Yes, this post will actually be painful. I spent too much time in the sun this morning AND I am getting over strep throat (which I got halfway through my vacation - figures!). SO, my head is killing me and it physically hurts to swallow, but because I love all of you SOOO much, I will endure this suffering so that you may read the amazing details of our trip to Arizona. Let's begin....
So, we DROVE, all 1094 miles to Arizona. It took about 16 hours and here's what you see on the drive:
A WHOLE lot of nothing. No gas stations, no food stops...for HOURS, literally hundreds of miles. That was utter agony. (Especially on the way home when my strep was at it's worst and all I wanted was some Cracker Barrel mac-n-cheese.) The whole ride isn't this boring, though. We passed through thousands (yes, thousands) of wind turbines - they were super cool. I tried to capture some here:
And along the way we saw loads and loads of trains and oil refinery type things....
Littleman was remarkable. Both ways we managed to keep him DVD-free the first day and hold off
on the movies until after lunch on the second day. We did not use pull-ups on this trip and did fine, even when he slept for a couple of hours. He really is quite the little traveller.
When we arrived in AZ, the fun began. We celebrated Littleman's 3rd birthday with an entire day in the pool and presents all day long. Here are some of the highlights:
Bill and I made this awesome cake "scene" for Littleman who had asked for "a blue cake" for his birthday. (It's on a glass cutting board.)
There's the little guy jumping off a rock into the deep end! (I'll post a video later this week, he's pretty amazing in the pool.) And to your right you'll see Papabear and my dad.
My dad and KBC gave Littleman this HUGE inflatable fire station. Littlemand FLIPPED! They also did an amazing job of making Littleman's day super special. I know he loved it and I am so glad we were able to all be together to celebrate my little boy.
After some quality time with the family, Papabear, Littleman, and I headed two hours north to camp in Sedona and explore. The red rocks are AMAZING. Flagstaff was probably one of the coolest little towns I have ever visited. And now for the truth about camping with a three year old. DIRT. DIRT. DIRT. OMG, there was DIRT in every crevice of that boy. It was fun, though, as you'll see from the pictures below. He loved looking for fire wood, roasting marshmallows, and getting cozy in the tent. We didn't do too much hiking, but we explored quite a bit. By the end of the second evening, he was crying for home. Luckily, we were only camping for two nights. By that second morning, though, I woke up with a terrible sore throat, the worst I'd ever felt in my life (which, after a visit to a CVS minute-clinic, turned out to be strep). We also enjoyed a two hour "Pink Jeep Tour" through the national forest - it was AMAZING. The pictures of us with the amazing backgrounds were taken on that tour.
Yes, the boy has an uncanny knack for locating my boobs...he gets it from his dad...what can I say? Like father like son!
Inside the tent was pretty cozy.
Here come the Pink Jeep pictures....
Yes, I strapped a carseat into a jacked up jeep and took my three year old down this 45 degree incline! Littleman actually SLEPT through this part! He enjoyed the other big bumpy parts, though.
It was pretty windy...apparently tasty wind...but then again, everything is tasty to Littleman.
So after our fun camping trip, we headed back to my dad's house for more adventures. Despite my feeling like total crap, we spent the day out on my dad's boat with the family. I insisted. I didn't want Littleman to miss this fun day with his grandpa...not to mention, I think Papabear had a pretty good time - he even tried knee-boarding! Here are some highlights from that fun day.
This photo was taken just after my dad said, "PIN IT!" And Liam pushed the throttle all the way down - we were cruising!
To sum up, we had an amazing time. My family out in Arizona is as awesome as their sunny, no humidity, perfect days. We ate, we drank, and even with strep throat, had a fantastic time. Well, I am struggling to keep my head up at the moment and I need to take a little rest. Hope you enjoyed this little recap of our adventures. Stay tuned for the exciting and most-anticipated, "The week with my mom" post, coming soon...in about 6 days....
All of those pictures are so awesome! Thanks for posting the update even though you are so sick... Hope you feel better soon...
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