Things have been crazy since returning home from vacation. Michael is already gone again to another school in Arkansas and we are getting back in the swing of things with school and church activities. I think the tumbleweed in the front grill and the Oklahoma red clay is finally off the car, so I better update the blog on our vacation before it never happens!
We spent the first two weeks of October on vacation. This is the longest we have ever vacationed and definitely since having kids. Our mini vacation to TN was our trial run to see how the kids would do in the car. We drove over 4,000 miles and spent about 60 hours in the car. Disaster? Not at all! Surprisingly, everyone did really well. I mean, it's actually quite shocking how well it went. Of course at times the kids got antsy, but overall they did great!
We went out for dinner at Joe's Crab Shack to kick off the vacation. A splurge for sure, but also doubled as a late birthday treat for me (I love me some seafood!)! Then we hit the road. We planned to drive through the night the first night so we could get some good distance in on the first stretch. I remember passing through St. Louis and barely seeing the arch in lights before my eyes shut and I was out. Michael stopped around 3am to get a few hours of sleep and then we hit the road again in the morning. We stopped that afternoon for lunch in Elk City, OK and went to a playground so the kids could run out some energy. We hit Amarillo, TX by late afternoon and settled into the hotel.
I will say this, the kids LOVED staying in hotels. The elevators, the pool, the breakfast downstairs in the morning, all sleeping in one room. I must admit, I liked all that too. :)
We stayed the weekend in TX so we could visit Dad and Linda. It was nice to see my uncles and aunts that I haven't seen in forever too. We went to Palo Duro Canyon, which is the second largest canyon in the US. It does not compare in size but I liked that we could drive right down into it and get out and explore a little. We made a stop and climbed up into a cave. Michael was more daring than I; it just made me so nervous to be around the edges with the kids. We had perfect weather and it was just a beautiful place. At certain points driving through the creeks flow across the roads. We were crossing over such a place when a truck came splashing through completely soaking the entire inside of the van. Maddie got it the worst as waves of water flooded her face. It was terrible. The worst part was that a bunch of young kids were riding in the back hooting and hollering that they completely soaked us. But we cleaned it up and the van dried out and the fun we had at the canyon passed up the little splashing set back.
Our time in TX was great. We had really good time visiting and dining and just spending time at Dad and Linda's, eating Dad's cheesy scrambled eggs and making fall wreaths. On Sunday we visited their church and were able to be there as Linda became a member. It was very much a country cowboy church and I loved it! It was exactly what I was hoping for in visiting a church in TX. We went to dinner at Gatti's and had pizza buffet and afterwards the kids played in the arcade. We decided to do the next stretch in the trip at night again, so after dinner we headed out.
We made a short stop at Cadillac Ranch (just had to see all those cars stuck in the ground!) and were on our way. I woke up just as we were entering Albuquerque, NM. It is probably the most beautiful city I have ever seen lit up at night. When we saw signs for the Grand Canyon we discussed going. We were so close and when would we have this opportunity again? So we decided to make a slight detour and head north to the Grand Canyon. Completely worth it. So beautiful and amazing. There are buses that charter visitors around to different lookout points so you don't have to do much walking if you don't want. We visited several check points before heading back. Of course I was a nervous wreck the entire time, but without guard rails or fences in many of the areas, I think it's completely understandable. :) The wildlife there are very used to the tourists and stand right next to the roads and walkways so we were able to see some deer up close. Just beautiful and such an amazing place.
And then it was on to Arizona. We stayed with my Grandma for the week. I just loved staying with my Grandma. It takes me right back to my childhood. It was so special to see her with my kids (and even see my kids play with some of the same toys I played with); to watch her play with them, feed them, spoil them, etc. the way only Grandma can do best. They absolutely loved it there. We all did. We also went swimming at the community pool (which Maddie was finally brave enough to swim around the pool with the noodle and now can go anywhere!). We visited my mom at her new house and the kids went swimming at her community pool. Let me just say how nice it was to be swimming in the pool in October. We went with my aunt Dawn and her kids, Sarah and Andrew, to the Phoenix Science Center one afternoon. The place was great. The kids had so much fun playing and exploring. We climbed up to the Hole in the Rock, which gave a great view of the city. We played at the playground. My uncle Nicky and aunt Chris and family and my mom came over for dinner on Friday. Nate and Maddie took instantly to Nichlas and Hannah and they played all night. We visited uncle Lee's and Mom's church Saturday night. It was my first time going to a mega church. It was huge. But the worship was amazing-felt like going to a concert, and the sermon was very good. Afterwards we met up with my cousin, Michael, and went out to eat at In and Out. The week ended too soon and Sunday we were on our way back home.
We stopped the first night in Albuquerque and the next morning when loading up the car we saw hot air balloons in the sky. We made a pit stop in Amarillo and had lunch with Dad and Linda, and then the second night we stayed in Oklahoma. By the third day we were ready to be home and so close that we didn't want to stop so instead of staying in a hotel another night we decided to just keep driving through until we got home (which ended up being very early the next morning). The trip home was fun. The kids did great again and I think liked the adventure.
So it's good to be home (we missed Sammy), but we still miss the warmth of the south and the embraces of family.
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