A Sedona Sister Trip

I was blessed to be able to spend the weekend with my little sister Heather. She lives in Scottsdale and is super busy with work and school. I am so proud of her, working hard to get her bachelor's from Arizona State. She only has two classes left and then she will be done! Hooray for Heather! However, with all of this stuff she is doing, it is hard for her to get away. So she asked me if I would come to her and spend the weekend. Uh...heck yeah!

I got there on Thursday, July 10. She picked me up at the airport and then we headed to dinner at Barrios, a neat, semi-fancy Mexican place in Phoenix. 

Then on Friday we hit the road and headed up to Prescott. We did lots of window shopping and made her commune with nature and took her on a short hike just out of the city. We also went to see Maleficent at the movie theater. I haven't been to a movie in eons, so it was nice to do something different.

On Saturday we drove the back way to Sedona. The road was really windy and by the time we got to Jerome we were both ready to get the heck out of the car and get some fresh air. Jerome is a town slapped to the side of mountain. It reminds me a lot of Virginia City.

Sedona is breath-taking. We originally tried to go to Slide Rock, but the park was closed because of the wild fire in the area, which had caused the water to get contaminated with E. Coli. Therefore, we went to the Holy Cross Chapel east of town. It is a historic landmark and has amazing views of the different buttes in the area.

After that we attempted a hike, but it was hot, hot, hot. We only walked about a 1/2 mile and then retreated to our hotel. The Orchards was right in the thick of all the shops and restaurants. We did some more shopping and then relaxed at the hotel. But as evening came, it was time to get out and do something again.

I talked her into another hike. This one was a lot longer, to Devil's Bridge. It was a four mile excursion to a free standing rock bridge. We started at about 6 pm. And as we were getting near the bridge, the rain came.

It really started to pour. Heather was not too happy about that, but I was reveling in the moisture...and this double rainbow!!

We were able to find shelter in a rock depression. Heather was a lot happier once the rain was pounding her. Another sister couple stayed under the shelter with them. That was neat to be able to meet someone new.  Finally, the rain stopped and we reached our destination at Devil's Bridge. On the way back it started to get dark quickly. I started to get concerned and really tried to pick up the pace to get back to the main road/trail. Heather didn't like the rain and I do not like to get lost. And getting lost in a wilderness was especially unappealing to me. We probably ran about a mile to get back to the main thoroughfare.

After our evening hike, we ate at another Mexican restaurant. We were kind of chilly because we were wet and the rain had really cooled down the entire city. It was nice and very unexpected.  Then Heather splurged on a whole lot of fudge. Curse you, Heather!!!

We drove back to her place on Sunday. On the way, we stopped at Montezuma's Castle National Monument. It was a pleasant surprise. Plus, I could get us in free with my National Park Pass.

We had a lazy Sunday afternoon, eating Chinese food, watching the World Cup, and way too many episodes of the Real Housewives. It was nice to spend time with Heather and make some memories together. I look forward to many more trips together. Maybe next time, our other sisters can join us. It would be even more fun.

Tucson

This has been a week full of surprises. I decided at the last minute to drive down to Tucson for a family dinner. It is a long way to Tucson.  I broke the drive up into two days, staying the first night in Redlands, California.  The first day went well, and we made it down south fairly easily.

Then the kids and I hit the road again on Friday, pulling into Tucson in the afternoon. We met my mom and siblings at Funtasticks, and the kids were able to run around and do something that did not involve a minivan.  It was lots of fun: go-karts, carnival rides, and skeeball. 

After that, we all headed over to our hotel, the JW Marriott. It is a super fancy 5 star hotel, tucked up into beautiful saguaro hills to the west of town. It has been pretty darn cold down here, but everyone went swimming that evening.  The pool was heated so it could not be passed up, except by me.  I left the swimming to Jamie, Leah, Mike, Cody, and my kids. I took the pictures.

When it was time for everyone to leave and for the kiddos to go to sleep, Catye decided at the last minute to stay at the hotel with Heather and me.  I thought that was a bit strange, but I was deliriously tired and was like, whatever!  So the three of us sat in the hallway waiting for the kids to all fall asleep.  We were talking and playing games on our phones.  And the two of the them had some kind of joke between them. They kept twittering with each other and I was ignoring them.  But when I looked down the hallway and saw Rinar walking towards me, my jaw just about dropped to the floor.  My rascally husband flew down to be with us for the weekend.  He still has to work, but just came for the dinner so that we could all be there. Catye was really sticking around to drive back to my parents house with Heather.

But boy, was I surprised!!

And the surprises just kept on rolling in.

We got to the church on Saturday around lunch for our get-together. Rinar and I pulled into the parking lot and looked over at Christi's car, and I'll be gosh darned.  I could not believe who was in the front seat: Grandma Wilma!  What!?! Christi had flown her in from St. George so that she wouldn't miss the dinner either.  It was pretty darn cool.

This is everyone in our family.  I can't even remember the last time we were all together. It has been ages. We had to get a family picture.

And all the women...

This is Christi's Mya. What a cutie.

Christi and Thomas brought a pinata, and the kids had a lot of fun whacking at the thing. We also played a riveting game of Duck Duck Goose and Curses. Leah's family was in town, and they all came to the dinner, as well as Leah's brother Roy's in-laws. Whew, that can get confusing.  But they all came and feasted on Mexican food, joining in on the celebration. The more the merrier.

We went back to the hotel for a second round of swimming, this time with Thomas and his kids.

It was much better to swim while there was still some daylight. It was not nearly as freezing cold as it was the night before. 

Today, my parents and siblings came back to the hotel to hang out and we also were able to get a few more pictures with the beautiful scenery. Julia was really happy to see Grandpa.

We went to church with mom and then hung out at their house for a little while.  Rinar headed back to the airport and I headed up to Scottsdale. 

After all, I have a long drive back!

Tough Mudder Phoenix

Warning: This blog may contain several rants.  You have been warned.

Rinar decided to do the Tough Mudder in Phoenix this last weekend. His brother Nordel joined him, in addition to other Fidelity guys from the west that Rinar has worked with over the years.  We decided to make it a weekend getaway.  

We flew in on Friday and went to the Mesa Temple in the morning. Then we met up with Nordel and Brooke, and my sister Heather, who lives in Scottsdale.  We ate dinner across the street from the Suns stadium and then went to the NBA game. The Phoenix Suns were playing the New Jersey Nets.

My animosity of the NBA has been cemented after this game. First of all, the game was totally lame.  It was like NBA D League.  Our tickets were ridiculously expensive, and probably some of the worst in the entire stadium.  There were people constantly in front of the court, so that 30-40% of our view was obscured.  This included the usher and this cameraman.

I mean, look at this view. The cameraman and producer stood there for about 5 minutes of the game. Yes, this was my view.  Awesome, right?  But don't worry. It was, like, totally worth it.  Our section won t-shirts, as long as we stood up and danced around like a bunch of buffoons.  I didn't, but I still got a t-shirt somehow.  Do you know what it said?  "We Want Tacos"

I thought it would be a Phoenix Suns shirt.

Then I decided to model it for our section just like the cameraman would.

Cool, huh?  And the usher actually told me to move.  It is good to see he is so concerned about it.  Do you think he said anything to the cameraman?

The next day was race day. It was on the outskirts of the Phoenix area in Mesa, at some desolate proving grounds.  Nothing was out there, including roads to actually get you to the event. Rinar's wave went at 9:20. We got to the freeway exit at about the same time and sat there for, like, EVER!  I also found out that parking cost $10.  Yes, you had to pay to park in an abandoned, gravel mosh pit, in which you still had to walk a considerable distance to the entrance.  We didn't even make it to the parking lot. We parked outside and then walked in. (At least I didn't pay for parking.) 

Then we had to pick up our tickets.  Tickets? What? You need tickets?

Yes, correct. In order to be a spectator, prepaid tickets cost $20 (plus fees).  If you pay the day of, it is only $40.  Luckily, we prepaid, so we would be able to pick up our tickets, no problem.

Oh wait...yes...wait, and wait, and wait. We waited and extra 20 minutes to pick up those prepaid tickets. 

Finally! We were at the race. But Rinar and Nordel had been out there for one and a half hours.  The course s only 12 miles long.  So Brooke, Heather, and I walked and walked and walked.  

Could not find them anywhere.  Heather had to leave to go back to work.  

I watched these people go over this wall. I thought I should get a picture of something.  You know...$20 (plus fees) and all.

After Heather left, Brooke and I walked to the end of the course and watched these people go over this wall.  We sat on a comfortable piece of dirt and gravel for about 10-15 minutes.

Then my phone rang.  "Hi, I am calling for Rinar. He is at the finish line. They just finished the race."

Hmmm....how did I feel about this; totally and completely pissed, angry, sad, disappointed and absolutely furious at Tough Mudder, the biggest rip off on planet earth.  It may be fun for the participants but  it sucks if you want to watch.  I actually cried at the finish line, I was so upset.  

Worse. Race. On. The. Planet. Do not go as a spectator unless you want to be totally ripped off by avaricious, money-grubbing scoundrels.

But at least the dirt tasted good. 

There you go...Rinar is a Tough Mudder. Congratulations.

There was actually a tattoo parlor at the finish line. I should have gotten a tattoo saying, "You thought the Tough Mudder was tough, try trying to watch it."

Craziness Hits the Road

Rinar went to Boston last week so I decided to take a little road trip. By. My. Self. Oh yes, with my five little angels. Rinar helped me pack everything up on Sunday night and we hit the road at 10am Monday morning. I headed south to Laughlin, NV and we made a little stop at the Colorado river so that the kids could throw rocks in the river, and I could feed the babies. There was also a free boat ride to the casino on the other side of the river so we gave it a whirl. The kids enjoyed it.

Then I decided to drive through Oatman, Arizona which is a chintzy little tourist trap off of historic route 66. There are wild burros that roam the streets, terrorizing the tourists. Okay, they don't terrorize tourists unless you are the lone parent with little ones to look out for, then they charge right in. As I was unloading the kids, which takes me about 10 minutes to do, the white burro in the picture came up and gave Julia a kiss. I guess he decided she wasn't edible. Thank goodness. I can't say the same thing for Eli's shoe. He took a swipe at the shoe, but luckily I had a good grip on it.


We walked around a bit and took some pictures on this old tractor. Jubilation that we are out of the car!
Here is that nasty burro. I only say that because as we headed down to the end of the street, he thought he could pilfer something out of my pocket and promptly bit me on the hip. Grrrrr! They were going to do a gun fight and I didn't want to get stuck in town, so I hurriedly stuffed the kids in the car and tried frantically to get the three burros that were congregated in front of my trunk door to move. Annoying!! Luckily I was able to depart from Oatman with all kids, body parts, and shoes.


Route 66 is a treacherous, windy, slow road to take. I got stuck behind a guy pulling a trailer. Doesn't that always happen when you are taking a road trip?

But the views were spectacular. Take a look. Don't worry, I held up the camera but my eyes were firmly on the road Grandma. Plus we were going a whopping 15 mph.



As you can hear from my conversation with Zach, he is obsessed with the inner crust of the earth and lava and he really has no concept of how far down it is.

We arrived in Williams, Arizona about 4 pm and got some pizza and then headed to the hotel. I was hoping the kids could go swimming, but the pool was outdoors and closed. That might have to do with the fact that it snowed rather vigorously after we checked in.

Did I mention that I packed clothes for the hot part of Arizona, not the snow part. Zach only had flip-flops, Eli had no socks or pants that were clean, and Julia had adorable summer dresses to wear. I was a little anxious to take the kids to the Grand Canyon due to equipment issues, but I forged ahead.
We made it! No wind but it was 38 degrees outside. This is what we saw. These are all the pictures I took.


Okay, so 10 minutes later we were on the road again. But not before we got a picture in front of the official Grand Canyon sign.

Then it was about 1.5 hours to Flagstaff. It was very pretty. There were wildflowers everywhere I looked on this entire drive.



Do you know what movie that was in the background? I am testing your movie knowledge. I am not going to give it away. Leave a comment with your best guess.

This is when my sanity really went out the window. Okay, so we stopped in Flagstaff and played at a park for about an hour. The kids had a lot of fun and the weather was superb. Then it was on to Phoenix. Heather had class till about 10pm, so I decided to get her key at work and then go to my other sister's house in Maricopa. They say it is a suburb, but whatever. It was in the middle of friggin' nowhere. And my sister's house is on the other side of the city in friggin' nowhere. I limped to the "finish" line. The kids played with their cousins while Christi and her husband Thomas and I went to dinner. I had to go to Joe's Farm Grill, which was featured on Diners, Drive-ins and Dives. It is in Gilbert, which is practically next to Heather's place. Then I had to drive back to get my kids and then drive back to Tempe. I almost rotted in that car.

But dinner was great and it was fun to spend time with Christi and Thomas.

I vowed not to drive at all on Wednesday. So Heather took the day off and we walked to the park near downtown Tempe. It was great except for the fact that they were doing construction on the playground, so it was closed. We walked through downtown Tempe and got some yogurt and diapers. Then Heather stayed with the kids while they ran around the park, while I ran back to get the car.

Eli had fun but I think he was tired. Take a look at this documentation of an Eli temper tantrum. Enjoy!

He went home and slept for about 5 hours without moving. We hung out and the kids went swimming.

Don't worry, I made it back just fine. And except for the fact that Eli figured out how to unbuckle all parts of his car seat the last 100 miles of the trip, it was all fine. But I was never so happy to be home.