Arizona- Day 1,2 ,3, 4

Tuesday we flew out to Arizona. My friend Caroline was nice to take us to the airport in our Suburban- that is not a fun car to drive. I was a little worried our flight might be canceled because there was a Microsoft outage that had grounded flights the weekend before and delta was struggling to fix itself. Thankfully our flight wasn't canceled but we did have to wait in an enormous line to drop off luggage. But security at the Detroit airport is always nice to our big family. They sent us to a special line which was shorter and also didn't require us to take anything out of our bags. It helped things to be easier and quicker. Since we had waited so long to check in, we didn't have much time to wait before boarding. Our seats were assigned at the gate at the lady was really snippy with me when I asked about them. She informed the seats were already posted and she had already announced this. I tried to be really nice to her because she had seated us all together- we were in the last row of the plane- but that didn't seem to soften her attitude towards me. While I dealt with the seats, Tyler got us all food. We chowed down the food quickly and then got on the plane. 

The flight was not great. I gave Ruby Benadryl because I was desperate to help calm her busy self but it literally did nothing. She spent the first 3 hours being fussy, clamboring over everyone's laps (and getting tangled in their headphone cords), hitting the movie screens, toddling into the aisles and causing baby mayhem. The last hour, when I think our patience was all spent, she finally fell asleep. Below is a picture of the girls who were excited to be flying and a dirty Ruby handprint on Penny's shorts.

After the flight we were picked up by my brother and taken to my parent's house. We stayed and chatted with them for a bit and then we went to the Hatch home and had dinner with all of Tyler's family. This was the first time in years that we were all together and it was actually really nice. I even participated in the conversation. Unfortunately it was a long day for Ruby so I headed out early with her and Tyler stayed behind with the rest of the kids. We had ended up borrowing my mom's car and his dad's truck and having two cars instead of one turned out to be very handy with a fussy baby.

Wednesday we had talked about going to Bull Pen but I am so glad we decided against it. I know the kids would have loved to go but it would have been a lot to pack and get ready for a day long hike and play. Plus it is so hot. Instead we had a nice morning where we went to Goodwill with Poppy and the girls found lots of cool stuff- a Lilo and Stitch shirt and Corgi bubble blower for Penny, and some cute jammie shorts and a VW bug shirt for Lucy. Then Tyler, Ruby, me and my parents went out to Broken Yolk. There food is soooo good but Ruby had a hard time sitting still for the meal, she was busy. After lunch we went to a public pool/waterpark with Keshia's family, Melissa's family and Tyler's mom came with Jezerea's kid. It was seriously so hot and of course I did not sunscreen my back good enough and ended up with a super great sunburn. All of our kids seemed to have fun. The older 3 loved jumping from the high dive board. Penny loved swimming laps and Ruby loved the little baby slide. I failed to take pics but Tyler' mom sent me some- the quality never translates from her phone to mine.

That night we talked about going to a movie with Poppy but Grams had some high blood pressure and ended up going to urgent care. Thankfully she was ok and came home not too long afterwards. She sure knows how to worry us.

Thursday morning we made another trip to another thrift store. This trip was less successful but Penny insisted on getting a romper that was too big for her because she didn't want to come home empty handed. Sigh. These girls of mine can be so spoiled. For lunch Tyler, Ben, my dad and Mike went out to eat for a manly date. Us women folk stayed behind and had leftovers. That afternoon we met the whole Hatch clan at Elevate so the kids could jump. Tyler was late because he went to the wrong Elevate. He should have asked me. This seemed to be a good time for all, even the teens. They all had an elaborate game of tag they played. Bryson tried to teach Steven some cool jumping tricks. Ruby kind of tottered around climbing on things but not much jumping from her yet. I had a good chat with Keshia and was able to catch up with the goings on her life. Melissa also chimed in and I am not sure why her constant insertion of praying for people bothers me but it does. Once again, I didn't take pics but here are some from Tyler's mom. She did not take very flattering pics of me. 

After the jumping fun we went to Tara's house for a BBQ and swim party. Tara got all judgy with me because I wanted to sunscreen my kids so they wouldn't get family pics with a sunburn. She said the UV rays were low and they wouldn't get burned. I swear she has to argue everything. Apparently the next day when they went swimming she was over the top in making sure my kids wore sunscreen. They all came home with pink faces anyways so whatever. Other than the sunscreen argument it was an ok time. I didn't really chat with anyone but had some fun moments with my nieces and nephews. I especially enjoyed sitting on the trampoline when the monsoon wind was blowing. It wasn't too awful hot at that moment and Saylor was being really sweet with Ruby.

I didn't stay too later after eating but all the kids slept over at Tara's house. They played arcade games, watched movies, made squishies, swam...The girls only complaint was that Reese kept ignoring them and playing with Kyle instead. 

Friday morning was nice and quiet with just Miss Ruby and us. Tyler and I picked up some things at Walmart and I attempted to look for a dress for pictures that night because I had just found out that I was the only woman not wearing a dress. I made a half hearted effort because I really did not want to spend the money and ended up just sticking with my jeans and blouse and feeling really out of place- I guess that's not abnormal for me though. For lunch Grams and I went to Kneaders while Tyler picked up the kids. A bunch of women were having some sort of birthday bash at Kneaders and it was so ridiculously loud. Many women wearing crowns and many women looking very done up. Not the best outing. 

That afternoon we had an early dinner of pizza, got ready for pictures (I even did a new hairdo on Penny) and then drove out to the mountains. It was 106 degrees which was not a good temperature for picture taking. Everyone was pink faced (not just from sunburns) and sweaty. Ruby got especially fussy during the whole family picture- crying and grabbing at me. I doubt she got a good picture of us in the group pic but maybe in some of the ones of just our family. Everybody was a complainer, even Tyler's mom, which sort of irked me because we were doing these pictures for her. There were lots of bees and some big beetles but at least the background for pictures was gorgeous. Steven enjoyed taking pics as the sun set to send to his friends. I always figures when he sends pics of something, even if he acts crabby, deep down he must actually like it and be making some core memories.

After pics we went to Tyler's parents house. They had food for those who hadn't eaten and then some delicious pie and cheesecake. Penny and Lucy were still struggling with Reese not playing with them and Penny was particularly emotional so once again I left early, this time with all the girls. It was fine because I wasn't really chatting with anyone anyways. 

Home for a Bit

Sundays I typically like to rock Ruby to sleep near the end of Sacrament and then stay in the mother's lounge with her until she wakes up. This is going to be tricky when I start playing the piano in Primary because I will actually need to get there on time and can't just hang with her in the mother's lounge. I am bummed about that because I am not sure that Tyler will be able to get her to sleep and he certainly doesn't have a place as quiet as the mother's lounge for her. Maybe church needs a father's lounge too ;) For Primary I had the lesson. We played  a matching game  and talked about the Anti Nephi Lehi's. It actually went well but it's always just a hit or a miss with that class. After church we didn't have anything going on so I enjoyed a nice nap. I love Sunday afternoon naps with Ruby.

This week Lucy and Penny went to Create and Care Camp. It was Mon-Fri morning for 3.5 hours and it was hosted at the church where their school is. Lucy says she loves the snacks at the camp. So she wasn't happy when there was one day where they had vegetables- but she especially loved the day where they served watermelon and popcorn. Penny loves the camp for the crafts but one of the crafts fell apart when she got home and left her spiraling when she couldn't put it back together again (it was a koala out of clay). Lately Penny has been really struggling with her emotions and anything hard or frustrating is the end of the world for her. We need to work on this. Other than that dramatic craft and bad snack, I think they both had a great time. They both have friends there that they met last year and were happy to hang out with again. Penny was excited to find out that her friend will also be at the school Wednesdays with her so they can have lunch together. I love that the camp gets them out of the house (and off screens) in the morning. It also meant that I didn't feel like I needed to entertain them this week so we didn't do too much for most of the week. 

Monday Steven and I had eye appointments. I didn't want to get my eyes dilated because I had to be somewhere and they seem to stay dilated FOREVER. The doctor reprimanded me and told me I need to do it because of my bad eyesight. Maybe next time I will comply. Steven has always gotten the same frames but he finally outgrew them (they are kids sized) and had to get adult frames. He got some basically the same style but they look much nicer because they fit his face. Can't wait until they get in!. After the eye appt I got my hair cut and colored at Grace's salon. I was in desperate need of a refresh and it does feel better. She did my hair all cute before I left but I can never recreate the cute waves. I am just not hair talented. Here is me trying to document the new hair. I also used a filter to smooth away all my wrinkles ;) 

Tuesday Steven had lost computer privileges so he actually made plans with friends (David, Renee, Mia). They all went to our beach and decided they were bored and went to another one. Then they came to our house and played on the switch. And they walked to seven eleven which is funny because all of them can drive. I appreciate that they still want to walk as something to do. Ben had a couple friends over too. His bestie couldn't hang out and he was being very mopey so I suggested a couple boys from the ward instead. I am glad the last minute hang out worked for him. It did mean for a lot of teens at my house though. I tried to hide from everyone upstairs in the girl's when Ruby was napping in mine and then Steven brought them all upstairs to see his guinea pig. There really is nowhere for me in this house. Ruby needs to move into the girl's room but she still isn't sleeping through the night. Boo.

Wednesday Lucy had yet another activity at a leader's beach. I made sure we got her some wax ear plugs because I did not want her ears to get infected again. The yw are really loving the beach apparently because they have another beach activity in August and they have already been 3 times. This leaders beach is fun because it is deeper than ours and has an awesome slide. Meanwhile the boys had an activity at the church with Tyler in charge, teaching about HAM radio.

Friday after Create and Care Camp we decided to stop by the Farmington Founder's Festival since it was right by their camp. I think it was good choice. My favorite pretzel truck was there so we had to get a couple pretzels to share. Ruby was a little weary to try it but ended up liking it. I mean of course she did, salty pretzels are amazing. While we were sitting and eating our pretzels an older lady came up to us and admired the girls big eyes and asked where they got them from- obviously their dad, lol. She also asked if the girls were twins. After that we went to a part where they had different vehicles you could sit in. Ruby was funny and really seemed to enoy sitting in the back of the cop car. I hope this doesn't foretell her future. We also looked all the cute art vendors and decided we need to come up with a craft we can sell. They had some really fun stuff but it's all so expensive.

Saturday the girls and I hit up the Sheriff's Open House. We got free shaved ice which was awesome but then we stood in line for ages so the girls could their faces painted and that standing made them grumpy. Ironically Ruby didn't seem to mind. She can be a really good baby sometimes. I did get to chat with our neighbor Christy for a bit while we were in line. Her brother is a police officer and was behind the planning of this event. I sometimes wish our boys were still friends because she really is such a nice person and I don't get to talk to her much anymore. After the face painting Lucy threw some balls to dunk a Sheriff. Her last ball hit it dead on and dunked him. They were all impressed. Especially because the person who had just gone before her was a police officer and had been unsuccessful at dunking the Sheriff. Next Lucy sat in the seatbelt convincer which stopped her at 5 miles per hour. She decided seat belts were important. By that time they were both being very grumpy and mean to each other so it was definitely time to go. Although we did stop by a really cool swat vehicle. I have to wonder how often they actually need those in our county.

This week Ruby really started walking. She took a few steps last week but this week we watched her walk from one side of the room to the other. She doesn't always choose to walk but she is getting quite good at it. She can pivot, pick things up, all sorts of talent. She also started waking up really upset during the night this week. She usually always wakes up but not crying. I had stopped using the humidifier which has a soft glow to it and I am wondering if she is not a fan of the dark and is just scared. Saturday we gave her her birthday gift because it came early and it's not like she knows what a birthday is. Plus it's not something we could really wrap. It's called a pikler triangle and is meant to be climbed on. She was a little weary of it at first but I hope she will get more comfortable with it and start having more fun with it. I am hoping it will be entertaining on long winter days!

The Rest of Tennessee and Home

 Monday was our last day of adventures in Tennessee. We decided to drive to New Found Gap so we could see a view of the mountains without a tricky hike and also so we could claim that we had been to North Carolina since it was right at the border. The drive was really pretty and so was the view at top. It was also significantly cooler which was a nice change. At some point Mike and his girls went off on a trail, thinking we were following them but alas, we were not. We were mean and made him come back.

On our way back down I decided we should randomly stop at one of the pull offs. Poppy really seemed like he wanted a hike and I could see the river close by and thought this would be the perfect little jaunt for all of us. It ended up just being our car load (my family minus Steven, plus Lillian and Poppy). It also ended up being such a nice little jaunt. There was only one other family there and the water was pretty, the rocks easy to climb around, lots of skipping stones for Tyler to collect (and Ruby to try to eat) and Ben found a perfect little offshoot with a bridge and more rocks to climb. He claimed himself the founder of the spot he found and dubbed it "Pond World". This was another one of my favorite moments from the trip.

After that we did one more stop so I could take a picture of scenic view and there were butterflies everywhere so I had to take some pics of them too- even if they were just fluttering around on asphalt.

    

Then it was back to the bnb to scrounge up some lunch and put Ruby down for a nap. After her nap I was antsy so I decided we should go to Wonderworks- it looked like a tourist trap but also like somewhere the kids could have some fun. I am not sure Mike really wanted to go but he ended up coming with Lillian and Matilda. And for some reason my dad wanted to come so my mom came too but I think they both regretted their decision. It was noisy and not any fun for them. The kids, on the other hand, seemed to be entertained by it. Some things were a bit lamer than expected- like the earthquake simulator and hurricane simulator- but the climbing wall, ropes course (which scared Penny), the bubble making station, the giant Lite Brite and the XD coaster were a hit with the kids. Steven also decided he wanted to spend his souvenir money on a machine that spit out Skittles. $9 for that cup.

And that was basically the end of our fun. We got back to the bnb, had some dinner and worked on getting some things cleaned up and packed up so we could head out the next morning. That night I sat outside with my mom, listening to the weird sounds of nature, watching the lightening in the clouds, and having a good chat. It was a perfect way to end our trip.

The trip back home Tuesday went smoothly. We got lunch at Buc-ee's and the food was good but we had to eat it in the car so that was not so fun. We hit some traffic in Cincinnati but that was about it and it was not even a dead stop so it wasn't bad. Ruby was definitely done with the car so we had to stop more frequently so she could get out and wiggle but I didn't mind the extra stops. Overall Ruby did really good for her first outing.

Wednesday morning the kids were all tuckered out but they had ym/yw's camp so they had to pack up and head off on a 3.5 hour trip to get there. I felt bad for them- especially Tyler since he had to be the driver. Lucy was also particularly irritable that morning, her ear was hurting her. For me, it was nice to just have Penny and Ruby. Things were quiet and I needed that after the trip. Penny got invited over to a friend's house so I dropped her off and then took Ruby to Kroger's to pick up a few thing. That turned out not so good. I had all these issues doing self check out. There was a conveyor belt and it kept spitting things back at me. And then I tried to get cash back to pay Reggie for watching our pets but my pin wouldn't work. By the time I got to my car, I realized that I hadn't paid for the cantaloupe that was sitting next to Ruby and while I was having that realization, a birthday card I had bought for friend flew out of the cart and into a puddle. Ugh. That's when I decided I was just going to be dishonest and keep the cantaloupe. Next time I go I can pay for it or something. I was much too frustrated to go back in. 

 

Thursday morning we stayed home and I cleaned everyone's bedding- my least favorite job- and caught up on life. That afternoon I had an ultrasound to check up on my bleeding. The results were that I still have that stupid defect from my c-section scar that is probably the cause of it. His suggestion was birth control because it might lessen my uterus shedding. Idk, I am not excited by the idea. Thursday evening Penny and I ran a quick errand and then we had a nice night watching "If" and eating TV dinners (her request). We also had some shaved ice with strawberry flavor for dessert. It was a perfect last night together before everyone returned.

Friday my friend Stefanie came over and hung out for a bit. It was nice to have a hang out where I didn't have to wrangle Ruby but also Stefanie kept interrupting our conversation to make goofy faces at Ruby and play with her.I felt slightly offended that she was giving Ruby more attention than me, lol ;). That afternoon Tyler, Lucy, Ben and Steven came home from their campout. They seemed less enthused by it but I am not sure if they were just super tired from all the things. It also seems like having the yw and ym together was maybe not the best because Tyler said there were a lot of girly crafts and then the girls were complaining that there were no toilets or showers. Girls and boys are different...

For dinner Friday I ran to Costco to get everyone some pizza, only to find the food court is closed for the next month. Boo. While we were leaving I saw someone from church. Her daughter has changed her pronouns to they/them and it's really weird to hear her talk about her daughter in the plural. I know she loves her kiddo and wants to be there for her but I don't know if that's the right thing to do. Such a difficult situation

Lucy's ear was still hurting her so Saturday morning I took her to the walk-in clinic to get it checked. She indeed had an ear infection. The drops were $58. That feels like an insane amount of money for ear drops. Hopefully her ear will get better quickly so she won't have issues on the plane with it. The rest of the day was nothing spectacular. Tyler spent the day trying to clean up all his camping stuff, Lucy had a hang out with her friend that she hadn't seen in forever, and I started doing some planning for the Arizona trip. 

Tennessee: Day 5, 6, 7

Friday we went to the Titanic Museum. This was our day to wear our matching shirts and the museum also gave us all matching stickers. It was very clear we were the Brady Bunch. At the start of our visit the museum gave us each a short bio of someone who was on the Titanic and at the end we were to find out our fate. Spoiler alert- I survived. Not too surprising since I was a first class passenger. The museum was very interesting with facts about the ship and the people. It also had a replica of the ballroom stairs, a place where you could touch water to feel how cold it was when the Titanic sank, a man playing the piano with bios on the musicians and a massive lego replica of the ship. I think my dad really liked it because he took the longest to go through it. It was his birthday so I really do hope he had a good time. 

After the museum I had picked a burger joint for us to go to- Cookie Dough Monster- but it wasn't quite open yet. Some of us killed time by shopping at Nine Line which was nearby it, while others sat in their car. Tyler was very happy to get some shirts at Nine Line, he loves their stuff. I am glad we decided to wait it out and eat there. The food was fantastic. I got a chicken burger- I think it was called the Chick-jita. The sauce on it was so yummy and I would love to eat there again. I spent the rest of the day at the bnb. At one point Mike took Lillian, Penny, Lucy and Emmy to the Ripley's Museum and Tyler went to Walmart to get charcoal for grilling. When Tyler came home with the groceries, he discovered the bear was back, pawing at the front door. He quickly retreated back to the car until it went away. I failed to answer my phone and therefore failed to help rescue him. I was definitely in trouble for that. That evening we had a BBQ for my dad's birthday and we celebrated with a ice cream cake that I had made. It turned out pretty good- I had put a middle layer of caramel and fruit.

    

Saturday morning we went into the Smoky Mountains and hit up the Gatlinburg Trail. We walked a short ways and then the kids played in the river. Tyler almost immediately slipped while walking with Ruby and they both ended up wet. I think pretty much every person who played in the water ended up more wet than they had expected. We probably should have brought towels. There was also a butterfly that kept fluttering around a particular spot and it was pretty fun to watch but it never sat still enough for a good picture.  

    

After a bit, my dad needed a bathroom. There was a visitor's center a short drive away and Ruby was napping so I figured they could drive and I would walk with the kids down to it. It didn't seem too far and the trail had been fairly flat up to that point and right by the road so I figured it would be fine- if we got tired they could just pick us up. That was a poor idea. The trail decided to give us some inclines and veer far from the road. With the humidity and stroller and kids...the short walk started to feel like an eternity. When we finally met up with a road I called Tyler to see if he could find us. It took longer than I would have liked but he did find us so thankfully we didn't have to do the full trail. I'm a wimp in the heat.

On our way back Tyler dropped me, Penny, Lillian and my mom off at the Salt and Pepper Shaker Museum. It was fun to see all the different sets there and at the end I bought myself dinosaur salt and pepper shakers. It was funny how many people came in thinking it was shop and became disappointed that they would have to pay $3/person to go through it. The nice part was the $3 counted towards anything you bought at the end.

After Ruby's nap my family (minus Steven and plus Grams and Lillian) did some shopping in Pigeon Forge. We hit up the Moon Pie General Store since Tyler loves Moon Pies. It had a variety of flavors and everyone was allowed to take one free sample. I got salted caramel and was going to save it for later but Ruby got a hold of it and managed to break it open. It was yummy! After that store we hit up Simply Southern where I bought me and the girls some shirts and then a We the People Trump Store which had some funny conservative shirts and banners.

 

After our shopping it was time for the Pirate Dinner Show. I had always thought it would be fun to go to one of these, especially after seeing one on Veggie Tales ;). Poppy didn't join us for this event and I think he missed out. The story was mid but all the acts and tricks were cool- lots of gymnastics/ dancing,  aerial tricks on swings/ ribbons/ diving boards, fire breathing tricks, pet tricks (parrots/sea lion/dog). It felt kind of like a circus. The food was pretty good too. It would have been even more enjoyable if I didn't have a squirmy baby on my lap who kept trying to grab all my food. Ruby certainly makes these things trickier. I don't know how I'm going to survive a plane ride with her here in a couple weeks. She does not like to sit. 

Sunday we went to Parrot Mountain. This was definitely a favorite because by the end, everyone seemed to be having fun with the birds. When you walk in, there are parrots on perches everywhere which is so cool. One was dancing for us and another professed that it loves us. Then we saw some really cool birds- the toucans and kookaburras were my favorite. 

After that we hit up an area where you are allowed to hold any of the birds. The smaller ones were fairly easy to get on you and often didn't want to get off- climbing on shoulders and heads. Ben had brought some change so he got some bird seed and that made him even more popular. But one bird tried to pierce his ear near the end and I think he was done with them after that. A man helped Penny,Ben and I hold a big macaw parrots but it was tricky to get it on us. I finally got it to come to me and then it hopped off me onto another perch that wasn't it's perch. The man was not happy with me letting it do that but in the moment I wasn't sure what to do. I was worried it was going to hop off me onto the ground and I know their wings are clipped. I got reprimanded which made me less excited to hold anymore birds. 

    

Our next stop was to feed the Lory birds some nectar. They were like addicts and swarmed us as soon as we walked in and the nectar was gone quickly. Ben really liked the one in Lucy's pic that was bald- he affectionately and creatively named it "Baldy".

After that there were a few more birds to look at, and then the last stop was the nursery which was also a lot of fun. These were all friendly, baby birds that I would not mind buying because they are totally comfortable with people.

For lunch we went to the Corner Diner. Since it was Tyler's birthday I tried to pick a place with breakfast foods since they don't usually get stuck in his throat. The food was ok- I got a chicken pot pie biscuit- but I still regret not going for a more dessert entrée- the banana pie pancakes. Those sounded so good. Tyler got something equivalent to a breakfast chimichanga and really enjoyed it. After eating lunch, we hit up a couple stores again to get a few things we had missed and then stopped at the Three Bears Store. I thought this would be cool because it has live bears you can see. I did not realize that they cost extra to see and have times where you can't see them. That was a bust. But the store itself had a lot of great things and I ended up getting a gummy bear candle (that was our nickname for Ruby when she was in my tummy) and a super soft sweater for the winter. 

Sunday evening Tyler attempted to BBQ chicken and the bear came prowling again. Thankfully he got back in the house safely and even managed to go back and save some of the chicken. Those bears really like our house. After that fun, he went off to Dollywood again with Ben, Lucy and Mike so they could ride some more rides and eat cotton candy. It seemed like a good way to celebrate his birthday. He said they had hardly any lines and they were able to ride ALL the rollercoasters- which was fun but also reminded him of his age. I wish I could have gone but somebody needed to watch Miss Ruby and I probably would have been done after a couple rollercoasters.

Meanwhile the rest of us enjoyed an evening in the bnb out on the balcony with the view of a double rainbow. Sitting outside with Rebecca and my mom and whatever kids came to join us are some of my favorite moments on the trip. Even if at one point Ruby attempted to eat what we thought was a leaf but was actually a bug. That was so gross!