A few days before we left for Flagstaff AZ, we were looking at the forecast and were a little worried that the "snowy" mountains may not be too snowy... Regardless, we were on our way! My entire side of the family was coming along and we were heading to a fabulous house with a mountain view. Super exciting!
The trip started off with a bang. The kids were missing their last day of school before winter break so we could head out before the crowds (and before the airline tickets cost 2x). 4am came early, but we were ready!! The kids have no memory of the limited number of flights they have been on (maybe 2) and so they were PUMPED to see the airport. It took some creative packing, but we were out for a 6 day trip with 5 people with 1 huge carseat bag, 3 checked bags, 4 carry-on bags and 5 backpacks. It was nuts (and BARELY fit in the Pilot...) - I had not considered that until 4am when we were leaving... glad I didn't use the 4th checked bag!!!
Amy, Stephen and Miles were on the same flight and met us at the airport. Miles was completely in LOVE with watching the airplanes through the window.
The kids (Miles included!) were awesome on the plane. Turns out, when you give kids iPads who usually don't get iPads - they are pretty quiet and happy for a LONG time. :)
My parents drove in after a stop in El Paso to visit my aunt. They arrived before us but gleefully sent a message that "WE HAVE SNOW ON THE GROUND!!!" Hooray!! That alleviated my fears of not having any snow at all. The second we pulled in, it was the first thing the kids did.
As the kids were happy playing, we went in and started checking out the house. It was awesome. Perfectly cozy and set for Christmas. Super happy with how that turned out.
Erin and Halle came in from the snow and warmed up by the fire!
Meanwhile, Lia stayed out for a LONG time and eventually came in wanting to put a snowball in the freezer.
Continuing in Feekin tradition, Christmas puzzles abound!!
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| Halle in the morning. Ha. |
It was a true highlight. Hearing their hooves on the cement was really neat and just the sheer number of them was insane to see in a neighborhood setting.
Chasing the elk got Todd and the girls out walking around and they found a hill of snow. What do Texas kids do when they see a hill of snow? Slide down on their bums in their pjs of course!! No time for sleds here...
Todd came back looking for sleds at the house and couldn't find any (later found a whole stack up on a high shelf) but found a shovel and figured that would work. It worked great until one of the kids caught a shovel between the legs. Then it was all done shovel.
There were some pretty views from the neighborhood, pond and playground.
The kids ran ahead of Todd and unbeknownest to him, Lia was standing on the ice in the pond in this picture. When he arrived, the ice was clearly not strong enough to hold a human. So glad she didn't fall in!!!
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| What kid doesn't love a playground in the snow?!?! |
On the way there, we realized the kids had absolutely no idea where we were going or what the big deal was. We also realized they didn't even know what it was called.
We arrived and had a nice family lunch before setting out to see the sights!
It was gorgeous. Really amazing sight.
It was very hard to concentrate on the really unbelievable thing in front of me when all I was thinking about is the fact that one of the kids is going to fall off the cliff. Literally. There were zero railings. Nothing to prevent a miss-step and boom - off you go. Holy hell anxiety.
So, unfortunately for the kids, they were prevented from exploring and were told 'no' quite a bit...
My dad was worse than me and the two of us together were probably a sight to see. I found myself wishing I still had a stroller I could strap them in.
We were brave enough to get a few pictures. Sitting.
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| There you go, kids, you have officially been to the Grand Canyon. Behind the kids is one brick paver and then NOTHING. This place is terrifying with children. |
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| The one and only place with a decent wall. Made for a cutie picture. |
We went the scenic path on the way back and saw some amazing views. Almost ran out of gas too. No one told us that the scenic path has zero gas stations... haha
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| hahahaha - All bundled up! |
Each had a bunch of snow to throw. The pictures below are blurry, but so cute nonetheless.
My mom found her favorite place in the house - close to the fire and a big enough area for all the kids to snuggle up and read. This was a frequent sight. And oh so adorable.
The following day we had set aside as our "snow play" day. After some research, we were disappointed to find out that the ski resort does not offer tubing any longer. We didn't want to pay for ski rentals, etc just to have all the kids stand there and cry - so we had to go to plan B. There was a slim chance that a brand new facility would open over the next few days for snow tubing - so we crossed our fingers and headed to downtown Flagstaff to hang out.
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| Lia has really taken to cooking lately. She has always wanted to help, but now she is big enough that we aren't as worried about her burning herself. She and Todd made everyone bacon and eggs! |
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| Puzzle number 2! |
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| So freaking cute. |
The downtown Flagstaff visitor center had a train going around the wall near the ceiling. Miles loved it and the kids made their own train and followed it around the store. So cute.
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| Stopped at a fun playground! |
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| I love this picture. |
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| Erin was reading to Miles. **melt** |
The rink guard was so kind to get this picture for us, but it took a little phone navigation. Found this video on Todd's phone when going through photos - hilarious.
The kids quickly realized that this ice was much different than the plastic stuff from the day before. Halle did NOT like that falling equaled cold and wet hands and knees. The rink provided these little walker things for the kids to learn. They were awesome!!!
Erin and Halle loved the walkers and used them most of the time. Lia was (of course) too proud to use the walker and was determined to figure it out. She fell 100s of times and didn't seem to care. so funny to see the differences in how they experience something new.
I had a super fun time skating with the girls, but my feet started to hurt badly after about 45 minutes. So I called it done and Erin followed along with me. We hung out on the sides watching the other skaters. Shortly before we left, the rink guard came out and said that since things were getting busier, Halle would have to wear a helmet in order to skate with the walker. Halle did NOT want to put that yucky helmet on her head and decided she would just skate without the walker.
As per usual, she just skated off like it was no big thing. It reminded me of when she started walking for the first time. Just like she'd been doing it for months. Just got up and walked.
After skating we went out to lunch and Todd snapped some fun pictures of the kids.
Back to the house for cookie making!!! Since we were just visiting, we didn't want to buy all the ingredients to make cookies from scratch, so the pilsbury rolls worked great!!
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| While we were cookie making the guys were... uh.... grocery shopping??? |
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| My parents, looking cozy. |
We capped off the night with new Christmas pjs, a plate for Santa and reading The Night Before Christmas. The kids hopped into bed and were super excited for Santa to visit!!!
Merry Christmas Eve!!!
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