We got to head north to Sedona for the 4th of July. We couldn't decide if we wanted to leave Friday, the 30th, once Trent got home from work, or Saturday morning. I could tell Trent was leaning toward Saturday, so I didn't stress too much about getting us completely packed on Friday. Turns out I probably should've done a little more because it took us forever to get out the door on Saturday. Man, packing for 3 kids is craaazy! Every time we thought we were just about ready to get on the road, we'd think of something else we were forgetting. Goodness, I think we finally pulled out right about 12.
It was only about a 3 hour drive. Janie fell asleep pretty early on. Sleeping beauty :)
We stopped at In-N-Out around 2 for a late lunch. Happy baby :)
I rode the rest of the way in the back to help out Beckett and the kids. I loved that Aiden was sitting cross legged in his booster :)
We arrived around 3:30. Tanis and Kent made it in the night before. They have a timeshare so we were in a nice 2 bedroom kind of condo. Aiden and Janie promptly went off to the pool with T&K and we walked up a little later. I'm realizing I didn't get any photos of that or from dinner.
Later that evening we went to Pisa Lisa for dinner and had salad, pizza, and gelato. My faves!
Cutie monkey ready for bed in his hedgehog jammies from Grandma Christensen :)
Sunday, we got up and got ready to head to Church. We were just about to head out the door around 8:45 when I got a call from my dad and his car had broken down outside of Flagstaff. He was headed up to Utah (my mom flew up) to meet up with the rest of my family for the 4th. He was about an hour/hour and a half from us and Kent and Trent jumped in the truck without hesitation to get a new battery delivered to him. Obviously it's not really how they expected to spend several hours on Sunday, but we didn't really have any other plans besides Church anyway ;)
In the meantime, Tanis and I took the kids up to the resort's kids area and the kids each got to choose an animal to paint. Aiden chose a crocodile and Janie chose a snake. I never did get a picture of their final products!
Then I headed back to feed Beckett and get him down for his nap. And Janie and Aiden hung out with Grandma for a while.
Trent and Kent made it back around 2:30.
Trent's bicep made the perfect little pillow for Beckett..ha.
Janie zonked out around 5 and we could just tell she was out for the night, but we didn't want to stay in all night. I'd pretty much just been hanging out in the condo all day :/ Thank you to Kent who volunteered to stay with Janie. The rest of us headed off to do a little hike to see Cathedral Rock.
Beckett in his little baseball cap cracks me up :)
We didn't really know what we were doing and we got to a creek and were under the impression that we needed to cross over it to see Cathedral Rock. The water was moving pretty fast and I could just tell the rocks were slippery. Tanis and I decided to move down to a more shallow area, but Trent and Aiden thought they could do it. Turns out they took off their flip flops and it was even more slippery that way and they totally biffed it and got pretty wet :/ Beckett's cap went flying and Aiden lost his flip flops :/ So we spent the next little bit trying to recover those 3 items. I was pretty shocked that we got all 3 back! I kind of thought they were long gone, but there were lots of people there and they were kind enough to swoop them up. It was just a matter of us trying to find those kind people..ha.
Anyway, we soon found out we never even needed to step foot in the water, but just follow the dirt path we had been following all along..ha.
Beautiful Cathedral Rock. It really is quite gorgeous, especially in person when the sun is hitting it!
Got Grandma in on the photo.
Aiden and I spotted several dragonflies on our way out.
This water wheel provided electricity to the ranch back then.
All tuckered out, missing his wet/dirty cap.
I was just getting a picture of the view here, headed back to our car, but you can see that yellow Camaro there. That was probably Aiden's favorite part of the day..ha. It reminds him of Bumblebee, the Transformer ;) Now he is always on the lookout for Camaros whenever we're out driving..ha.
We got back and got Beckett right into the bath. We just thought it was funny that he was in a little ball in his towel..haha.
The next morning, Monday, the 3rd, we headed to breakfast at the Coffee Pot Restaurant. It's kind of a hot spot in Sedona, at least for breakfast, so there was a bit of a wait. Luckily the kids always keep Beckett pretty well entertained :)
We had a nice breakfast and then we were off to the Wildlife World Zoo.
I was so glad I remembered to pack this little baseball cap. Unfortunately Trent didn't realize the hood wasn't attached to the umbrella stroller so at least his cap was shading his little face!
He is TOO. CUTE.
We first went on the African Safari Train ride where we each got a piece of celery to feed to the giraffes.
They encouraged some people to stick the celery in their mouth if they wanted a giraffe kiss..ha. It's hard to see, but the lady there has it in her mouth.
We were sitting directly in front of the kids so it was hard to get them in a picture with the giraffe, but here's Janie taking her turn :)
Her cute face :)
Just a few more of the animals we saw. I didn't get pictures of all of them.
Look at the horns on that!
Then we headed over to claim our spot in the shade for the Tiger Splash. The only person that really changes in these next 3 pictures is Beckett..ha.
They did this with several different inflatables. It was fun to see the tiger jump for it, into the water.
Next we headed to the Reptile House.
They had a few of those peep hole things :)
Aiden's favorite part of the day...
...this bearded iguana..ha.
Another iguana coming down through the grass.
Pretty lion hanging out right above this entry.
It was hot, hot, hot, but we still had a very nice time. Thankfully they had misters going all throughout the park. My favorite part was probably the Tiger Splash, Janie and Trent both liked feeding the giraffes, and Aiden, as I said, loved the iguana.
Janie fell asleep with her new lizard on the way back.
We headed out of the park around 2 and still hadn't had lunch so that was up next. We headed to Javelina Cantina for some Mexican.
View on the way in.
Hard to tell much, but I had a great view from my seat :)
Aiden was loving his extra cheesy quesadilla :)
Love that background!
The kids with their new friends ;)
We had an easy going evening. I actually FaceTimed with my family for a little bit because Jenn was having her gender reveal party! And...it's a GIRL! I totally tried to screenshot right when they let the balloons out, but I must not know how to do that b/c it didn't work..ha. We are thrilled for Jenn and Michael though! And we're excited for another granddaughter in the family since Janie is the only one so far!
We went to the park with the kids for a little bit.
We had a slow morning on Tuesday, the 4th, and made our way down to the pool. My hands were pretty tied up holding Beckett the whole time, so this is the only shot I have from that :/ Aiden and Janie actually spent most of their time in the hot tub with Grandma and Grandpa..ha. The pool water was pretty dang cold! I only dipped my feet in.
I always force a picture in our 4th of July getup, but it is not easy with kids :/ Janie, Janie, Janie, she just looks so pained..ha.
Glad we had Trent to add some red to our photo. We always tend to be heavy on the navy and white ;)
After a few shots, the dreaded message popped up on my phone that I needed to free up some space. Stink!
Beckett was due for a nap so we took a little break. We have to roll his shorts, which is why the tag is sticking out..ha.
Beckett is pretty much always happy, but he is especially happy right after he wakes up!
Tanis and Kent prepared a perfectly traditional 4th of July meal for us - hot dogs, watermelon, chips - yum! And then it was time for them to pack up (they had decided to not stay for fireworks since they both had to work in the morning). But first Kent encouraged us to try another family photo. He gets me!
These have a better background, but I seriously couldn't stop laughing when I scrolled through them later. Sometimes I just wonder if we'll ever get a good family picture again! Trent and I agreed that I should have been holding Beckett, and why are we standing so far away from each other (you see that large space between us?). We just really need direction. Oh well, we gave it a good effort right?!
I knew we should get one, just the two of us, b/c I had a feeling I wouldn't be satisfied with the family one..ha. You know when you can just tell?
Janie tripped on the way back down to the condo :( Band-aids fix everything ;)
These two were matching and I could just die. I couldn't choose just 1!!
The way Aiden is sitting here makes Beckett look huge!
Much better!
I got this bib even before I had Beckett, while I was still pregnant. I just had to have it! I stinking love the 4th and red, white, and blue! Plus it was on sale for like a dollar or two..ha.
I was still adamant to get a family picture worthy of posting, even if I was the one taking it..ha.
How cute are they all?! Again, couldn't choose just one!
Beckett - JOY!
Janie's cheesy grin ;)
We spent the next while packing up since our plan was to just drive home right after fireworks.
So I changed us all into long sleeves because I was worried we'd get chilly watching fireworks. Yeah, no! It's not that much cooler in Sedona than the East Valley :/ Now I know!
We made it to Cottonwood for fireworks and claimed our spot around 8:15. They said fireworks should start right about 8:45, but due to high winds they kept getting pushed back. We finally decided to get our shoes on to head out b/c it didn't seem like the wind was letting up. And then the fireworks started!! It was literally perfect timing! We were just about to give up. So they started about an hour after originally planned.
Beckett's reaction to his first fireworks :)
Weird eyes from the flash.
Making the same face..ha.
The 3 kiddos at the very end :)
It was a pretty good show and we were glad we got to see the fireworks after all! This is always a time that I reflect on my gratitude for my adorable family. There's just something about having us all laying out on the blanket under the fireworks together. My absolute favorite! I'm so grateful I get to raise our children in this beautiful, free country.
It was a traffic jam trying to get out of there, but once we made it back on the road, we made pretty good time getting home. We got in just before midnight.
A huge thank you to Tanis and Kent for inviting us along. We had a wonderful time! They sure spoil us taking us out to eat lots and on grand adventures and helping out so much with the kids. It is always so nice to have a change of pace and scenery. Thank you, thank you!!
