Arizona...days 3 and 4

 Saturday we spent the day at Grandpa and Grandma's campground. They are staying at Usery Mountain Regional Park and there are a lot of fun hiking trails nearby. It was pretty windy when we got there, so the kids all headed into the trailer to color and Kim, Kelsey and I headed out for a run. 

It was a very popular trail so it turned into more of a hike, but the wind died down and the views were incredible so it was totally worth it! We also got lots of comments "Are you triplets?" "Wow...you are clearly related" and "Sisters?" 

This 'cave' was the end of the trail.

After lunch, we all headed out on a walk. We hiked for a little while and ended up at a playground. 

A chain fruit cactus

Saturday night Auntie Sherry, Uncle Glenn, Auntie Donna, Mike and Stacey came out to the campground for dinner. The kids convinced Uncle Glenn to play soccer and then we had hamburgers and hot dogs for dinner. I haven't seen Mike and Stacey in years so it was so fun to see them and catch up! Haleigh and Lydia both lost a tooth during dinnertime and the tooth fairy figured out how to get to the trailer.

This is the only picture I took all evening!

Sunday was our last day; we packed everything up from Auntie Donna's house and headed back out to the campground. We went on another walk, ate lunch and then headed over to where Auntie Sherry and Uncle Glenn are staying. (They are down in Arizona for a few months!) 

By mid-afternoon, it was time to head to the airport. It's about a 3 hour flight...and the flight home was a bit more of a struggle for the kiddos than the flight out. But between lots of snacks, too much screen-time, swapping seats, and a few more snacks, we made it back to Bellingham. 

It's amazing how much good a few days of sunshine and fresh air can be! We are so grateful that we are able to do things like jump on a plane and getaway for a few days. Plus, Auntie Donna was such a great hostess. She opened our house to all the noise and chaos and handled it all with such ease. The kids loved her! Monday was a day off from school which gave the girls a bit of a recovery day before jumping back into the swing of things!

Lydia sat down to read a few books...and quickly fell asleep!

Arizona...days 1 and 2

 For Christmas, the girls all received plane tickets to Arizona to visit Grandpa and Grandma...and their cousins did too! We left on Thursday morning and had a direct flight to Mesa, AZ. Grandpa and Grandma met us at the airport and we had a fun four days in the sunshine! 

Our first stop was lunch at Riparian Preserve; we ate lunch, played on the playground and then went for a short walk. The kids were really struggling with the heat...they were desperate to change into shorts and couldn't quite figure out how to function in the warm sunshine!

 After lunch, we went to Auntie Donna's house. She lives about 20 minutes away from where Mom and Dad are camping and she graciously opened her house to us! After unloading our suitcases and relaxing for a few minutes, we headed out for an early dinner at Organ Stop Pizza. This pizza place has an incredible pipe organ, along with drums, trumpets, puppets, and lights (including a disco ball!) that all move along with the music. We had a lot of requests for the organist, and he played songs from movies like The Lion King, Moana, Frozen, Phantom of the Opera to 'Who Let the Dogs Out,' Bohemian Rhapsody, Battle Hymn of the Republic and many, many more! It was fascinating to watch him play!

The first night Annaliese and Elias spent the night with Grandpa and Grandma in their trailer and the rest of us made ourselves comfortable at Auntie Donna's. We wound down the evening with the first half of a movie (that we never ended up finishing!)

Day 2 was spent at the Phoenix Zoo...this was also part of their Christmas present!! It was a little bit overcast and the perfect temperature for walking around all day.

We watched this monkey stand up the black tube and then climb on top of it!

Pretending to be flamingos

We watched this bear climb all the way up this branch...it was trying to get to a bird that was perched right there where the bear is sniffing. Naturally, the bird flew away once the bear got close. And then we watched the bear climb back down...all the way slightly concerned that this swaying tree branch might not be able to hold the bear.

Annaliese, Elias and a huge rhinoceros

Huge turtles!

Everyone was pretty warm by the end of the day, so we took a quick swim in what was supposed to be the heated pool at Auntie Donna's. It was still quite chilly but the kids still had fun. We then headed over to the campground for dinner. It's amazing how cold it gets once the sun goes down!

Sunset in the desert.

New Year's Eve

New Years Eve...the last day of the year. A time to think over the past year...what we've accomplished, where we've come from, and all we've learned. And a time to look forward...to dream about the next year, to set goals, to anticipate adventure and to lean into all that God has in store for us. So as 2021 came to a close, we figured the best way to spend the day was outside. 

We bundled up and headed to the Sno-Park to cross-country ski. The temperature was in the teens, but the sun was shining and it wasn't windy so as long as we kept moving, we were all quite comfortable. The girls did incredible and we made it farther than we've ever gone before! 

Once we made it back to the parking lot, we pulled out the sled and the girls played on the 'hills' made from the plowed snow. It's amazing how much joy could be had from such small, short sledding runs!

We ended 2021 with a family game night, some sparkling apple cider and bed by nine...we decided the best way to start the new year was with a good night of sleep!