing in the hotel room each evening when Nate got home from the office. We took lots of games and activities to keep us busy.
Preston assumed his craft post in the bath tub so that he could create to his heart's content without waking Lauryn while she was napping in the hotel room.
Lauryn's play area
After Nate got home from work one night, we headed to Dave & Busters for some fun! After some good food, we headed to the games. Lauryn was a natural. She banged on the games and somehow won over 30 tickets just by banging. We were able to buy a Laffy Taffy at the end thanks to her:).
Skeeball
A simulator that felt just like a real roller coaster.
Arizona Day 5: Time to head home (before anyone else loses their shoes!!)
Nate had to work a half day on Thursday and he had to be home for school on Friday morning so we had a tight window to get back home. We left Tempe at about 2:00PM Utah time.
Spencer had been complaining that his ears were hurting. He's complained about them a lot over the last year and every time I take him to the doctor, they tell me he just has a lot of wax build up and recommend using wax softening drops which we did and that would help temporarily. Not this time.
We kept giving Spencer ibuprofen, hoping he just needed to get back to a normal elevation again. He was in a lot of pain the whole ride home. I'm pretty sure it took us 4 1/2 months to drive home...
We stopped in Cedar City to pick up Sasha, get the feeling back in our lower extremities, and say hi to Chris and Lisa one more time and then we booked it home.
Poor Spencer.
Preston finally drifted off at 1AM. The pink lump next to him is Lauryn by the way...
We FINALLY got home at about 2AM (with all five pairs of shoes in tact). I called an Ear, Nose, & Throat specialist first thing in the morning and got Spencer in that day. He ended up having double ear canal infections, and swimmer's ear. He was in SO much pain. The doctor gave him Lortab. And after a few days of narcotics, oral antibiotics and ear drop antibiotics, he was finally feeling like his old self again.
We really had a great time in Arizona. I think more than anything because we got to be together and remember what it was like to have Nate play a significant role in our family unit:). We love spending time together as a family no matter what we are doing and it was a really fun trip. We are relieved in a lot of ways that we did not end up moving to Phoenix when Nate was given the opportunity. It is a fun place to visit, but it would be hard to live there. Hopefully we can go back and visit again (in the winter:).
1 comment:
Can I just say that I love the discription of the Zoo! You make me laugh!
Poor Spencer! I don't remember hearing about that. Why is it that children get sick while on vacation? It seems to happen every time we are not home.
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