The Evans had their extended family trip to Flagstaff planned many months ago. It was the second week of July. I knew my baby would only be a few weeks old so I never really planned on going. I started fantasizing about a week all to myself and how nice it would be to get some things done around the house and have so much one on one time with the baby. But as the time drew closer I started having doubts. And at the very last minute (like the day before the trip) I decided to go after all. Maybe a little bit of FOMO (fear of missing out) played into the decision, but mostly I just didn't want to be away from Travis. I hate not being with him. And the ache of not being with him for a whole week was not worth the peace of having the house to myself.
We left Monday morning and were the first to arrive in Flag. Even before Wayne and Paula. So we waited in the parking lot of the Wyndam office for about 30 minutes before they got there. The kids piled out of the car and ran amuk on the green grass and I got out with Tanner too and felt the perfect weather. I mean PERFECT. And knew I had made the right decision.
Tanner was a champ on the drive. Didn't cry at all. The kids watched Evan Almighty which I had forgotten how much I liked. You know Evan Baxter's "dance"? Well, Collin was diggin' it. And I was diggin' Collin.
It was a very low key week. We shared a condo with Travis's parents hoping it might be a bit quieter for Tanner. The Neus' and Reddin and Karen's family shared the biggest condo and Marcus and Megan's family got one to themselves. Each unit had a hot tub on the back porch which the kids were in and out of all week. We were right across the street from the Rec Center which was super convenient for daily walks to the pool and goofy golf. I couldn't go swimming yet, but I'd walk over to visit and supervise the kids swimming. Tanner got his first dip in the pool too! He seemed to like it for the 90 seconds he was in before the staff cleared out the pool for a thunderstorm. One morning, everyone drove about an hour to go to the lava tube caves for a hike. I was going to go until I realized I had forgotten the baby sling and a jacket for me. (I guess the lava tubes are really cold). So instead, I watched "This is 40" on TV and just hung out with Tanner. (Soooo funny. I think I could really appreciate the parent humor at the stage of life.) And when do I ever just get to sit around and watch a movie in the middle of the day?! Um, never. It was really nice. Another morning, we all drove over to a cool park in Flagstaff and the kids played non-stop for over 3 hours. There was a skate park right next to it that Collin and Weston fell in love with. They just didn't love that they had to wear their cousin's pink helmets since we didn't bring any. ;) I didn't want to cook so we just went out to eat every night. (Now THATS a vacation in and of itself. ) Us girls went to dinner at Oreganos one night and the adults went to Texas Roadhouse another night while the older girls babysat. Travis and I went on a walk one afternoon. We all went to the Lowell Observatory Friday morning. I hadn't been there since I was 11. It was pretty interesting to learn some things about Percival Lowell and the discovery of Pluto. It was almost as interesting listening to the tour guide's enthusiasm for astronomy. I didn't realize people had favorite planets, lol. And it took a few times of her saying "UR-anus" in one breath, instead of "Ur-A-nus" to realize she was talking about the planet. I remember scrunching up my eyebrows and contemplating, "What's uranus?
The kids loved playing with their cousins. Olive never left Olivia's side. Weston found a new obsession with Foosball and was actually really good. Of course I was still up all night with Tanner so I missed out on late night games with the adults, but that's OK. I still got to be with my family, enjoy the crisp, beautiful weather and feel like I got a sliver of a vacation this summer. Even if all I did was nurse Tanner, watching Parks and Rec on TV and eating copious amounts of Blue Bell ice cream. :)
Karen and Olivia get the award for being Tanner's best aunt and cousin. They were both always asking to hold him. So cute.
FYI, DON'T go to the Somburros in Flagstaff. You'll order the burrito that's supposed to be covered in jalapeno cream cheese and instead get a drizzle of foamy milk product. Blech. They also brought out Weston's corn dog and it was still frozen in the center.
Why did it feel so creepy to walk up to this structure and realize it was a tomb instead of some sort of observatory?
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