We headed out on a Saturday morning for our first family road trip out West. Drew needed to go to Arizona for business and since a software conversion this year at work meant no vacation allowed in July or August, I decided it might be a good option for us to go as a family and enjoy a break from our cold winter.
Griffin handled the long days in the car so much better than I expected. We were up and on the road around 8am each day and didn't get to a hotel usually until 8 or 9pm.
We found a rest area in Texas with an awesome playground. Just what he needed to burn off a little energy, but getting him back in the car was not pleasant.
outside Amarillo
We made it to Tucumcari, NM on our first day. We didn't have many dinner options, but Griffin was requesting "peatza" and luckily there was a Pizza Hut just down the street. They enjoyed watching some Olympics coverage while we waited. You'll never see Griffin sitting with me when we go out to eat.
I zoomed into these mountains far away, in Colorado I'm sure
the wind was wild in west New Mexico
Our second night was spent in Tusayan, AZ which is right outside of Grand Canyon National Park. Of course we arrived late and didn't see anything until the next morning when we met up with Matt, a high school friend of ours who is currently working for the Park Service at the Grand Canyon. We had a great day with him. He is part of a 4 man team that packs all supplies and equipment needed for Park Rangers and Phantom Ranch, at the bottom of the canyon. The only way to get things down the 5,000ft to the bottom is via mule or helicopter. They work 9 days straight then have 5 off. Luckily, we were there on President's Day which was a holiday for him. Griffin loved feeding the "mea-ules" and giving them carrots that we bought at the store.
Matt took us to a great spot for lunch, and also to some great view points along the south rim. You can actually see the north rim across the gap, but it takes about 4 1/2 hours to drive around to it. Amazing.
Matt also took us down a trail that his team uses regularly to show us some indian artwork. It's a little scary that the paths are shared by mules and people. He actually said they also spend a good amount of time hauling dirt via mule to the trails to maintain them.
and if you don't, you might wish you had a parachute
you can't quite tell, but some parts of the trail have a very steep drop off!
you might have to click this pic to enlarge and see the little deer drawn on the rock
some friendly mule deer sitting by the road
always trying to help
sunset....low clouds kept it from being spectacular, but it was pretty cool anyway
The next morning we headed down to the Phoenix area. While Drew went to meetings and made his rounds, Griffin and I took advantage of the free hotel shuttle within a 5 mile radius. We did a little shopping the first day.
We also got in some pool time in the beautiful 80 degree weather. Griffin LOVES a pool. Every morning he would want to put on his swimming trunksand "go see the pool." This led to several fights, complete with tears. Finally, his wish came true.
One afternoon when Drew was done working, we hit the best outlet mall I've ever been to and had some retail therapy. Griffin loved it too because we found 2 of these carousels while wondering around. Pretty sure we spent $10+ in rides between the two.
The mall is also home to Sealife Aquarium.It was funny to see Griffin being so cautious and a little nervous walking through all the displays at first. He wanted Drew to hold him and took a while to warm up to what we were seeing. He's been to zoos and places like this before, but this might be the first time he's really known what was going on. Such a careful little guy, always thinking about what's around him!
"there's a shark coming behind you!"
best $38 ever spent via Black Friday online shopping
dinner on our last night in Arizona
On Friday morning we packed up and started the journey home.
love all the Saguaro cactus
pretty scenery leaving Arizona
For my Hunger Games friends, I was so happy I captured this on the way home. I was too slow going out to get a good picture. These signs are along the highway, periodically, through New Mexico.
We had a wonderful time but have been quite worn out from it too. We love to drive and see the country, and I think Griffin does too. I'm already looking forward to our next roadtrip!
Griffin is turning into quite an inquisitive little man. Our trip to Arizona was full of questions.... every sound prompted "what was that Momma?". I'm not exaggerating in the least.Every single time he heard a motorcycle, or a loud car, or an airplane, or Drew accidentally hit the rumble strip on the highway....he would instantly start questioning us. Nothing like a little country boy in the big city! He's very curious and trying to learn everything about the world around him.
I've also made a big discovery in the last month. All four of Griffin's 2 year molars are almost completely in. Maybe it was during the week long--wake up in the wee hours of the morning and need to get in bed with us kick--he was on. I don't know. He never once said that his mouth has hurt. I need to count again to be sure, but I think that makes 20 which means we are holding at all these until the tooth fairy starts making visits.
Another thing that impresses me about Griffin is his ability to choose correct pronouns. His language has really been developing rapidly in the past 6 months. Last night I said, "I'm tired" to which he quickly replied, "not me!". I guess in my mind, I thought kids were confused with me/I for quite some time. I don't think I've ever heard him say "me want ____" or any wrong usage there. He correctly says "I need/want ____" or "can I have ____" or "play with me". Maybe not a big deal to most, but to hear our little baby growing up and speaking clear english is crazy! I heard him whispering our names while looking at a wedding photo on Drew's night stand, so I asked him who was in the picture, he pointed to me and said "that's you, and that's daddy".
He has some very interesting poses for these photos lately. As much as I love looking back at these pictures in the scrapbook I'm making, I think when we run out of stickers at 36 months we will discontinue the monthly photo session. He was rocking the glider so hard, these are really the only pics I got that weren't blurry.
