My mom turned 50 this month! So, the boys and I, (minus Jon-he couldn't get enough time off work) decided to take a trip to Arizona to visit her and my stepdad at their winter home.
They've had this place for a couple years now, but this is only the second time I had been there. It was a much needed little vacation and we all had a blast :)
The boys hadn't seen grandma and grandpa since last summer, but I was amazed Grady still remembered them so well. He was so excited to see them (and all four of their dogs) again. We had so much fun!
The weather was PERFECT - warm, 70s-80s, sunny, and best of all - no rain! All I heard come out of Grady's mouth all weekend was "side, side, SIDE!" over and over and over, meaning "outside". Grady wanted to spend every single minute of his time outside-mostly hanging out in the back yard, playing with his cars, trucks, tractors, rocks, and his favorite...picking oranges from the orange trees. By the time we left, one tree was entirely plucked of ALL it's oranges, and the other two were quite bare, heheh. I guess they were ripe and ready to be eaten anyway :) We also spent some time at a nearby park. Drew got to swing in a baby swing for the first time and really seemed to enjoy it. During the rest of our time, we went out to eat, shopped, visited the Phoenix Zoo, and also got to spend some time visiting other family we hadn't seen in years as well.
I swear, every time we go somewhere, the boys grow up sooo much in a short amount of time. Grady is so much more vocal-speech is more clear, vocabulary seems to have doubled, and he is putting more words together in a sentence! Drew's personality has come out even more now, he has branched out in the food department, and he is almost standing on his own!
Overall it was a wonderful trip. And although we all missed daddy very much and are happy to be back home, it was sad leaving and makes me wish we were closer to home and our families. I have learned to treasure those precious moments my boys get to spend with their grandparents and the memories we have to look back on...and we always look forward to 'the next time', which, hopefully will be very soon.
They've had this place for a couple years now, but this is only the second time I had been there. It was a much needed little vacation and we all had a blast :)
The boys hadn't seen grandma and grandpa since last summer, but I was amazed Grady still remembered them so well. He was so excited to see them (and all four of their dogs) again. We had so much fun!
The weather was PERFECT - warm, 70s-80s, sunny, and best of all - no rain! All I heard come out of Grady's mouth all weekend was "side, side, SIDE!" over and over and over, meaning "outside". Grady wanted to spend every single minute of his time outside-mostly hanging out in the back yard, playing with his cars, trucks, tractors, rocks, and his favorite...picking oranges from the orange trees. By the time we left, one tree was entirely plucked of ALL it's oranges, and the other two were quite bare, heheh. I guess they were ripe and ready to be eaten anyway :) We also spent some time at a nearby park. Drew got to swing in a baby swing for the first time and really seemed to enjoy it. During the rest of our time, we went out to eat, shopped, visited the Phoenix Zoo, and also got to spend some time visiting other family we hadn't seen in years as well.
I swear, every time we go somewhere, the boys grow up sooo much in a short amount of time. Grady is so much more vocal-speech is more clear, vocabulary seems to have doubled, and he is putting more words together in a sentence! Drew's personality has come out even more now, he has branched out in the food department, and he is almost standing on his own!
Overall it was a wonderful trip. And although we all missed daddy very much and are happy to be back home, it was sad leaving and makes me wish we were closer to home and our families. I have learned to treasure those precious moments my boys get to spend with their grandparents and the memories we have to look back on...and we always look forward to 'the next time', which, hopefully will be very soon.
grandma and drew on the patio outside
fun at the park
My dog, Simba - he's almost 16 years old now! Grady looked for him every morning when he got up... "sim-BA?!"
under the orange tree. this was grady's favorite. drew tried to take a bite of an orange and got a big suprise :) not a fan I guess... hehe
mom, what am I doing in the bird bath?
family...
at the zoo. I took way too many pictures to post, but these are a few of my favs.
the middle picture is the entrance to the zoo - kind of scenic.
the one on the left is grady's expression and excitement as he watches the birds eat the goldfish he was throwing to them...he thought it was the funniest thing in the world.
on the right, he is watching the animals in the petting zoo. he wasn't interested in getting too close.
at the zoo. I took way too many pictures to post, but these are a few of my favs.
the middle picture is the entrance to the zoo - kind of scenic.
the one on the left is grady's expression and excitement as he watches the birds eat the goldfish he was throwing to them...he thought it was the funniest thing in the world.
on the right, he is watching the animals in the petting zoo. he wasn't interested in getting too close.
Love the blog, looks like you guys had a blast!
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