Tuesday night we were running around gettting everything ready, packing as much as we could into 3 carry ons because we refused to pay to check our bags. We were prepared, I could hardly fall asleep as I mentally checked my many lists of things to pack, things to straighten around the house and wondering how tan I could really get in 2 weeks. Wednesday morning we were ALL packed so the boys and I headed to Mom to Mom and John went to work, we all got home by 11:30 and John and I literally paced the house for 30 minutes because we had EVERYTHING packed and in the car but weren't leaving until noon. We went through security and everything very smoothly, the boys ate peanut butter and jelly as we stood in line and drooled over the planes on the runways. We boarded the plane early (yeah for having little kids) and the kids were invited up by the pilots! They were able to press a few buttons and then received their wings, pretty exciting.
We flew into Chicago for our layover and spent 3 hours there. Oh, did I fail to mention that we ALL had Packers gear on? Yes, our entire family wore as much Packers apparrell as we could and received much feedback, especially in Chicago =) Okay, so we're a little proud of our team! We of course had to go to the opposite end of the airport and decided the shuttle was a hassle so we walked.
Moving Sidewalks =) I handled the kids while John handled the bags. We climbed onto a moving sidewalk and the boys thought it was pretty great. We climbed off and Jack decided that he wanted to do it again so he took off running back towards the start of the sidewalk we had just gotten off of while Devon kept moving forward to the next sidewalk. My head went in two different directions as I had to choose which child to follow. Where's John you ask? He got ahead of us and I couldn't see him. So I chased Jack and picked him up like a piece of luggage by the back of his shirt and started running back towards Devon who was now in the middle of the moving sidewalk. So I'm running along the outside carrying my child by the back of his shirt running and trying to beat the moving sidewalk to catch Devon while onlookers laugh at what is taking place. When I catch up to Devon he's holding a strangers hand and she's helping him off the moving sidewalk. She said that he fell getting onto the moving sidewalk and she helped him up and he just didn't let go of her hand. No stranger danger fear in this little boy as he continued holding the woman's hand until she took her other hand to release him. I continued to our gate where I finally found John and greeted him with, "Where the heck were you?!" and gave him a brief... okay, when am I ever brief but I quickly described our ordeal. Pretty sure next time we are in an airport everyone gets a leash, including my husband. We ate a quick bite and let the boys watch Lion King as we waited for the next plane. Devon slept most of our 3 hour flight to Phoenix while Jack rolled around between our laps.
We were pretty glad when we finally landed and were able to stretch our legs and unleash our toddler. My sisters ran to us, squeeling with delight to see their nephews. We had about an hour and 40 minute drive home so we stopped at McDonalds for chicken nuggets "for the kids" of which they each maybe took a bite and then passed out in the van as we drove. I could see the silhouttes of mountains as we drove but had no idea what we would be arriving to see. When we got to my parents house most everyone was awake and waiting for us at midnight, we got a brief tour of my parents mansion. The house they are renting is AMAZINGLY beautiful, it truly is one of the best houses I've ever seen. We crashed in my parents room and slept soundly. The next morning began 2 weeks of awesomeness. We relaxed that first day just taking in our new environment and enjoying the company. My Danish cousin Henriette was visiting from Denmark and we were able to go for a run together along the mountains. I couldn't get over how close my parents live to the mountains as we ran along them. We grilled pork chops and played cards with my brothers that night. We played a game called "Darn it"... as some would call it, it has many names actually but it has come to be a favorite of John and mines.
Friday came and we ate donuts, eggs and kielbasa and then hit the road for Old Tucson. We drove about an hour to get to Old Tucson which is where many western films were done. You really feel like your walking through an old western movie as you go through an entire town that is set up with movie scenes being played out. We got to sit in a saloon and drink frozen lemonade and watch the "Can-can girls" perform. Then we went outside to watch Billy the Kid duel a few men and thats where this picture is from as you can see Devon isn't too sure on the whole guns thing. We rode a train around the entire set, let the boys go on a pony ride and went through a haunted mine. The haunted mine was too scary for the boys so we covered their eyes and moved quickly. We got to drive old fashioned cars around a go kart track and then go on a carosel. It was alot of fun, so much to do. One of the best scenes we saw hand alot of stunts to it including a man falling backwards off a 2 story building. We then went from there to an old spanish mission. There was a beautiful white church (where a wedding was actually taking place) and hill with a cross on top. We walked up the hill and some climbed to the top to enjoy the view. We closed out our day by heading out for mexican food at Guadalahara Grille, which was some FANTASTIC food! John and my dad sure enjoyed the margaritas =) not that we all didn't have margaritas, but they especially enjoyed them.
Saturday we went frolfing or frisbee golfing but it was SO incredibley windy! It was like being in a sand storm at some moments. Henriette left that day to head home to Denmark so we said our goodbyes early afternoon. I wish Denmark wasn't so far away =( I so love our Danish family. Chicken broccoli casserole for dinner that night and another round of "Darn it!".
Sunday we raced to church having been promised AMAZING donuts and we missed them! We were able to hear my daddy preach and he gave a fantastic sermon as always. We returned home for hot ham and rolls which we had to warm ourselves because apparently the state of Arizona didn't get the memo on Hot Ham and Rolls on Sundays. We relaxed for the afternoon and then in the evening we relived a proud moment for our family. We rewatched the Superbowl, we're even nerdy enough that we all tried to talk with anticipation as if we didn't know the outcome. I made pizza bread with Rebekah and Tim. Its the easiest pizza recipe ever. Use a loaf of french or italian bread, cut it lengthwise. Use pizza sauce or spaghetti sauce, cheese and toppings of your choice and then stick it under the broiler for 4-5 minutes and BAM cheap, easy, fast, awesome pizza. The Packers won again =)
Monday I started reading a book that my Mom recommended called "Heaven is for real", if you haven't read this book stop reading my blog and go get the book. It is a fantastic book which really affected my outlook on heaven. I devoured the book in one day, so seriously stop reading my blog and go get the book! I laid out in the sun for 2 hours reading and got sunburnt, I was just glad to be a color other than pastey. Then in the afternoon we went frolfing again with my brothers. My mom made fetucchini alfredo with chicken and spinach for dinner which is always a family favorite, fantastic recipe of my mother's. Have you noticed I tell you everyday what we ate for dinner? I like food...
Tuesday I lay out in the sun again and started reading another book called "House Rules" by Jodi Picoult which was over 500 pages so I couldn't quite devour it in a day, although I wanted to. If you haven't read this book, I highly, very highly recommend it too. Who knew I read so much?! Maybe I'll start using bigger words and sound smarter. Stay tuned to see what happens =) I lay outside reading for another 2 hours and then in the afternoon my brothers Justin and Charles, John and I went hiking to Romero Pools.
I started the hike feeling all energetic, I'm a runner and the boys teased me for wanting to run up the hill. They were smart to be pacing themselves. Hiking is very different from just running, different muscles are involved of which I can describe to you which ones by how those muscles were sore by the time we finished our hike. Roundtrip we hiked 5.5 miles and the pools were well worth the hike! It was beautiful, a series of pools that feed into eachother nestled up in the cavern of some mountains. The views were fantastic. Charles slid and got a boo boo and me being the "mommy" had a first aid kit =) BUT I'm also a baby when it comes to blood. So I handed him gauze and a band aid and squeeled at all the blood. I'm no nurse for a reason. We made our way down as the sun was setting and got to see how Tucson is surrounded by mountains, its truly amazing how in every direction you look there are mountains, and they are all a little different. We made it home and then John grilled Tbone steaks, it was great to feel like I earned my steak with that hike. The meat was a great price at $5 a pound so John bought plenty of steak! We wanted to grill as much as we could before returning home where we won't see our grill until April... maybe May.
Wednesday Theresa and Rebekah stayed home from school and spent time with us. Rebekah and I laid out by the pool for a few hours reading and then walked to Walmart to buy stuff to do tye dye! If you don't know this about me already, I have a weakness for tye dye, I'm still a 10 year old girl at heart. The boys went frolfing in the afternoon and then we did tuna melts for dinner. I love me some pickles, cheese and tuna =)
That was our first week in Arizona, its so fun to relive and try to remember each day. We had such a great time so very relaxing but also lots of adventure. Stay tuned for the second half of our trip. If you made it to the end of this posting, give yourself a pat on the back for having such an attention span =) This is a long post!
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