Arizona

Our two-week trip to Arizona is a distant memory now, as we've been home for almost three weeks. Our first trip as a family of five was an adventure - I honestly don't know if we could have traveled anywhere other than my parents' house. My mom borrowed three car seats from the fire department and had them installed in her car; she borrowed a pack-n-play, booster seats, bouncey chair, books and toys; and she had the refrigerator stocked with kid-friendly foods before we arrived. It took me days to pack and unpack, but it was well worth it. You know why? Because Arizona offers something that is not found in the Pacific Northwest throughout the winter - SUNSHINE. I know my parents thoroughly enjoyed having us, but I'm sure they also enjoyed the peace and quiet that resumed upon our departure. We are a high-energy, demanding, sleep-deprived family. I'll let the pictures tell the story of our trip:

 

Matty-Boy excitedly waiting to board our plane. I should mention that Tommy and I had two lap children on this trip - the one and only time we'll travel with two children under two! All things considered, our flight down was easy (the flight home included poop on Mom, poop on B, and orange juice spilled in Matty's crouch). Taylor and Matty sat in a window seat, watched movies, colored, and ate multiple snacks during the three-hour flight.

 

Mission #1 upon arrival - fill up the baby pool!

Taylor and Matty spent hours upon hours on my parents' patio, coloring, playing cars, and eating meals. They soaked up as much sunshine as possible!

Pool time

Sharing a laugh with Baba

One of many trips on Baba's golf cart to get ice cream. These kiddos LOVE Baba's golf cart and took as many rides with Baba as possible.

Family picture before the Butler game (first day of the NCAA tourney)

 

Swings at the park

Look at this big boy!

And look at this big boy!

Addie, Taylor, Brayden, and Matty. Addie is my cousin Laura's new baby girl. She is precious!

Matty became fast friends with Laura's husband Ike. For days following our visit with them, Matty said "More Ike!"

Matty photo-bombed the girl picture! I loved spending an afternoon with my aunt Bette and cousins Julie and Laura.

Growing up, my dad used to play a game called "Hide the Dog." He would hide my dog Frisky somewhere in our house, and instead of telling me so that I could look for him, he'd wait until I found Frisky (usually shaken) up in my closet, on our family room mantel, or in a trash can. Above is my dad's version of Hide the Baby. Poor Brayden is sitting in the mail slot in my parents' garage

Picking grapefruit in the backyard.

B enjoying the attention from his big sis.

Silly faces with B.

 

Tommy and I took Taylor and Matty to a spring training game. As expected, we spent a small fortune on junk food, and once the food was gone, the kids were ready to go. Sorry Tommy!

Still eating...

Here's a clip of Matty at the baseball game. Can you tell he was ready to go home? I love how he said "Sorry" at the end of the video when he dropped something. :)

One day during our visit, my parents' neighbor had her cactus cut down. We sat on the porch and gawked at the workers all day!

We were brave enough to go out for dinner a couple of times. Here is a pic of the boys...

... and a pic of the girls.

Let's not forget Little B!

Brothers

My favorite little men

B is growing right before my eyes! Here he is on his four-month birthday.

We took the kids to an Easter egg hunt at the Mariner's spring training park. Tommy may have enjoyed it more than Matty. :)

Matty was so excited about the candy in his basket!

The festivities also included pony rides.

Matty was not as excited about the pony as his sister.

Mimi and Baba braved the egg hunt festivities with us.

Brotherly/Sisterly love

We tried several times to get a family picture before the Easter service at my parents' church. Taylor was in an awful mood, Matty will not sit still for anything these days, and Brayden doesn't know how to look at a camera yet. Total fail!

Maybe next year?

Dinner out with Daddy

Sweet B - he loved perching on Mimi's shoulder.

Easter morning egg hunt in the yard.

Brayden's first Easter!



Baby bath in the kitchen sink = efficient

Mini-golf

Our last night in Arizona - I took Taylor and Matty on one last spin in the golf cart and captured this precious picture.

Thank you, Mom and Dad, for a great trip. We all miss you already and can't wait to visit next winter.