Sedona

The weekend after we went to the beach Josh and I were lucky enough to be able to spend the weekend in Sedona sans kids . . . you read that correctly . . . we were ALONE. Well not necessarily alone since we were there to attend a wedding and were surrounded by good friends, but we were not responsible for anyone other than ourselves for 48 hours! Josh was asked to be one of the Groomsmen in his friend Ryan's wedding which they held at a vineyard south of Sedona so we were also included in the rehearsal dinner festivities on Friday night.

View from our hotel room patio

On Saturday after a very yummy breakfast - which we did not prepare and were able to eat at the same time with no one demanding anything - we decided to take a drive through Oak Creek Canyon and then got even more adventurous and went off road! If you have been following along you read about "The Trip" and know we have our Jeep back which we had with us in Sedona. We drove over Schnebly Hills Road which dropped us right back into Sedona just in time to get ready for the afternoon wedding.

"Bear Head" - taken on our off road adventure

It was a beautiful weekend and I was very thankful for the opportunity to spend that kind of quality time with my best friend. The Bride actually thanked me for making the trek up there and I told her the thanks was all mine!

The Beach

At the end of September we took at little jaunt to Mexico to introduce the kids to the beach and ocean. It was well received! Rocky Point is only about 4 hours away and the drive - although boring - was very easy. Crossing the border was simple in both directions and we made it there and back without incident. We went with our good friends - the Bounds - who have been down to the seaside town several times and knew the lay of the land. We rented a house from a nice Arizona couple from whom the Bounds had rented before and they actually lived in the beach house next door. The house was a perfect size for our two families and was right on the beach so we were able to enjoy the view and easy access that we needed especially with a "napper" in each family.

The best part of this particular beach was the exceptionally low tides! Each morning when we awoke the water was already slowly receding and the wonderful sand bars and natural streams and pools that were created were the perfect playgrounds for all of us. Beautiful shells were there for the picking as well as crabs! The boys loved digging and the girls loved splashing and you could find your perfect depth of water for swimming or sitting or floating. The evening low tide was also a lot of fun and we spent some time exploring with flashlights as well. Jer brought a paddle board and he spent a lot of time paddling himself as well as each small passenger who was interested. I think we would all agree that his biggest fan was Pickle, by far. She is the small figure you see on the board with Jer in the picture.

The sand was actually fairly steep so at high tide there was a pretty abrupt drop that made floating and swimming a little rough especially on our second day when the waves were coming in pretty strong. This did not deter the bigger boys as they rarely left the water or water's edge for the whole 3 days we were there.

Going to the Ballet

Thursday night I took Pickle to see the Arizona Ballet perform Cinderella. For many reasons this was a big deal the least of which is the fact that the show did not start until 7:00pm which is usually when she is already in bed. Our tickets were complimentary from a very nice Junior League Sustainer so day and times were not of my choosing, but I was not going to pass up this wonderful opportunity. Pickle started taking a ballet and tap class last summer so her interest in dance is piqued and of course she is infatuated with anything “princess” related.

My biggest decision was what to have her wear. We are not the “formal” dress kind of girls but I wanted her to be dressed up for the occasion. Dressing up is easy until we get to her shoe choices . . . Crocs and flip-flops were not going to work but I found these adorable flats at The Gap last weekend which happened to match the cute coat she’s had in her closet for many years. I found the coat at Target on clearance several years ago and bought it on spec for future use . . . it’s a 5T but I knew it would come in handy one day. Overall I thought she was perfectly dressed and looked so grown up!

 Cathy and I took her out to dinner downtown before the show and she was just a bundle of energy. She really only sat still once dessert was served. Pickle can be a really sweet little girl when she is the only child involved in the outing and is not competing with others for your attention.

The Ballet started slowly and it had a hard time holding her attention (to be honest it didn’t really hold my attention either), but it soon picked up with beautiful costumes and more continuous dancing. Overall it was a beautiful performance and I think she really enjoyed it. I was amazed that she knew so many ballet steps and would comment on what they were doing. She made it nearly to the end but fell asleep about halfway through the 3^rd Act.

Mickey

Mickey has been a part of our family since the Boy was somewhere in his 3^rd year. Although Mickey had been one of many stuffed animals he had received in his early years, it took a while for the attachment to grow and ultimately he became the favorite . . . the one that is at the Boy's side all the time. When I was pregnant with Pickle Mickey became his “Brudder” and another one of the children.

His attachment to Mickey has been and continues to be so strong that JP and I are always careful to keep an eye out for the Mouse making sure he stays at home when we leave or doesn’t get manhandled by one (or both) of the girls. We have always been fearful something would happen to Mick and we would be left with a screaming toddler (or now a sulking 7 year old) at bedtime.

There was one instance several years ago where we got to the dinner table on a Sunday evening and the Boy suddenly remembered he had left Mickey at the library. I called and found out that yes, a Mickey Mouse had been found in the kids’ area but they were closing soon so I could pick it up the next day. HELLO? Are you MAD lady? I want to get some sleep tonight! I ran out of the house and drove well over the speed limit to get there before they locked me out and Mickey in . . . the result was positive but I can still remember that tangible fear.

At least 2 nights out of seven the three of us end of up searching for Mickey who has been left behind in a random place (wheelbarrow outside is the most memorable – always fun to see JP put the headlamp on for searching). There have been only a few nights that I can recall where he went to bed without Mickey and JP or I would find him and put him to bed with the sleeping boy, but never has he been missing for longer than a few hours.

Which brings us to a very rough Tuesday night a few weeks ago when Mouse could not be found and he went to bed with promises that Mommy & Daddy would find Mickey and bring him to bed. We did not find him. Nor was he found the next morning or all day and another frantic search began at bedtime Wednesday night. This time he was not so easily assuaged into bed. There were lots of moaning and many tears. At one point the Boy asked Josh if this was a practical joke . . . that was when JP’s heart really broke. I think Dad was taking it harder than the Boy.

Over the tense 36 hours we looked in every drawer and cabinet– multiple times – and under beds and beneath covers. I promise no stone was unturned or possibility not considered but the Mouse could not be found. JP even donned rubber gloves and dug through the trash, he tore open a tied up bag of diapers, and he looked in the alley dumpsters. We emptied every laundry basket, bin of stuffed animals, and Lego container but the Mouse was not to be found.

Finally on that Thursday morning I stood in the middle of the Boy’s room and looked around, casually picked up a small cardboard cube, shook it, and opened  it to find this

Pure joy on the Boy’s face when he came home from school that day!

Mugshots

No really! how is it that Christi's looks almost good and the rest of us look like we are in the county lockup? These are in fact our passport photos. The entire experience of getting a passport was an ordeal. I got sent home 2 times to retake my picture before I got one accepted. To get New Kid to even take a picture in front of the screen while looking at the camera was nearly impossible. The first set of photos for her were rejected and she obviously didn't take it well as is evident by her crying in the accepted photo.  

Learning Resourcefulness

It must be pretty tough standing around to play with toys. When you are all of 16 months and 22 pounds nothing is more difficult than dragging your tired carcass over to your noise maker to get the fun on. Enter the school bus. Not only can it get you to the toy but it can double as a seat when you just can't stand anymore.

The Trip

I have many fond memories of road trips with my entire family but some of the most fond were just me and my dad. Since The Boy was born I have looked longingly to a day when he and I could take trips together. We had a brief jaunt by ourselves last June when I took him up to camp but he was so excited to be heading off to camp and it was such a short trip that it didn't amount to much. This past weekend we went on a little bigger trip.

We loaded up Goldie and headed east to run into my Brother-in-Law who was driving my jeep west. More on that debacle later. The boy and I made great time on our journey and had a ton of fun. There was little to no complaining from him about how long it was taking and never a question of "are we there yet?" The only time there was a hint of whine in his voice was when I told him he couldn't poop for another 20 miles!

My only regret is the trip went too fast. We didn't stop to take any pictures or explore anything. Although we were in the respective cars for close to 23 hours it really didn't seem like a very long time. He was never bored as he had activity books to do and he read the Fudge series of books by Judy Blume. I don't know if he read the entire series but he devoured the four books he brought on the trip and then reread them again. After he read he took a nap in one of the most uncomfortable positions I have ever seen. He slept this way for 2 hours.

In short we had a great time. I hope that he remembers it fondly as we get to take more trips.