Spring Break

Long time, no post!  Sorry about that.  I'm finding that 1) there are not many news worthy things going on and 2) my creative writing has other outlets at the moment--facebook (it was inevitable, right fb friends?) and the Mom and Loving It blog.  Have you checked it out lately?  But this week I have a couple of things to share.  We'll see if I actually get them done!

We had talked about going somewhere for spring break, but we didn't decide on anything.  Until about 3 weeks before hand, we decided to go to Arizona!  I had been through there on my trip with my grandparents when I was younger and I was excited to show my kids the Grand Canyon and Painted Desert/Petrified Forest.  And a certain favorite baseball team has their spring training facility out there!  So we planned our route and itenerary, booked hotels, bought tickets, and we were off!  (I usually say, "We are off like a herd of turtles!"  But SweetTate has added his own twist..."We're off like monster turtles!")

Part of our itenerary was planned time at the hotel for the kids to swim.  Problem...the hotel that we had planned the most time to do that in their indoor pool, the pool was being painted.  SNAP!  But when we arrived in Phoenix it was warm enough outside that we could use their outdoor pool.  Perfect!  We were at the hotel for 2.5 minutes and the kids already had their suits on and waiting on us to go.  Oh.My.Word. That water was so cold!  I can not describe it!  Yes, I can say that from experience because I jumped in the take-your-breath-away icy waters.  We seriously wondered if it qualified us for the polar bear club, but we didn't think they had sign ups for that in Phoenix.  The kids loved it, and life is good.

 Her lips turned a few more shades of blue before we decided it was time to get out!

Our first adventure was the Rangers game. 

A friend who had been there a few weeks before said they would sign autographs before and after the game, so that was our main souvenir objective.  Each of the kids had a ball, I had  my scorebook, we all had sharpies--we were ready!  We waited...and waited....no one was signing before the game.  Snap!  So we went to our seats that were amazing!  Right behind the Rangers dugout!  And had a delicious ballpark hotdog!  Yum!  I think they are better than the ones in Arlington.  We enjoyed the game.

Josh Hamilton hit a home run, Neftali Feliz had a good start pitching, and the Rangers won!  And we actually saw most of the game!  It wasn't so stinking hot that we were drinking so much to stay cool which brings potty breaks every inning with kids!  By the end of the game, most of the star players had already left and signed autographs as they left, and where our seats were, amazing as they were, we were not in the right place.  But after the game, David Murphy stood at the corner of the dugout signing.  SweetBoy grabbed his ball and went to get his signature.  I really didn't think he would because there was such a crowd. 

Before I could really hope that he got one, SweetBoy was back beaming showing us his signed baseball!

Awesome!  Then SweetDoll and SweetTate took off, and they got their baseballs signed also!  I seriously need to send David Murphy a thank you for totally making our day!  And yes, he is our favorite player now!  (I'm reading over this and noticed how many !!! I have used.  Sorry, but if I were talking to you in person, I would be that excited.  We had a great day!)

The next day was a full day at the Grand Canyon.  SweetHeart had been there before too and what he remembered was watching the IMAX film.  We found that and really enjoyed the views it showed.  (And it was much cheaper than the helicopter ride to get that loose your stomach feeling as you plunge over the side!)  Then we made it to the Canyon.  The vast, majestic views were beautiful, and it was amazing how it looked a little different through the day as the sun went down. 

I wanted to stay for the sunset, so we took a picnic supper to eat at just the right spot to watch it.  One of the highlights of the day happened as we sat there.  Earlier in the day we went to a Park Ranger presentation on the big birds of the Canyon.  We learned about four different birds and how to recognize them.  We saw lots of ravens, and then we saw one of the rare ones--a California Condor soared above us!  They are terribly ugly vulture-type when they are sitting, but in flight, they are very graceful and beautiful!  I am so glad we planned a time to sit and enjoy or we would have missed that.  The sunset was not that different than ones we have here, but I don't often sit down and enjoy one so it was special.

As we made our way back this direction, we planned to stop and see the Painted Desert and Petrified Forest.  It is amazing to me that there is something so different and interesting just off the highway, but you have to get off the highway to see it!  We walked around the Crystal Forest and marveled at how these huge trees used to live in this place that doesn't have a tree in sight now!  And what makes the hillsides purple? 

It is one of those places that makes me think that my God is so creative!  The kids did the Junior Park Ranger program and were sworn in.  That was a highlight for them.

In our travels, we noticed several things that looked like they were the inspiration for the Disney movie Cars.  These sandstone formations look like the car profiles they had in their hills.

Then on the way to the Painted Desert, we drove through Holbrook and saw Sally's Cozy Cone!

When we stopped for lunch the lady there told us they have a tow truck parked there that people stop and take pictures with.  We drove back by and it was Mater!  We just had to stop!  That was too fun!

We had so much fun and enjoyed our time together.  I realized that our kids are at really good ages to do stuff like this.  And I'm so glad we are at a place where we can.