We are back and attempting to get back into the swing of things after an awesome vacation to Arizona. Lets just say, this week has been rough and I could use a few more weeks  down in the sun and warm with no work and being with my family.

My parents had their 25th anniversary last year and this was a trip for it. So they rented the condo that we stayed at in Phoenix, Arizona.

We flew out on Monday night after work and this was our first flight with Wyatt at 15 months. I was pretty nervous, then not nervous at all, then nervous again. Made it through security except got flagged because of Wyatt’s drink which they just had to test and I forgot my kindle in my backpack ( palm to face). The first flight Wyatt was still pretty awake and the first half of the flight was just looking around and waving at people, playing games on our phone, eating snacks and sitting with mom and dad. the second half you started to get tired and a little fussy trying to fall asleep, took about 5-10 minutes of fussiness but you did finally give in and fall asleep for the rest of the flight/landing/trafficking….we were so impressed! You woke up when we got off the plane and were wide awake when we talked through the Denver airport and for our short layover. The second flight you were pretty much sleeping by the time we took off and you slept on and off that whole flight. when we had to wait a while for a gate to open and you started getting really sick of it. Overall you did amazing and your ears never bugged you once but I did like the two to one ratio so me and  your dad could take turns with you.

 

 

Dad and Mo picked us up from the airport and brought us to the condo. In the morning we went out on to our balcony which was the first of many mornings sitting there because you loved it so much(and so did mom!). Planes would be going overhead every 3-5 minutes and you just loved to watch them all day long. We went and got groceries Tuesday morning and then ate lunch at In-n-Out. Here is my reminder that the burger and shake are to die for, but skip they fries they aren’t too great. Later that afternoon we went swimming at the Posthuma’s pool that afternoon. Wyatt had a ball(and so did Kyle) they did lots of swimming, playing ball, throwing in the air and I definitely can’t wait for summer. We went home and grilled that night before heading to the cubs game.

 

 

 

 

That night we went to the Cubs spring training game. Sloan park was absolutely gorgeous for them only using it for like 6 weeks a year. Kyle almost caught a homerun ball of Addison Russell but was too nice and let the guy in front have it. The park was absolutely packed and it was a great experience.

Wednesday – in the morning Kyle, Taylor, Mitch & Mo went and hiked Camelback Mountain. They hiked around 3 miles round trip and said that it was definitely not an easy hike with a nice trail and there were a lot of tough spots. The view they saw at the top was incredible! My family went to watch the Cubs in another town so we just stayed home and relaxed at the condo. We had a relaxing day grilling, sitting in the sun, and playing games together. That night we had a little date night to Lucille’s Smokehouse Bar B Que and it was so incredibly good. it was also great just having a date night with my husband and dreaming about our future. we walked around the stores for a bit before going home and later going to Sonic for ice cream.

Thursday – we got up and moving decently early so we could be at TopGolf right away when it opened. Me and Kyle loved our experience at it in Kansas City and were so excited to go. also excited to hear that supposedly Des Moines is getting one! We got there right at nine and had a great time playing with Mo, Mitch and Dad.

That afternoon we just watched the NCAA tournament and tanned and read books, doesn’t get better than that! Then that night we all went out to eat at Ruby Tuesday’s which we had never been to and were really impressed with. Wyatt was kind of a stinker the whole time and had to be outside with either Kyle or Morgan so he could run around and so we could enjoy our food. After that we went shopping so more at the local stores before heading back to the condo.

Friday we woke up and got everything packed and had to pick up our rental vehicle at 8 AM so we could get on the road and so could my family. I was nervous about this because I had never had to reserve/rent a car before but the pick up went great. We were then off on our 24 hour roadtrip home…with a 15 month old! Wyatt really did SO well and we couldn’t complain. he fell asleep about an hour into our trip and got a good nap, when he woke up we were almost to the grand canyon. we made it to the area and stopped at a McDonald’s (the food prices were so high compared to Iowa!) it took us quite a while to get into the park and then to find parking. Once we finally did we all got out and headed on the path. The Grand Canyon was pretty amazing and something that pictures just don’t do justice for. We figured it was going to be a big hole is this desert wasteland and were very shocked that it was in the middle of a huge forest. Kyle got daring and walked out on some rocks while me and Wyatt stayed behind. We weren’t exactly well equipped and unfortunately didn’t get to spend very much time there because it was cold and Wyatt was sick of it and I didn’t want to be walking too far. I definitely think we will need to go back and make more of trip of it and go in the bottom of the canyon and do some hiking and exploring.

 

The rest of our drive after that was in wasteland/Navajo country where we saw tons of houses without electricity and probably without running water…can’t imagine!  there was still some really pretty landmarks but man it was no man’s land. We finally found our saving grace town of Blanding Utah when Wyatt was sick of the drive and we were starving and it was a cute little town that reminded us of home with nice people and a little Subway that we ate at. We then got back in our little car and Wyatt fell asleep about a half hour in and we cruised through Moab and Grand Junction and finally arrived at our hotel in Rifle, CO at 11:30.

Saturday – I woke up about 6:45 and showered and our goal was to make it out of the hotel by 8. We got all packed up, had one of the best hotel breakfasts ever, and were on our way by 8! The drive from Rifle to Denver was the most gorgeous thing I have ever seen. we saw so many ski resorts with tons of skiers, lots of tunnels and gorgeous towns, and so many mountains!! It was such an amazing view I am so glad we drove through it, though kyle said it was definitely not as easy driving all the windy roads with steep inclines/declines. We were a little bummed by Denver and thought there would be mountains everywhere and like part of the city like Phoenix, but the second you hit Denver you say goodbye to mountains and hello flat land all the way to Iowa. We hit another nice little town for Taco John’s ( I was SO sick of fast food at this point) and let Wyatt run wild for a good 15 minutes. we made it a few hours and Wyatt was getting sick of the car so we made a stop at a Casey’s and let him run some more while we got fuel for the vehicle and ourselves. We then made it all the way to Omaha and stopped for supper at Arby’s and pulled in just before Northwestern baseball team and so I ordered food while Kyle and Wyatt ran outside. we got him fed and ready for bed and he slept until we got home a little after 10. We were thankful to be home but honestly the roadtrip went SO well and I was not scarred like I thought I would be and would be willing to do it again. We had such a great vacation and it was so refreshing to get some time away from regular life!