After returning from the Disney trip, I have to admit I was ready to stay home for the rest of the year. Which, if you know my husband, was a total pipe dream! He loves to be on the go, especially with "the girls". Because of horrible flight delays on our Disney trip we had a voucher with the airline, and we also had a "buddy pass" ticket through our AmEx credit card. Between that and knowing how upset I was about losing my camera with all our Disney pictures on it, he decided we should go back. To Disney. This year.
And while I greatly appreciated his effort to replace our pictures, the thought of going back to Disney so soon did not sit well with me. We were at a standoff! He was determined not to waste free airline tickets, I was very determined not to go back to Disney so soon! So one day as we were discussing the issue again, I said (quite exasperatedly!), "If you want to fly somewhere, why don't we go to Arizona and visit Stephen and Jamie!"
He took the idea and ran with it, and we discovered that in order to not conflict with his work schedule, our fall beach trip, and the hot summer weather in AZ, we were going to have to go in just a few short weeks, at the end of March. We booked our airline tickets, and before we knew it were were Arizona bound!
The girls did wonderful on the flights, which were - Thank you Lord!- all on time. We arrived in Arizona late on a Saturday night, and by the time we got a rental car and got to our hotel, it was 1:30 a.m...4:30 a.m. Tennessee time! I'd like to report that we slept very late the next morning, but my girls get up early regardless. A few short hours later we were up and on our way to Stephen and Jamie's house, and what a reunion we had! Here are a few pictures from our trip:
Kenneth, me, and the girls at the Grand Canyon. It was so beautiful!
Me and Abby with my awesome sis-in-law, Jamie. Despite the
distance that separates us, she is one of my dearest friends!
Sweet cousins! Lexi, Bella, Lucas, and Abby. These kids played from
sun up till sun down!
One of my very favorite pictures from our trip. My brother-in-law
and Lucas on the flight line at Luke AFB. We are so proud of
Stephen's service to our country, and the sacrifices that he and his
family make. As he showed us around the base, his pride in
his job was evident.
We spent several days in Arizona, and Stephen and Jamie graciously welcomed us into their home. I admit, I was leery of staying in their house. After all, the saying "you don't know someone till you live with them" applies to extended family! At the conclusion of the trip, I told Jamie if they ever move to TN we need to build a duplex with a communal kitchen! The kids had a blast playing and we felt so welcome.
Besides the excursion to the Grand Canyon, and our trip to the AFB, we also spent a morning at a Wildlife Zoo, which the kids really enjoyed. And we got to spend a lot of time just hanging out together, talking and cooking and boy did we eat good! Stephen can make some mean smoked barbeque, and oh, those tacos!
It ended up being one of my favorite vacations ever.
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