Trip to Arizona

Our trip to Arizona was filled with family and fun. We left Tuesday evening and experienced a very bumpy landing at about 11:20 PM. I think the pilot realized a little too late that our turn was so close. We could feel the tires lock and everything. We were glad to arrive safely and were surprised to see Mark's parents waiting for us inside. We planned to just see them at the house as we were renting our own car. It was great to see them there and have them take the kids home while we took a little longer getting our rental car.

We took our own sweet time getting up and out of the house on Wednesday. We first visited Mark's grandma across the street. Our kids love it there because of getting to play outside with the chickens, collecting eggs and digging about. They had fun playing with some cousins as Mark and I got to visit with Grandma and an Aunt. We sure miss seeing them often. We took Mark's parents out for lunch for mom's birthday which was a few days before. Later in the day we headed out to Chandler mall. My sisters, step mom and my oldest neice and I met at the Cheesecake Factory for dinner. We have never gotten together like this and it was a lot of fun. It was great to have time for ourselves and enjoy each others company. Meanwhile Mark cruised the mall with the kids (bless his heart!) More visiting was had when we came back to Mom and Dad's house.

Thursday we went to a splash pad water park in Chandler. We had to spend at least some time in the sun while in sunny AZ! Since I was not fit for swimming we went somewhere where the kids could get wet and they loved it.

After the water park Kenny finally got to go to his cousin's house. Vacation didn't really start for him until he got to see Jacob. After visiting for a while we left him there for a sleep over. Later that evening Mark and I got to go back to the airport to pick up Jen (his sister) and Gonzo. Something came up for Mark's parents and we were happy to jump at the chance to see them first. They had a "long" 50 minute flight from San Diego! More visiting was had back home and we went to bed late.

On Friday, I got to go play volleyball with my volleyball gang in Goodyear/Glendale. It was so fun to see them all again and to play some good ball. Friday night was game night at Mark's brother's house. All of his siblings and their spouses came (without kids). We played "around the world" ping pong and guitar hero on the Xbox 360. It was so fun! I miss these times with family. They are a fun bunch and we all get along great. Here are a few pics.

Saturday was the big day. Kenny was baptized in his cousin Jacob's ward with Jacob and 9 other kids. Kenny was the last to go and luckily the water was still warm and full enough to be baptized in. He did say he worried that Mark wasn't going to let him up. It was great to see so much family there. Immediately after the baptism, our newest neice received her baby blessing. What a joy to see so many children dressed in white. I especially liked having it all done on my birthday. I couldn't ask for a better present. Later in the day the family met again at a park for games (this time with kids). And later Mark took me on a birthday date. We went to Carrabba's for dinner and then went to see Iron Man in the theatre. It was a wonderful day!

Mother's Day was sweet as we got to visit family again. I didn't get to go to church as that is when my visit to the hospital took place. The evening was filled with family and love. What a joy it is to have family around and what a joy it is to be a mother. I'm glad I had so much family around on such a difficult day. Thanks to all for your well wishes and love.

We flew home on Monday. It was a pretty uneventful day. The flight was bumpy because of turbulence but we arrived safely and are glad to be back home. I think one of the highlights of the trip for the kids was the bus rides from the airports to the cars and vise versa. I had to take a few snapshots of the kids on the bus because they were so delighted to ride without a seat belt!