We made it! Our family vacation was wonderful. We had so much fun. It was so hard to come home. I will give you a little recap of our trip, and check out the slideshow.
On Thursday we left at noon and headed to Salt Lake. We did a tiny bit of shopping, and then headed to my bro and sis-in laws so I could help her start her very own blog. We then headed to The Cheesecake Factory and had a very delicious dinner and exchanged gifts with Tia, my niece because her Birthday is the same day as Gavin’s too! We then headed back to the room and swam and played and got to bed to prepare for our big flight the next day.
The airport went very smoothly. We checked in online ahead of time, did the curb side check in, and breezed through security. The kids were really excited to fly. Gavin kept saying, “I’m so excited for my peanuts and pop.” I think he remembers that from flying when he was younger. Well, guess what he ordered even after being given the option of peanuts and pop-he had cheese crackers and apple juice. Kayler was a little rough; he did not want to hold still. Thank goodness they have these little TV’s in the back of the seats in front of you that have cartoons on them, he really liked that, and then he slept the rest of the time.
When we arrived it was like a huge breath of fresh air. The sun was shining and it was a nice 60 degrees. We did a little shopping, and then headed back to the RV resort where GJ’s mom and dad live. It is a really unique place, and kind of hard to describe what it is like. I took some pictures, but I bet you can’t tell how it really is unless you see it in person. There are over 1400 lots. There are several town centers I think they are called-with swimming pools, recreation rooms, etc. There is a golf course, lots of rabbits, cactus, flowers and old people...lol. J/k. It is squeaky clean, no trash anywhere and everything nice and tidy, just how I like things. We stayed in what is called a park model, which is owned by G.J.’s Aunt Nellie. It is basically like a single wide trailer but a little smaller. George and Rosanne’s place is so beautiful. It is on a decorative concrete lot. They live in a 5th wheel trailer. They have an outside kitchen with a sink and bbq and all that stuff. They have a double decker shed thing that has a washer and dryer, sink, fridge, lots of cupboards and storage, and then it has a bedroom in the upstairs. There is an awning covering their whole place and they have patio furniture and cute little decorations and fountains and wind chimes everywhere. Everyone drives a golf cart around the resort. It is funny, yet so fun and the kids loved that.
Anyways, that night we just swam and played and got settled and then headed out to dinner. The next morning, we had to pick up G.J.’s sister Lorrie and her 2 kids Katlyn 13, and Joey 10, from the airport. G.J and I went to a mall and did a little shopping while they picked them up. After they came to the mall with us and we went to an amusement park that was right next to the mall. We had so much fun. What made it even funner was that Kayler slept the whole time so that helped out a TON. The first ride we went on was a huge boat, kind of like the Tidal Wave at Lagoon. We took Hallie and Gavin on it. It was absolutely the saddest and funniest thing I have ever seen at the same time. I would have loved to have been able to take a picture. Hallie loved it (she loved all the rides for that fact, roller coasters and all, that little daredevil) Gavin was scared stiff, literally. His little eyes were so wide and frozen with fear, and I don’t think he took one breath the whole ride. Poor little guy. He just stuck with the smaller rides after that. Anyways, we had a very nice time there, and it was so warm and we really enjoyed ourselves.
After that, we had to go buy Gavin some birthday presents at Toys R Us. Then everyone but GJ and I, Katlyn, Lorrie, and Kayler headed back to their house. We had to go to Safeway’s to pick up Gavin’s birthday cake. Well, that is where the excitement began. I sat Kayler in a shopping cart, and had my wallet under my arm. I placed it in the cart. We bought the cake, went back to the trailer, and wow, I didn’t have my wallet. Well, I panicked a little…or a lot. I couldn’t remember for sure if I had left it there or at Toys R Us, so we were calling everywhere. They watched the kids and we headed back to Safeway. We checked the parking lot, all the empty carts we could find, and all throughout the store. The Cust. Service manager was getting ready to check the security tapes so she could try to see where it might be, or whatever. She basically told us that it was a pretty rough neighborhood, and if it was left in plain sight, she could almost guarantee that it was lost forever. She recommended checking the trash cans outside because thieves usually leave them there after ripping everything out of them. So I was outside dumping out every trash can and searching through them like a wild woman. I was looking under all the cars and people were so nice and helpful in the parking lot offering to help. I was so worried about it because it had my driver’s license and that was my only ID to get back on the plane home. G.J. went back on the store and I pretty much laid down on my stomach to get a better glimpse under the cars. I said a silent prayer that we could PLEASE find it. Well, it wasn’t 3 seconds later and here came G.J. outside with my wallet. They had announced over the store intercom that it was missing, and the kindest oriental couple had found it in their cart after they had loaded all their groceries on it, and as they were unloading they found it. They gave it back with nothing missing, and we offered to pay them but they didn’t take anything. So 2 lessons learned, #1 Prayer DOES work. #2 keep track of your wallet.
Moving on. Sunday Morning was Gavin’s birthday. We had reserved a place called Pump It Up that has huge inflatable slides and obstacle courses etc. They also have a party room where we took his Pirate party décor and cake and they set it all up for you while you play. We had so much fun, and Rosanne had invited some couples that they were friends with and they came too. We all had so much fun, and Gavin felt so special and it was so cute. After that, we went to a brand new movie theater that is right next to where the Super Bowl is going to be this year. It was so nice and pretty and big. I shopped with Kayler while everyone else went to the movie. It is great shopping in Arizona in January because everything winter is like 50% or more off, so I found some GREAT deals. After that we headed back to the trailer and swam for a few hours. We freshened up and then had a nice home cooked meal by G.J.’s mom, who is the best cook I know. We then celebrated her 60th Birthday and Gavin got a few more gifts. We headed to bed exhausted and sad that it was our last night.
Yesterday we sadly woke up and packed up and headed back to the airport. Our flight was delayed 1 hour because of the snow in Salt Lake. Yuck. We had a nice flight back and came back to the bitter cold and our car covered in snow. The kids were very good the whole drive home and were glad to be home in their beds. When we woke up this morning, Gavin said, “Can we go back to Arizona tomorrow?” Hallie got so mad at him and said, “Gavin, we cannot go back until 2009, and that is a year away so don’t ask again O.K...” I have been doing laundry galore and unpacking and getting back to real life. I wish we could have stayed longer. It was so nice to have the warm weather and to have help with our kids and to see them have so much fun. Now I can only have spring to look forward too, and to the next time that we get to go back. So thank you so much to George and Rosanne. They were so accommodating and good to us in every possible way. Thanks to Lorrie, Katlyn, and Joey for being with us and helping and having fun with us. To all my friends here, I missed you, and we will have to hang out now that I am back in the real world. Have a good day everyone!
1 comment:
Sounded like fun.....
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