A step up from Iowa

A couple of weeks ago we headed down to sunny Phoenix AZ to party with our besties the Christensens. It was so beautiful and warm, and I was thisclose to staying down there forever and have someone pack up our stuff and mail it to us. Love the Christensevens, love AZ, love the lil boys, love it all. I even love the ritzy pants side of it- the fake tans and boob jobs on every female and the Range Rover/Escalade/Mercedes/BMW (then occasional Honda) combo on every street, parking lot, and gas station. A Ferrari at a pizza place? No big deal.

The drive was 12 hours, but we split it up into two days. The kids did fantastic! No meltdowns, freakouts, or tantrums. Just sleeping, eating, playing with some new car toys- they were made for trippin. Here's us the way out. See the excitement? The anticipation? The enthusiasm?


Side trip #1- a dam. Will has a thing for dams- maybe its the engineer in him? He'll be so disappointed I don't remember the name of this one.

We met the Christensens at the Grand Canyon. Now, I don't want to say anything bad about the Grand Canyon because it might be against the law (since its a national park and all), so I won't say anything. We saw the Grand Canyon.

Chase was a little cold.

Will's really not endangering both their lives by trying to stand super close to the edge for a photo op. I promise it wasn't that close in real life or I'd have freaked.

No one does pregnancy like Amelia. She's just so cute.

The next day we headed to the train park. Yes, it is just as wonderful as it sounds. A public park with trains and carousels and ice cream! It was so so much fun. That was when I decided we were moving there.

There have been just a few times in Milo's life when he has been so excited that he starts to lose it. Waiting in line for the train was one of these times. It's a little hard to explain- he starts to get a little shaky and panic-y, is on the verge of tears, and needs some continuous coaching and/or distraction or else he'll melt. Once he's on the train he doesn't smile, laugh, or move. I know he loved it- but it's like he's trying so hard to control his emotions and take it all in that he turns to stone. Afterwards he wanted to go on it again and again and loosened up a little, and he had a great time, but the anticipation just about kills him. It's funny/interesting/sad to watch. Anyways, that's an explanation of the grouchy face in the following pictures. Maybe a child psychologist out there can give us a little insight?

I have a thing for carousels. Just like how Will has a thing for dams.

And Milo has a thing for ice cream.

Back at the Christensen home, the boys played in the sandbox basically all night. A and B, sorry again for the sand in your tile, carpet, tub, couch, and aerobed. (But it was totally worth it for all that uninteruppted grown up time, right?)

Sunday we hiked Pinacle Peak. Cooper walked the whole way! He was almost going too fast... good thing I could blame my slow pace on Milo. (His stride length is about 1/2 of Coop's.)

I love Amelia's belly poking into this picture.

Driving home- *tears*.

This dam I remember- the Hoover. Or The Hoove, as I like to call it. It was actually pretty beautiful and I was super excited we missed the Spring Break rush and didn't have to wait 3 hours to get acrossed.

This last part of the Great American Road Trip might not go as smoothly as the first...