Arizona

 We went to Arizona on April 20th until the 29th this year on, what seems like, our annual Spring Break trip. The kids had this week off school, so we went to see the Fox's! It was a busy week and a little stressful getting everything ready to go, but once we did, the rest was a breeze. We were marveling at the ease of our kids on the airplane, now that they are older. Boston can focus on a show now, and even fell asleep for most the flight. The rental car also went so smoothly, it was great! It was quite late when we got there, so we said our hello's and then basically went to bed. 

On the first day, I took Bentley to get her nails done - a gift I had given her. It's always fun to have nails on vacation (especially when you can't really have them long at home for basketball). Jeff stayed back and swam with the kids, and then we all went to Culvers, one of our favorite places to eat with the kids! We also went to Costco to get some groceries for the week, Bentley did an ice bucket challenge, and I headed to try out the F45 there. The weather was about 30 degrees every day we were there so I was super thrilled and loving life already!

The following day we headed to Williams (a 3 hour drive), on our way to the Grand Canyon. We also wanted to check out the cabins Jeff and Joce built in Williams, which is about 1 hour away from the Grand Canyon. They did such a good job with the cabins. They call it "Inn History" and they placed QR codes next to objects so that you can go and read about the history. It was a lot of fun to see and nice to have a place to stay to break up the trip. In Williams, they have a really fun coaster, so we stopped at the Canyon Coaster Adventure Park. Boston was SO scared and didn't want to go on. I forced him on with me, though, because I knew he'd like it once we got going. Sure enough, once we started going, he had a blast! I used the break and could go as slow as he wanted, so I let him tell me when to go faster or slower. It was a blast! The kids were all a little nervous, but everyone ended up having so much fun and we even went again the next day on our way home from the Grand Canyon. After that, we went to Bearizona, a place you drive through to see bears and other animals. I let Boston sit on my lap and it was so fun to see a bear walk across the road, directly in front of us twice! The other animals were fun to see as well, and we had a good time. After you drive through, there is also a zoo type place included where you can walk around. Bentley and Deacon decided to go on their own, while Jeff and I took Boston and Leo around and then we told each other what we saw. It had a cute little show and the kids loved seeing the porcupine and other animals, and then getting slushies. That evening we ate at a restaurant in town for dinner, walked around and explored the little shops, and then went to the cabin for bed.

The next day we got up and headed straight to the Grand Canyon. I had seen it before, but Jeff and the kids never had. It was already very busy when we got there, but we found a spot to park eventually and then headed for a little hike. The kids loved seeing how gorgeous it was, although some of them were wondering what we do now? They aren't the biggest of hikers, but we found a cool trail that kept them entertained for some time. Deacon could have hiked there all day! He was loving it. We ended up splitting up so Jeff could take Bentley and Deacon hiking longer and I headed back up with Leo and Boston and spent some time in some of the shops and "museum" type things with boats and such. Jeff and I decided we would love to come back just the two of us, or without the youngest kids. We grabbed some ice cream on the way home and started the drive back to Gilbert. We stopped for another coaster ride, some lunch in Williams, then made it the rest of the way to see the Fox's again. The kids fought a bit these couple of days, and Jeff was a bit distracted with work news, but overall I am glad we took this little trip!

On Thursday I went to F45 again, we swam a LOT, and then headed to the Diamondbacks game that night! We decided to scalp some tickets once we got there, because apparently Jeff Fox has always wanted to, and after a little bit of time we were successful. We didn't need good tickets, we were mostly there for the food and entertainment around the game. They have a place called "The Sandlot" on the upper level that offers a variety of activities, including a playground with slides and clubhouses, a whiffle ball field, and a batting cage. They also have these funny "big headed" baseball guys who we loved. They kept switching our desserts with others and gave us a hard time! We also made sure to stand by the piano at a certain inning to be caught on the jumbotron and that was fun too. We spent a lot of time up there, but also enjoyed the game and company. 

On Friday night all the boys (except Boston) went on a Father Son camp. We thought they would have a great time outdoors while we had a girls night at home! We did, however, underestimate how cold it was going to be for the boys once they traveled a little north to the campsite. I felt bad that I didn't send enough warm clothes for them and they were freezing in the night! Well, I guess Deacon and Eli shared a sleeping bag and Leo fit his whole body in the sleeping bag and zipped it up, so they did ok! The Jeff's did not though, and came home a little tired. During the day they had a good time shooting guns, playing frisbee golf and doing boy things though! Us girls had a great night shopping at Target, doing face masks, and eating chicken. The next morning we headed to feed ducks at the Riparian Preserve and found lots of turtles too. We took some pictures by the cacti and then grabbed some ice cream at Yogurtland. The boys eventually made it home after some unexpected traffic delays that took them a different route. 

On Sunday the Fox's ward was splitting and so it was a big and emotional day for them. We went to church with them and then stayed back when they went to their separate meeting to announce the new boundaries. A lot of the kids were losing friends, but at least knew it was coming and expected it. Jeff is the bishop, so it was a lot of work for him. We at least made dinner for everyone for when they came home. It was the least we could do! 

Monday was our last full day there and we decided to go to bubble planet with our family. It was actually such a blast! There were different rooms with balloons and different types of bubble things, but the best was the big pool of clear balls that you could submerge in. It was very neat! I also went to F45 that day, and I'm sure the kids swam and hung out. We flew back home on Tuesday. 

We sure love our Arizona trips and hanging out with the Fox's!