On Monday I was pooped but Poppy was very insistent that the kids needed to get in another swim at Mesquite Aquatics Grove Center so off we went. The kids had a good time (even though the slides and lazy river were closed) but unfortunately as we were unloading kids from cars when we got back, Penny's front tooth got bumped and her crown fell off. She has such terrible luck with those front teeth and the whole thing was quite traumatic. At first I thought I would try and get the dentist that we've used in AZ to fix it but then they didn't answer their phone and weren't calling back. So then I thought maybe we'd just leave it, it wasn't hurting her. But finally I decided to just Google a dentist and go fix it because I didn't want it to get worse while I was away in the Grand Canyon with the boys. After several calls of people who couldn't fit her in, I found someone and they were willing to see her immediately. They took xrays and then we had an appointment the next morning to fix it.
I was really nervous about her appointment because she usually does not do well but it went so smoothly. She didn't cry or whine at all and I think that had a lot to do with the movie "Moana" playing above her. However, she did start crying as soon as we got in the car. She did not like having a numb face and not even the smoothie and dollar store toy I bought her seemed to placate her. It took about an hour for the numbness to wear off and her to start being happy again.
Tuesday night I dropped the girls off with Mariah so my parents and I could take the boys on a special trip to the Grand Canyon the next day. After I dropped off the girls I got to go to The Cheesecake Factory again- this time with my friend Karen. I had a nice surprise when I got to the Cheesecake Factory, my neighbor from when I lived in Gilbert was there. It was so fun to see Sue, she was always so nice to us. I had been thinking I should just drop by her house and say hello so I was glad that I ran in to her. After talking with her a bit I got to go eat some cheesecake with Karen. It was good to see her and catch up, she was a huge help to me when we lived in Arizona and a very good friend. It's nice that we can get together after a looong time and not be super awkward.
Wednesday morning we set off with the boys to Flagstaff. We got there around lunchtime so we had some Subway and then we headed to Sunset Crater Volcano. We got to the visitor's center and then we got lost. I had asked what hike would be good for us and she vaguely said they were all good. That wasn't super helpful and when we left we realized we had no idea where the trails were. For some reason, none of us wanted to go back in and ask for directions so we saw a trail head nearby and took it. It didn't take too long for us to regret it. The trail appeared to be made of crushed lava so it felt like walking through sand. It was hard to walk through and then Poppy decided to take a detour which was not supported by Grams.
When we got to that really photogenic tree on the bottom left we had all had enough walking and decided this trail was going to take us way too long to reach the volcano and we probably wouldn't be able to make it back and also rain was threatening SO we abandoned ship and walked back to our car. It was a wise choice. Driving along the trail and stopping at scenic spots was much easier and less exhausting.
The first stop was at a bunch of lava rocks that the kids enjoyed climbing on and discovering little caves (top Right and bottom left).
Our next stop was near the base of the volcano. Really pretty colors on the volcano side...and also that creeper picture of Ben ;)
Next we drove down to the Wupatki Indian Ruins. On our way there it started pouring down rain and that made the drive less enjoyable but it let up by the time we got there. The boys enjoyed hiking around the ruins but were a little disappointed that they couldn't climb into most of the rooms. They did get to run around the ball court though, which was apparently super fun.
We were all done for the day afterwards so we checked into our hotel, walked to a nearby Smash Burger for food and then rotted our brains with TV and devices until bedtime. I slightly corrupted my boys by watching "Family Feud" with them. Through this they learned all sorts of scandalous things like what body parts people pull (ie penis and nipples).
Thursday morning we got up nice and early and drove up to the Grand Canyon- we got there around 8:30am and parked at the Visitor Center. From there we caught the shuttle to the Bright Angel Trailhead because the boys really wanted to try and hike down the canyon a bit. When we got there, there was this pretty scenic view:
Then we begun our climb down the Bright Angel Trail. Grams opted not to go with us. It's a pretty steep climb down which means it would be a pretty steep climb back up. Poppy was up for the challenge though and we had a good hike. We didn't go super far (we didn't even make it to the first 1.5 mile marker) but I didn't want to overdo it- especially since the temperatures were warming up. We did enough to see some pretty views though and now the boys can say they hiked into the canyon. At one point hiking back up I decided to do a quick run up a steep part and tripped and fell on my hands. There was a large group behind me so it was pretty well seen. I managed to get a rock stuck under the skin on my thumb so that was super uncomfortable in addition to the embarrassment. On the bright side dad had a good chat when we stopped to rest with a lady from Washington DC who travels to Michigan in the summers. It was fun to be in Arizona talking to someone from my side of the country.
I was also advertising super contradicting messages with my "Free Hugs" hat and "Don't Hug Me" shirt ;)
At the end of the Rim Trail we got a much needed (and very expensive) lunch and then took the shuttle all the way back to the visitor center. The shuttle was so crammed and peopley. They kept packing in the people and with my boys being a super fighty mood that day it was super fun to have them shoving at each other in a crowded bus. I know that they had a fun time when all was said and done but their incessant fighting was really driving me bananas.
We took some bathroom breaks at the visitor center and then we hopped on another shuttle to see the Yavapie Point and Geology Museum. The Museum was extremely small but it did offer an amazing view of the Grand Canyon, which was made even more beautiful with an approaching storm. The museum did talk about how the Grand Canyon came to be and that was interesting.
When we finished up there we went back on the shuttle and back to the visitor center where we spent WAY too much time at the gift shop with the boys trying to find some silly thing to remember the Grand Canyon by. They were seriously insistent about it but there really wasn't much there in my price range that interested them. I really should have just said forget it, they were acting so spoiled but I didn't. In the end Steven got a star chart and Ben got a drawing notebook that had a picture of the Grand Canyon on the cover. We also got these pictures of these amazing photo ops....
While we were in the Gift Shop the storm hit and since we were all pooped we decided we were done with the Grand Canyon and headed back to the hotel for dinner and brain rotting. It was a good day.
Friday Poppy got up bright and early and had us all ushered out the door quickly. We were back at my parents home before lunch time and I picked up the girls shortly after. That night the boys had a sleepover at the Bowman's house so the girls and I went out to Bahama Bucks with Mike and his kids. It was crazy, messy (Emaline is very hands on with eating her shaved ice ;) ), fun and only a little awkward when someone assumed he was my husband and these were our 5 kids.
Saturday morning Lillian got her second birthday party of the month. She's a fun girl who knows what she wants (there was a incident in New Mexico where she really did not want to wear pants) and she also is real good at giving me that adorable pout pout face. We had fun celebrating her and then hanging out with her family afterwards for a bit.
Then that afternoon Mike, Oliver and Lillian went with us to Skyline pool where we met Tara, Keshia, Mariah and their families. I always struggle when there are a lot of people- torn between hanging with my brother and hanging with Tyler's family members but I know the kids really enjoyed their cousin time. And that end of it Lucy got real brave and jumped on the diving board. At first we thought she wasn't old enough to jump but when we realized she was she started getting scared. She would walk towards it and them come running back but finally she did it- twice! I was real proud of her.
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