"That Truck Playing Music" & the Grand Canyon Deer Farm

Our trips to Flagstaff are never complete without a trip to Fox Glen Park. After a couple hours of wearing out their dad and mom, the kids perked up when they heard creepy music right as we were packing up... the ice cream man. Allie and Drew had never seen one before so they were so curious yet very cautious.


Dan still can't refuse a gumball-ice cream combo so got the Spiderman posicle, Allie chose a neapolitan ice cream sandwich and we got a Powderpuff Girl popsicle with gumball eyes too. They were so sticky and messy after it, but they LOVED it!!! Allie trying Dan's Spiderman treat.
Drew insisted on holding the popsicle sticks himself. Never a good idea for an 18 month old to do it by himself, but he is pretty determined and independent. He was so messy by the end. It was running down his hands, arms, face, shirt - and dripping all over his shoes.





On Friday morning we went to the Deer Farm in Williams. The kids both adore animals so had a blast getting to see them up close. Of course, Drew did not want anything to do with the stroller. He wanted to walk around all by himself and showed absolutely no fear. He did not want either of us to guide him or help him back onto the path, he just wanted to explore all by himself. Funny, I can't peel him off of me when I try to drop him off at the gym's child center with movies, toys and kids but give him a smelly pig, a camel and a wallaby and he's willing to move in. Allie was a little more cautious about the animals so ended up in Drew's stroller and enjoyed them from a slight distance. Her favorite animal was the talking parrot that was right by the entrance.

Our family at the Grand Canyon Deer Farm. Dan, Drew (18 mos), Allie (almost 4), Jana
Drew wanted to touch this pig so bad. He was trying to wiggle his little hand into the fence, and then he tried to climb up it to touch him over the top.
You can go into the free roam area where there are a ton of deer walking about. We happened to come into the farm before they fed the deer. So when we entered the free roam area with our tiny cup with their food in it, they attacked us. They were trying to eat anything they could get a hold of- Allie's hair ribbons, Drew's velcro shoes, the tags on the strollers, Drew's pant leg, etc.

Dan grabbed the food cup and tried leading them away from us, and I quickly moved the kids in the strollers away from the aggressive deer pack. Our hero!

Drew loved being so close the all the animals. He LOVES animals.
Drew wanted to pet the camel.
This was one of their favorite things to see. A cage full of pigeons. They would fly wildly around their cage, and the kids would intently watch them. When they'd get too close to the mesh fence, it would startle Allie and she'd take a few steps backwards. It would just make Drew laugh.
Allie started the day with a cute bun and hair ribbon. This is what it looked like after the deer aggressively tried to eat it...
This is Dan letting me know what he thinks about llamas. For whatever reason, he has an intense hatred towards these animals. He did a few more poses to let me know how he felt about them... We had a "friend" that followed us around the entire time. He didn't want anything from us, he'd just walk along with us.
Again, Drew loving to touch and pet the deer.
Allie got brave and tried to feed them with Dan. But as soon as the deer started eating out of her hand, she screamed and dropped the food all over the ground and climbed into the stroller. She thought it was gross.
They loved to drive the tractor in front of the deer farm.
Drew's turn...

Our Weekend Getaway - Part II

We were so lucky to be able to stay at the Gainey house at the Hyatt hotel in Scottsdale. The event coordinator at Insight (Dan's work) was able to swing this for us. The casitas where we usually stay were being renovated, so Hyatt offered her this place for us to stay instead. Of course, she took it! It is actually a 2600 sq ft house on the edge of the property. The Gainey House sign - near the private drive.
This whole thing is the Gainey House. In a word... excessive.

Come in...
The Family Room. The couches were so comfy.
The Game room. We played a couple of rounds of pool. We quickly learned that BreAnn is actually a pool shark!!! She was smoking everyone!
All the bathrooms had sinks like this. They were really shallow square ones. You can't appreciate how long they are. It was hard for the kids to wash their hands in the running water. We'd let them splash in the water that accumulated in the sink.
The huge kitchen. The fridge and cupboards were stocked with food and drinks (all complimentary). I brought food for us too, so we had an abundance of food!

The Master bedroom. The pillows and bed was so nice and soft.
One side of the Master bathroom. The shower was Drew's favorite place to play. He could push the door open and he'd go in the shower and make noises. It had a really cool echo. Then he'd open the door, come out and shut it again. And then do it all over again, and again, and again. This was also his bedroom. We put his pack-n-play right next to the shower. Maybe that's how he discovered the cool echo.
Drew checking out the balcony on the roof.
BreAnn, Dan, and Allie hanging out on the roof balcony.
This was our view of the lake and the beach pool. The huge slide is inside that clock tower.

Our Weekend Getaway

We spent this past weekend up at the Hyatt in Gainey Ranch in Scottsdale, AZ. We've done this for the past 3 years as part of the Directors Club for Dan's work. We were able to hang out with the Smith's this year, and my sister BreAnn came up on Saturday to watch the kids for the evening work dinner. Our kids (and us) thoroughly enjoy this fun hotel. The grounds are beautiful, and the pools are awesome! We spent the majority of our day on Saturday (pretty much from 9:30 am until 5:00 pm) at their beach swimming pool. This was Allie's favorite thing to do! It has a zero depth pool with a sandy beach. We were busy making sand castles (sort of), swimming like mermaids, playing by the fountains in the pool, and soaking in the warm sun.

Going down the huge water slide that was one of my favorite things we did. If you lay down on your back, you would fly down it! It almost felt like you would flip over b/c you were going so fast. At the end of the slide it would shoot you out and drop you off a 3 foot drop over the water. It was a blast! We had fun taking turns going down it with the Smith's and Breann (my sister). Drew got a hold of some of Allie's Lucky Charms for breakfast. Of course, he only ate the marshmellows...

Drew seemed to always have a sand mustache... I'm not sure why he thinks it tastes so good...

Allie had a blast digging, creating, and making different sand objects at the pool. She made many new friends there, and didn't ever want to leave.
Drew having a great time at the beach!
Allie loved to pretend to be a mermaid in the shallow water. Some work friends (the Curtices) were in the water and their boys were pretending to be jelly fish, sharks, stingrays, crabs, etc. But Allie always wanted to be a mermaid!
We rented some bikes and the kid carriage and thought it would be fun to go on a quick bike ride while it was overcast and not too hot before the lunch BBQ. But we didn't get very far. Drew started crying before we even left the property. He didn't ever stop. He did not like being strapped into the carriage, and not being able to be next to his mom. We thought he'd love this, but I think he was a little too tired, too hot, and too hungry... Maybe next time :-)

4th of July Weekend

We had a great 4th of July weekend. We went up to Flagstaff with most of my family. (We're counting on the Walkers next year!) Our kids had a blast being outside. It's been so hot we don't play outside a ton at home. So, Allie basically lived outside - only coming in to eat and sleep. The weather was so nice. The first day is was pretty warm up there - and it made us a little nervous because the house we rented did not have A/C. But it turned out okay. They cancelled their fireworks show, but the kids didn't seem to mind. We got a bunch of poppers and small fireworks to do ourselves. They loved it!

The house had a lake behind it, so Dan serenaded some of the kids with a mildly impressive Italian opera-style performance, while giving them a Venice-style boat ride. We also had a lot of fun during trips to the train station and Fox Glen Park. At the park, my brothers shot off a couple of rockets. The entire park would stop what they were doing to watch it go off. Then Dan would take off running to try to catch it before it got lost in the woods. I promise, I've never seen him run so fast in my life! On the second launch, a group of younger boys ran after the rocket to try to catch it too. The house had some very interesting art work all throughout the house. It spurred a lot of mixed emotions and interesting opinions...


Skateboarding with his uncles was one of Drew's highlights of the trip. Anytime one of them were on a skateboard, he was right there with them.


Allie was trying to fish in the lake behind the house. I'm glad she didn't catch anything - the lake was a little slimy...

Drew loved to be outside - but he didn't like to walk in the forest with all the plants on the ground. He is sitting on an enormous rock - trying to eat part of it.Drew at the park. He's getting so big and independent. He does the slides all by himself now. He doesn't like me to help him at parks, unless I'm putting him in a swing (which he loves!). He loves to do everything his big sister does, and gets frustrated when he can't do it... I'm sure that doesn't surprise anyone that Dan and I have 2 VERY independent children. I wonder which one of us they got it from?!?
Drew & Dan having a slide race.
Skateboarding again - this time with uncle Tanner.
Playing peek-a-boo in the tree with Grammie Barnette.

Fun days & Late Nights...

While kids were napping, we got to play a wild game of Yahtzee (the Thompsons got 3 Yahtzee's in one game), and speedmiton. Our kids got up pretty early (usually when the sun came up), so by night time, we were all tired a bit delirious and giggly... My brother started having a contest to see who could throw m&m's into his mouth. I think the first 20 missed. Then they started moving on to bigger things, like chapstick... Needless to say, it was hilarious to us at such a late hour... Yahtzee game
M&M contest - Missed again...

and again...

And here comes the chapstick.
Dan took a shot at the chapstick too.

Train Station in Flagstaff

On the morning of the 4th, we went down to the train station in Flag. There was a parade going on downtown too. We waited 30 minutes for the first train to come, then 3 more came within the next 15 minutes. It was pretty cool to see the huge trains that close up. They actually go pretty fast through the city. Our hair was blowing in the wind created by the speeding trains. We put some coins on the tracks so they'd flatten them. Unfortunately, we put them on the wrong tracks for the first train! me & our kids, my mom & my sister Tricia & her kids
Allie plugging her ears when the train blew its whistle. It was REALLY loud.
Having fun & being silly while patiently waiting for more trains.

Allie in Flagstaff

We were waiting for a train to come - so we played with catch to pass the time. Are we having fun yet?
Allie & her cousin getting dizzy from their uncle Taylor. Of course, they asked to do it again and again.
Allie & Lynds at the park. They played and played and played all weekend long!
The girls were doing rain dances, and it worked! Here they are trying to hide from the rain and thunder...
and they emerged...