Trip Review

I guess I should post a review of our oh so memorable trip to Arizona.

I had grand plans for being prepared for our trip. I had all the packing done except my stuff and socks two days before leaving. You may notice I used the word except. That pretty much means I wasn't done and it was going to come back to haunt me.

But we got out of here by 1:30 which for us was pretty good. It meant checking the kids out of school but I really doubt their teachers minded one single bit. I told T's teacher taking him out of school for a few days was our gift to her and she smiled.

The kids started asking for movies before we were even out of our neighborhood so instead they got to listen to Dr. Laura grouch at people. (On a side note, I actually really like Dr. Laura. I think she gives pretty good advice to people. Her delivery has just become a bit more abrasive lately. I'm not complaining though. If you are willing to tell her you are a long time listener and then ask her some stupid question you should know the answer to then you need a more abrasive approach I guess.) We managed to not stop all the way to our hotel. We did however have a little scare when a black bird hit our windshield. It was pretty dang freaky to have this big thing all of a sudden whop you on the window. The poor thing only left a feather.

We managed to get there in time to get the kiddos dinner and still get them to bed at a decent time. DH's friend happened to be moving back to Phoenix and was going the same route. DH met him and his brother for dinner before they moved on with their trailer.

The next day we got the kiddos up early and headed out. I couldn't believe how green the desert was. It was a bright Kelly green from the grass. I'm not a huge fan of the desert but it was gorgeous.

We arrived, said hi to grandma, let the kids stretch their limbs and then went to visit my friend Heather. The kids had a bunch of fun there. They had enough scooters and bikes for her three kids and my five. So we sat and watched them play until traffic had died down. While there M went with her oldest to feed a horse (took bravery on my part to let her ride a bike that far.... a first for me). D jumped out of a tree from quite high and was totally fine. C fell out of the tree and scratched up her arm a bit and also ripped the back of her shirt. And they all still had fun and asked the next day if we could go back.

The next morning we went to see DH's friend's new house. He picked a great time to move to Arizona as the house was gorgeous and came with a much better price tag than it would have two years ago. Once again, the kids were just thrilled to play. M was especially thrilled because they have a daughter about her age. The kids want to take them up on their invitation to come back when their pool is in.

We had baseball tickets to celebrate Joshua's birthday. The Cubs ended up winning the game. S didn't have a stellar time there. She decided to really act out when she didn't get her way and so she got to hang out on DH's lap most of the time. She was less than thrilled. T was also a little stinker. He kept hiding under the bench because it was so hot. Yeah, 70 degrees, oh it was so hot! (I kept waiting for someone to spill their beer and have it end up all over T.) M brought a book to keep herself busy and D stood there with his arm up trying to woo a ball over. Finally as the 8th inning was going to begin we left. It works to leave a little early because if not the traffic is horrible. The people watching was pretty good at the game. It is so different from what we are used to.

We had our favorite shaved ice at a new location. We have almost always gone to one in the hood but now they have a few in less scary locations. I was living it up a little with a sugar free one with cream. YUM! I can still taste the stuff. C ended up in a tee and pull up in there as her pants were wet. I thought she had peed her pants and instead she had spilled a bottle of water. Either way, she wasn't bothered to be pantless.

That night we did M's second favorite thing and went to Souper Salad. I don't know why she loves this place so much but it's one of her all time favorite things to do. It's not that I hate the place or anything. But hello kiddo, it's Arizona. Arizona is all about great enchiladas.

The next day we were going to visit DH's grandparents. Then we found out Granny was in our neck of the woods for a funeral. Our trips turned us into Barry Manilow's 'Two Ships that Passed in the Night.'

We still went to the cemetery. I'm a tad bit disappointed in our cemetery. We picked a city cemetery on purpose over a private one because supposedly you have a better chance of them being taken care of. Well, the grass in both sections is just about gone. I'm wondering how they managed to kill it all. My guess is that they didn't water it much last year. Plus, the tree that used to get the pretty purple flowers by Nikolas is dead. We picked that spot because of the tree. The family with a nearby kid used to put wind chimes in that tree with little messages on them. I guess they gave up and took them all down. I can understand there not being so much grass out by Joshua. They are still filling that part up. But Niko's section is supposed to be all purchased and well, that should mean it is full because most people don't prepay years in advance for the children's section. M was a little disappointed that I didn't turn into a blubbering idiot. She thinks it's my tradition :) With Niko, five years was a big milestone that really made me sad. It was one of those you'd be such a big boy now and would be going to K soon years. This year it didn't really phase me much. My plate is so full now that it's hard to imagine it any other way and I'm learning it's just not helpful to. But I know he would have been oh so dang cute because he was such an adorable baby. And I probably would have turned him into a monster because I would have spoiled him.

We went back to my parents' house and the kids played at the park. S was bummed because she had been a turkey and didn't get to play the first time at the park. I thought it was as pretty natural consequence though. If you throw things at Papa in an angry fit why would he want to watch you at the park. Later when DH's brother and his family came to visit us she got to play at the park and was happier. We were lucky they drove they drove the hour to see us. My niece was going to another aunt's house that was nearby and so they were able to sneak in a visit with us before dropping her off.

Then, on of my best friends from when I lived in AZ was able to come by. You know someone is a great friend when you can go years without talking and then have it feel like it did before. She went from being a great teacher to nurse extraordinaire. Okay, I'm just guessing on that one. She hasn't ever poked me ;)

And then it was off home. We drove without a stopover and made pretty good time. It always helps to leave early and to get out of town before the traffic.

And now we recover and try to undo what happens on every trip. We missed some icky weather when we were gone and came back to sunshine. I'm excited to get my garden started. I wasn't so excited to pull a few weeds yesterday. Oh, and I am not so thrilled that the kids are going to start getting stinky again. EWWW!

Oh, and I've gone running two days in a row now. I'm going to make it a third today. I just can't procrastinate this training for a half thing. How I would love to but it will kill me later if I don't prepare. I have a couple of people who are willing to run my speed with me and that really helps. It also helps that it hasn't been 20 degrees when I have been wanting to run. Last night when we were out we ended up on a street in a development with only one house. I'll fess up that I was more worried about cougars than scary people. What is it with me and giant cats?