Fun in the Sun

Warning: Very long post with tons of family pictures.....you've been warned! ;)

So I'm just now getting around to posting about our mini-vacation to Arizona! It was wonderfully fun and crazy busy. Didn't get to do even half the stuff I wanted to, but got a lot of fun family time in and the girls got in plenty of cousin time. Thursday after Jeremy got off work, we drove to Snowflake to his parents house. I love that my in-laws live half way there. It breaks the trip up and makes it so much easier on the kids. Friday morning, up at 4 am (so it's really 5 am NM time, so that doesn't sound as bad, but still way too early) and off to Mesa. Then, it's Zoo Time. We had so much fun at the Phoenix Zoo. We fed the Stingray's (I didn't....YUCK!), rode some camels, took a train ride, and rode the carousel while we checked out the animals. My kids absolutely LOVE the zoo, and we go any chance we get. (Even though, I personally love the Albuquerque and Denver zoo's the best)

My hips hurt all afternoon from that stinkin' camel ride.

Jeremy was the only one that would look at the camera.....the kids were having too much fun! I love Kourt's glasses, and of course, my handsome Cub fan.

Petting the stingray's

Lexi actually fed the stingrays.....that is a tiny dead fish in her hand......YUCK! Aunt Tara helping Lexi feed the stingray's Are we as tall as a giraffe?Ashleigh and Lexi....they were inseparable! I love older cousins!Grandma Bits (Heslop) and my tiny cub fan! Drew was SO good at the zoo, and just loved being outside!After we were worn out from the zoo, we ate at The Picnic Company and it was so yummy!!! They had the most amazing sandwiches and salads, and so fresh, and the most gigantic rice krispy treats, and huge soft cookies, and I could go on and on......very YUMMY!

That evening, we left all the kids (except Drew) with a baby sitter, and all the adults went to dinner at the Gecko Grill. It was quite a sight.......there were 10 Heslop's at one table (counting my sweet Drew). Jeremy's parents, and all of his siblings were there except for his brother Jason and his wife (they live here in NM with us though). It was so much fun to hang out with our family we only see a few times a year.

Saturday morning, it was off to an early start again. The baptism was at 9:30 am, and our hotel was about 20 minutes away. But, we were there on time, of course (I have OCD about being on time for stuff....I HATE being late!) Ashleigh looked so beautiful and we were so grateful to be there for her special day!

I love this picture of KourtneyMy side-kick Karley......she is so funny!My growing family....Lexi was making faces at her cousins and would not smile for anything.After the baptism and family brunch, it was off to Makutu's Island! This place was a blast! (Thanks to my sister-in-law Belynda for suggesting this for all of us.) Such a great idea for kids to get some play time in during the scorching summer months. It's so interactive, and they encourage parents to climb and crawl and slide right along with your kids. Grandma and Aunt Tara took turns holding Drew, while Jeremy and I played with the girls. We were there for hours and could have stayed even longer. It was SO much FUN! And, yes, I did climb in all those tunnels and tiny little places (check out the pictures on the website of the banana tree....I was all over that thing).

Ashleigh was on top waiting to scare us.....That is the 'banana slide' and it is so stinkin' fast......note the big squishy pad you fly out onto.Then, back to Jeremy's brother Blake's house for some serious Guitar Hero playin'. And I totally kicked butt and beat my 6 yr old nephew Treagen (show no mercy). I love that game! I tried talking Jeremy into buying it, but then of course, we would have to buy the gaming system too (XBOX, Playstation, wii, etc.) and that would be way to much $$ just to play one game. Oh well!

Jeremy and Ashleigh going head to head

We also got some fun swimming time in. Our hotel was so nice (thank you priceline.com) and the swimming pool was great. The girls had a blast, and Drew even loved his first time swimming. I don't know why, but I didn't get any pictures of him in his cute little swim trunks.

Sunday before heading back to Snowflake, we spent some time at Jeremy's brother Chad's house and got in lots of 'critter time'. The girls held the hamsters and love birds. We got a good laugh out of the cockatiel flying on Karen's head, and just had some more cousin fun. (My camera was buried in the van somewhere so I don't have any pictures.)

Then, back to Snowflake Sunday evening to relax with Grandma Bits and Grandpa Bug (Heslop) for the night. On the drive home, we saw the bike portion of the Arizona Ironman Race. Those people are seriously amazing. It was 95 degrees outside and they were biking uphill. I was getting tired just watching them, as I drove in my nice comfy air conditioned vehicle. I wish I was that motivated and athletic.

Monday was my birthday (#27.......and yes, to answer a previous post, I am OLD!!! This birthday has been rough for me. The first time I've really felt old! Blah!). Jeremy asked me what I wanted for my birthday, and I told him all I wanted was for him to take Monday off so we could extend our trip one more day and relax before coming home and starting our house. So, I got exactly what I wanted!!! YAY! My birthday was pretty low-key. We just drove home. My mom made dinner for us when we got back, and then instead of having cake, I had a tin-roof brownie blizzard from Dairy Queen and it was so yummy! I even had 2 candles in my ice cream (one for each girl to blow out.......27 would have been WAY too many).

It was such a great weekend and we had so much fun. There wasn't any time for shopping, but that was the one and only thing I was disappointed about. Although, no one else was disappointed about that part. The weather was amazing and nice. I loved soaking up all the sunshine. It was in the high 80's / low 90's the whole time. I was also reminded why I no longer live there........WAY TOO HOT! Seriously, it's only April and on Sunday it was 95 degrees. And that is also why I refuse to visit our family there from May - September. But, I must say, it was gorgeous and I really enjoyed the warmth with out any wind. I love family vacations, even if they are super simple sometimes. I'm grateful that Jeremy has such a great family, and that we were able to visit them and have so much fun! And that was our Fun in the Sun!!!