Arizona Adventure Part 2 - Sedona

Next stop - Sedona!  We stayed at the Hilton Sedona Resort at Bell Rock and it was a great resting place between hikes. We hiked, enjoyed the pool, went on an amazing Pink Jeep tour, star gazed and met up with soccer friends.  Sedona-we will be back!

We loved the Hilton - notice Ben is wearing his new hat that we picked up at a gas station on the way to Sedona. :)

I'm pretty sure I was glutened at lunch and it resulted in a pretty bad drive and rest of the day for me - having celiac disease can make traveling/eating out hard but I bounced back! (Note-I am actually writing this in June and back date the posts. It was while we were staying in Sedona that I noticed my bicep tightening up - the first signs of the DVT/blood clot that was discovered in March. As I was going to sleep one night I thought "What if my arm tightening is a blood clot?" and brushed it off because I had just been sick and felt like a hypochondriac.)

Chapel of the Holy Cross

Bell Rock hike

Bell Rock

Warming up at the hotel with a giant game of Scrabble.

Walking off the beaten path with friends!

Ready for the star gazing tour - it was freezing but we bundled up under blankets on lawn chairs, listened as astronomers pointed out the constellations of the night sky and looked at stars up close through high powered telescopes.

Cathedral Rock hike with friends

Pink Jeep tour with friends - our guide was the best!!

We stopped at Montezuma Castle on the way to Phoenix. Our proud 4th grader showed off her free National Parks pass that all 4th graders get. She got us in for free (wish I would have remembered this for the Grand Canyon).

Montezuma Castle

Arizona Adventure Part 1 - Grand Canyon

Nate had a soccer tournament in Arizona last weekend. The kids and I decided to make an adventure out of it and spent our mid-Winter break exploring the great state of Arizona. I had never been to the Grand Canyon and had always wanted to go. What a blessing to see it for the first time with my three kids! (Ramesh couldn't get the week of work so he had to miss the fun.)  We flew into Phoenix, hopped in a rental car and drove 4 hours straight to make it to the Grand Canyon just before dusk.  It was well worth the trip! Then we spent the night in a lodge at the edge of the canyon and had fun exploring it the next day.

5 year ago and now - this trio loves to travel!

We saw so many elk in the park.

We had to take this picture to send to Gramps - the kids weren't sure what to make of these newspaper stands from the olden days at Thunderbird Lodge. :)

Early morning run along the Grand Canyon in 30 degree weather - cold but beautiful.

2/18 - Taking Route 66 to our next destination!

Valentine's Day Celebrations

Love is in the air and that means Valentine's Day is here!  Mesh and Riley went to the father-daughter dance with friends from Riley's soccer team.  Then the girls came over for a sleepover. Ri and Ben had fun at their class parties and I was able to sneak down the road to stop in to see them. 

Father daughter dance!

Ben's homework - this is hilarious! I had to add it in to the post.

Riley's Valentine box for school.

Ben's Valentine party at school.

Ri's Valentine party at school.

Riley and I went to get our hair done before our big trip starting tomorrow!

Nate - service project and math competition

 Nate has been one busy sixth grader! Last weekend he prepared a meal for the residents of Tent City and served it with his friends for his social studies class service project.  This weekend I spent 6 hours on a Friday night at a math competition with him.  It is awesome to see Nate the mathlete in action and he won for best in school! 

The little brothers enjoying the meal too!

Had to sneak this in here - Riley photo bombed us while Ben was helping me work on my frown. Lol!

Nate the great!

The first three hours was just tests but I managed to sneak a picture of him through the door. :)

Nate rocked the college bowl round - I don't know how he answered so quickly!