Valley of the Sun

Our trip is over. The temperature has dropped. But, all is not lost. What we have is 6 days of memories that will last us many years to come.

(you may want to grab a drink and a snack . . . this post might get lengthy)

Wednesday:

Our alarm clock buzzed at approximately 3:15am . . . what an un-godly hour. But on this day, we got up willingly because we were all so excited to get on our way. The van was packed. The little girls slept in their plane clothes. So basically, we brushed our teeth, packed up our last minute items, and we were off to the airport.

I was quite nervous, because we had never flown as a five-some. How were we going to get through the airport, through security, and board the plane with 2 parents, 1 pre-teen, 1 five-year-old, 1 wanna-be-independent toddler, 1 giant suitcase that needed to be checked, and 8 pieces of carry-on luggage? . . . very slowly and carefully :) Good thing we weren't running late!

Jocie loves planes and flying, so we weren't worried about her. But this was Ella and Claire's first flight . . . Ella can tend to be anxious about new (and somewhat scary) experiences and lord knows what Claire was going to think! All we could do is make light of the whole subject and hope like heck that this would not be a flight from Hell!

I tried to be as prepared as possible. In mine and Ella's carry-on was: 2 different types of gum, a whole box of fruit snacks, teddy grahams, ritz cheese crackers, cookies, a sippy cup full of water, bottled water, a V-reader with two separate games, 2 notebooks with pens, a magna-doodle, an ipod with child-appropriate music, a DVD player with a CD case full of movies and two ear phone sets (which Claire later broke), 6 books for each of the little girls, 4 diapers with wipes, both Claire and Ella's blankets, 2 passies, and a large dose of Valium for me (just kidding on the last one, but sheesh! what we mothers have to go through to get a damn vacation!!)

I wouldn't say our flight was pleasant, but it sure as hell could have been a lot worse. Jocie was excited and happy the entire trip (ps - - all she needed was her ipod touch to keep her busy . . . ), Ella did well except that she got "bored" about 2/3 of the way and also had some ear pain on the landing (even after chewing gum, sipping juice, and yawning). And Claire - - well she didn't want to sit. But who could blame her. Sitting for 2 1/2 hours when your a busy toddler? . . . please! I want to punch all flight attendants who think this is possible. If she was standing, she was pretty happy. If she was sitting - - not happy. And, for some reason, sitting with daddy was not an option.

But guess what . . .we got there, and we got there with all of our children and luggage in tow, and we got their at 9:35am! We had made it, and it felt good. You know what else felt good? The Arizona SUN!! :) My dad and Barb were right outside our baggage claim with their mini-van ready to whisk us off to their home-away-from-home.

After taking a tour of their beautiful new house, we threw on our summer attire and headed off to the park and then on to the pool. We were happy to see they had a little park just three doors down from their house, and a pool right inside their development.

After dinner, Carl and my dad headed off to Carl's cousin Joel's new house and then onto to pick up my brother John from the airport. By the time they got home, I was passed out cold on the couch, and hardly remember greeting John before I stumbled to bed.


Thursday:



I woke up before dawn (thanks, Claire) and had some much needed coffee. After everyone woke up, my dad threw together a big pancake breakfast while Barb whipped up a batch of freshly squeezed orange juice (from local fruit, of course).



We then got ready for a big hike at the San Tan Mountain Regional Park just 5 minutes down the road. When my dad told me there was a hiking place near his house, I really wasn't expecting much. I can't tell you how awesome it was - but I can show you.

(Ella, John and Jocie led the way)

(they not only led, they also didn't stop until they got to the tippy-top)


I was amazed with the views and loved getting out for a real hike again. It hasn't happened since we lived in Colorado, and I had forgotten how much I loved it. I wish I could do this everyday - - my mind would be a whole lot clearer, my lungs would be a whole lot stronger, and my ass would be a whole lot tighter.



After the hike, we cooled down in the pool. Thank goodness dad and Barb bought a place in a development that has 3 pools!



Friday and Saturday:



Since we enjoyed the hike so much the day before, Carl and I decided to go on another one (same place, different trails).

Then later on that evening, Carl's cousin Tamas invited us to go up to Jerome, AZ with his girlfriend LeAnn. Jerome is a small ex-mining town that was built into the side of a mountain. It was a booming little town that was known for it's copper mines. After the mines went dry, the town was deserted and turned into a ghost town. After about 20 years of abandonment, a group of hippies inhabited it and brought it back to life. It is now a tourist attraction full of bed and breakfasts, boutiques, bars, restaurants, and gift shops. It's main claim-to-fame is that it is haunted by the spirits of the past mining town. The biggest hotel in town was the old hospital and asylum, and the most famous restaurant is called The Haunted Hamburger.



The "hotel" we stayed in was called the Mile High Grill and Inn. It had 8 little rooms, each with it's own theme. Our room was called "Lariat and Lace" and was decorated in an "old west" sort of way. While they say everything is haunted in Jerome, our room wasn't the most haunted in the place (thank goodness). But, the room across the hall from us named "Bump in the Night . . . " was.




(This boutique is called the House of Joy . . . it used to be a whore house)


We had a great time listening to a band play at "Spirits Bar" and an even better time watching all the hippies dance. The next morning, we had a huge breakfast down at the bar and then headed out in the pouring rain to see what this town had to offer.



Unfortunately, because of the rain, and because we were up in the clouds, we couldn't see the view down the mountain. And even more unfortunatly, when we headed over to Sedona, we couldn't see much of the red rock structures either (which I guess is one of the best parts of AZ). The only thing we could do in Sedona was go to the church that was built into the rock. It was amazing, and I am glad I got to see it.

(beautufil rock structures covered by clouds)

The next time we are in Arizona, we will return to Jerome and to Sedona to see everything they have to offer!

Sunday:

We woke up to yet another big home-cooked breakfast, then it was off to church. Dad, Barb and John got a first hand experience to what it is like going to church with our family. Even though I had packed a big bag of stuff for the littles to do, we still had to take Claire out twice.

After a not-so-quick stop at Walmart, we headed over to Carl's Uncle Ted and Aunt Cathy's house for a BBQ. It was great to finally see their home and to be able to relax and visit. Carl loved catching up with his AZ family and had a great time shooting the shit with his long-lost cousins. Carl had not seen three of his cousins for over 14 years! I am sure you can't believe this, but I didn't bring my camera. Ted will be emailing us some shots of the cousins together, but I was so busy running after Claire and trying to make sure the things she broke stayed at a minimum (Cathy has a lot of very cool antiques that were out for little hands to grab) that I wouldn't have had much of an opportunity to use my camera anyway!

Thanks Ted and Cathy for grilling us up some authentic Mexican food and taking all of us into your home! We can't wait to do it again!

Monday:

After a morning at the park, we decided to take another (quick) road trip up through Apache Junction so we could experience Canyon Lake and Tortilla Flats. Once we got to Apache Junction, we were amazed (yet again) with scenic mountain views. We made a pit stop at Canyon Lake and then headed over to Tortilla Flats.

Tortilla Flats is a small, touristic, mountain stop where you can hike, shop, eat amazing burgers and eat yummy ice cream . . . and we did it all.






(Claire loved the new baby she got at the gift shop)




Tuesday:

Since this was departure day, we wanted to stay close home. We had another fun morning at the park, and then headed over to the pool. Some Arizona people might have thought we were crazy for swimming when it was 65 degrees. . . but for us Minnesotans, that's freakin' hot!

The trip was a blast, and we can't wait to go back. I have to say, my opinion of Arizona has changed drastically. To be honest, I never really had any longing to visit. When I thought of Arizona, I thought desert, and in my mind: desert = dry, ugly and scorching hot. I didn't think mountains. I didn't think gorgeous scenery. I didn't think hiking. I didn't think awesome sunny weather (except for the day and a half of rain). Quite frankly, it reminds me a lot of Colorado, and we all know how I feel about that state!

Thanks so much, Dad and Barb for being such gracious hosts. Thanks for cooking for us, putting up with my kids, driving us around, and for BUYING YOUR HOUSE! Now we have a great spot to come and visit! :)

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Funnies on the trip:
:) - The 10 year old kid sitting in front of us in Church barfed . . . twice (gross, but still funny)
:) - Claire couldn't stop yelling the word "butt!" on the flight down
:) - Carl walked into the (closed) sliding glass door at his uncle Ted's

views of the day

We have seen some pretty spectacular sights on this trip . . . and today was no exception.

I will let the pictures speak for themselves.








(views of Canyon Lake . . . what can be better than a mountain view . . . throw a lake in with it!)

The only thing that would have made today better is if John could have been there with us . . . his flight took him back home to Seattle at 7:00am this morning :(