California Trip pt.#2

Spring break is over and tomorrow we go back to our normal routine. This week we drove to California and spent time with friends and family. It's been fun, but I think we are all ready to get back on schedule.

This trip home was our first since moving, and it was a busy one.

We arrived in California around midnight Wednesday night. Thursday was packed tight with a breakfast brunch, play dates and a visit from my sister. Friday we spent the day at the Safari Park and in the evening I had a friend come over. Sabbath morning we went to church, then drove out to see my parents.  Sunday my husband had a few things to do while I enjoyed a quiet morning at Dadi and Dada's before packing up and driving home to Arizona.

It was good to be back. I think it was just what our family needed, time together, in a familiar place surrounded by loving family and friends.

On Friday, Dadi and Dada treated our family with a trip to the Safari Park. The weather was perfect and it was a fun day. I loved watching the kiddos play with their Grandparents. In this picture, Alara was soaking up the attention chatting away with her two favorite people. I think Lucas had already run ahead with his Daddy. The kiddos wore themselves out!

My mom and brothers joined us for part of the day. My kiddos had a blast playing with the boys. Lucas is right smack in the middle age-wise between my Mom's middle and youngest. It is fun watching the boys grow up together.

The Safari Park's annual butterfly exhibit was in full swing during our visit. I love this exhibit. Lucas was so happy that a butterfly landed on his shoulder. He stood very still for as long as possible until the butterfly flew off. Alara on the other hand did not like having butterflies land on her. When one finally did she shirked and shook it off. Ice cream seemed to help her recover from the experience. 

I loved watching these two play. After a busy day, we drove home with two tired but happy kiddos and four tired but happy adults. 

And the week isn't even over yet...

family camping adventure @ Cattail Cove

At the beginning of November, we took our first family camping trip. We camped at Cattail Cove in Arizona. It was about a five hour drive from our home to Cattail Cove, which wasn't to bad even with two kiddos and one dog stuffed in the back seat. From the beach at the rive, we could look across and see California. 

Growing up, my family rarely went camping. I think we went once with our church. We lived in a rural community, and worked at a summer camp. If any of us girls wanted to go camping all we had to do was step outside. My parents would often threaten us that if we didn't quiet down and go to sleep that my Dad would set up our tent and send outside for a night under the stars. 

Arizona is a great place for winter camping. The weather was beautiful! Warm during the day, cool (not cold) at night. And no bears! I'm terrified of camping in bear territory. The idea of using a bear box scares me...bears are destructive.   

The kiddos did well sleeping in a tent for the first time. Both were exhausted by the end of the day and fell asleep without much trouble. However, none of us slept well through the night. 

We spent our days by the beach, hiking and swimming. It was a quiet weekend. We made friends with our German neighbors and took Denny on lots of walks. 

I would highly recommend camping at Cattail Cove and could definitely see our family returning next season. 

happy birthday dadi

We spent a special day celebrating a very special Dadi at the Safari Park. The day was quite the adventure. It rained off and on and the park had a power outage. Due to the lack of power, many of the restaurants and larger animal exhibits - tigers, lions and gorillas were closed. Oh, and the bathrooms were as dark as dungeons. 

While in bathroom, an older lady was sharing with her friend how when she was a little girl they didn't have electricity in their home. Every night, she and her sisters would light kerosene lamps and or use candles. It's hard to imagine life without electricity. Not sure if I would want to.

With the cooler weather, the animals were active. We enjoyed watching the elephants splash around in the water, rhinos taking mud baths and giraffes galloping across the savanna. 

Even without the power, it was great day. Happy Birthday Dadi. We love you. 

Arizona Road Trip Day #3

It's our final day in Arizona. We spent the morning at Oak Creek Canyon at Slide Rock Park. We hiked around the park, swam in the creek and made mud pies. After lunch under a lovely apple tree, we drove to Sedona. While in Sedona we went to the Red River Crossing Park and enjoyed more swimming, walking and beautiful views. We left earlier than planed due to an incoming thunderstorm, and made the long drive home to California. 

Thanks for the memories Arizona, till next time.    

Arizona Road Trip Day #2

I had a hard time narrowing down which pictures to post. The Grand Canyon National Park was gorgeous! The weather was perfect - partially cloudy with a high of 80something and a cool breeze gently moving about. The views were stunning. The air was clean. And the wildlife was abundant.  

We started at the visitors center and hiked the Rim Trail from Mather's Point to the Village. Then after lunch we picked up the trail again and hiked up to Maricopa Point where we boarded a shuttle bus to Hermit's Rest. As much as I wanted to hike the whole trail, the kiddos were getting tired and it was getting harder and harder to push the stroller on the uneven trails. However, even from the shuttle bus we were able to enjoy the stunning views of the Grand Canyon. 

To get back to the Village from the Hermit's Rest we took the shuttle. Alara was not a happy camper. It was seven miles of pure cranky, angry, hangry, fussy baby time. She was not happy. I avoided eye contact with everyone on that bus..including the driver...and I'm certain that several of the young childless couples sitting nearby suddenly decided that maybe kids weren't such a good idea. 

Ahem. 

Once we got back to the car, both kiddos fell asleep and we were able to enjoy a quiet drive around the park. Our journey ended at the Watch Tower where we all got out and watched the start of the sunset (kids didn't want to sit still) before heading back to Flagstaff. 

Good way to end a long day.