Spring Break 2010

We are back from our week long vacation in sunny Arizona. It was a fun vacation, and nice to get away from the cold (and apparently..snow) of Utah. We split up our vacation into 3 different phases–the Grand Canyon, Robin’s house, and Scott’s house.

–At the Grand Canyon, it was indeed GRAND. I enjoyed hearing every other parent saying, “(Insert name here)! Stay away from that ledge.” “That’s too far! Come back here, now.” It just added validation to my motherly paranoia. We were a bit surprised at how cold it was. Cold and windy.

The kids got their Grand Canyon Junior Ranger Badges, and we used up several band-aids.

And we stayed at the obligatory crappy hotel (see last post) in Flagstaff. We also drove through Sedona, which we enjoyed.

–At Robin’s house, the number one attraction were the chickens.

The kids spent hours playing with, chasing, petting and holding the chickens. We even started calling Jenna “the chicken whisperer.” Sarah and Jacob were also a great source of entertainment! Sarah even prompted Natalie to dye her hair. We also went to a really fun place called Amazing Jakes.

We spent the day playing games, riding rides, laser tag, mini golf, and eating. Tons and tons of eating from the buffet. When we finally left, we were all so loaded with sugar and fat that we could hardly move. Ugh. I loved sleeping with the windows open, and hearing all the birds in the morning. Birds–so many of them. I guess Arizona is where all the birds fly to, right? And they were ALL chirping right outside Robin’s window, it seemed. Then the chickens started up. I don’t think anyone can sleep late in Arizona. Oh, and we dyed Natalie’s hair from this to this.

–At my brother’s house, the main attraction were the cousins. John and Danny were inseparable, as were Jenna and Kaylee. The kids just had a GREAT time hanging out and playing.

It made it difficult for their kids to go to school, knowing that they were missing out on valuable cousin playing time, but we left to go exploring while they went to school anyway. Two things Ryan said he really wanted to see were the Mystery Castle, which we had toured once several years ago, but wanted to take the kids, and go to Fry’s electronics. We were able to do both of those. We also went to the railroad park in Scottsdale, where the kids enjoyed riding the merry-go-round, playing in the park, going through the museum, and riding the train. We were also fascinated by the little wild bunnies that lived in the bushes there! How cute are they?

–Las Vegas. On the way home, we stopped in Las Vegas (well, Henderson), and the Holiday Inn Express was GREAT. It makes up for that other crappy hotel. Good breakfast, two tv’s in our room, and clean. And it wouldn’t be a trip to Las Vegas for us without a quick stop at the Ethel M Chocolate factory.

– and the cactus gardens.

–Overall, I think we had a great trip. It was relaxing, not rushed, we took our time and saw what we wanted to see, the weather was beautiful, and it was an adventure. We didn’t stay too long at any one place, yet didn’t spread ourselves too thin. 1600 miles and under $1000, too. 4 1/2 out of 5 stars.