A Whole New Level of Crazy

So I woke up last Wednesday knowing my mama's birthday was a couple days away. I also knew all my sisters were going home to surprise her and I'd be the only one stuck in a different state singing "Happy Birthday" via Skype. So I did what any completely neurotic person would do: I looked up flights home.

Guess what?

I found one. For $35 each, round trip. Yeah. The only catch was, the plane left from Vegas at 8am the next day.

Here's the part where I prove I'm a neurotic pregnant person: I drove to the airport (to avoid online booking fees) waited in line for two and a half hours with my squirrelly kids, and BOUGHT THE TICKETS. 

Then I raced home to pack my family. We left at 4pm that same day. I did mention I'm completely neurotic right now, didn't I? OK, then. We stayed the night with my sister's husband's uncle and aunt. No, we've never met them before. Yes, they live in a castle. We had our own wing for the 6 hours we were there.

We got up at 5am to catch our flight, managed it (just) and arrived in gloriously cool Idaho right before lunch. My sister picked me up and dropped me at the school where my mom works. Here's the video of her being totally surprised by my children. :D

I spent the ENTIRE weekend recovering from getting there. Seriously. I didn't even have the energy to make my mom a real birthday dinner two days later. We bought pizza.

Sunday my son comes into my room absolutely BEGGING to stay at Grandma's for "a real long long long time". I'd have said yes in a heartbeat but as it was, our car was sitting in the Vegas Airport Economy lot accruing fees at a staggering rate for some place called 'economy' and if we didn't go back and free it soon, we'd never be able to afford to. Honestly, parking cost more than one of the tickets. It was obscene.

The flight home was delayed, which just made the six hour drive home in the rain that much more enjoyable. Luckily I'd packed some Preparation H for the drive home (oh, the things nobody tells you about pregnancy...)

It's been cool and glorious since we've gotten home, but I haven't been able to rest because Recipe Club is at my house today. It turns out when you decide to travel, and then leave the same day, your housekeeping suffers. I've spent the last day and a half just putting things back together. I have no idea how (clean) kid underwear ended up in the fruit drawer of the fridge.
I'm super glad our plane didn't crash because then people (my in laws) would have seen my house like this, and they might actually think it was NORMAL for us. Gah! The embarrassment!

In other news, you shouldn't let your kids pack any part of their own luggage without at least checking it over first. I asked The Boy to get his Sunday shoes and put them in the bag. It wasn't until church on Sunday that we found he'd packed a non-matching pair. At least there was a left and right shoe...

I'd be a super crappy wife if I didn't mention that Husband was incredibly nice to let me haul my family across the country last minute. While he didn't enjoy the getting there, he did have a fun time surprising my mom. The weekend was kind of hectic for him, as he was moving all his software to different servers for work and had to stay up most of Saturday night with the rest of the Geeks from work to get it done. Luckily, he could do it from anywhere. Plus, it was cold enough in Idaho to warrant hot chocolate, and that always makes him happy.

Vacation: Lake Tahoe Day Three

Today I sorta forgot what day is was. Not just the date, the day of the week. Yup. More than anything my life resembles the movie Ground Hog Day.

Hubs didn't come home last night. He stayed with a friend in Reno so he could get his after party on with a bunch of other (published) authors. Guess what they did? Played card games. Not like Uno or Whist , we're talking geek card games. I can't even give you an example, because I'm not that geeky. If I were invited to an after party, it wouldn't be the kind with card games. Just say'n. (Mama's still got game.)

Anyhoo, I spent four hours last night holding an overly tired, screaming Zsa. By the time I finally rolled into bed, it was today. And the kids got up at 5. That would be am, in case you need clarification.

Luckily my super awesome cousin, Marge, lives a couple hours away AND likes Tahoe so she came up today with her two super cute cutie pie boys and we played on the beach all afternoon. She literally saved my sanity. Plus, she brought me a nectarine. I was in serious need of a pit fruit. Serious, serious need.

Can I just say, Marge and I were pretty good friends growing up, because we were the same age and all our cousins were lots older (or in the case of my sisters, lots younger) but since we've hit adulthood, we never manage to be in the same part of the country at the same time, so it was really great to get to visit and relax with her. She's pretty much da bomb.

The kids had a great time, got burned in random places and generally filled every bodily crevasse with sand.

Supposedly Hubs will be coming home tonight, though he said he'd be here around 5 and I just got a text saying he found a class at 5 he wants to attend, so who knows. All I know for sure is, he's not authorized to purchase any more clothing. He bought a new shirt today so nobody would see him in the same thing two days in a row. I'm pretty sure that's the first time in his entire life he's been concerned about that. Ferills.
At least if he doesn't buy any more clothes, he has to come back at some point, right?

Vacation: Lake Tahoe Day Two Point One

You know how Hubs is at Geek Convention TM? Well, he's there partly to have fun, but more to make connections and today he was part of a writer's panel. His work was reviewed by some professionals in the field and later he met with some famous authors and went to dinner with said authors. That was AFTER he was invited to attend a party tonight being hosted by a publishing house. You have no idea how hard a time I am having not tossing around names here. Let's just say this particular house is one of two, maybe three companies that publish the bulk of the type of writing Hubs does. This house is the Babe Ruth of publishing and it's the top of the top in his genre.
This has the potential to be a freaking huge deal. Especially because we're only on day two of Geek Convention TM. But it also means Hubs did not come home tonight. We all make sacrifices for greatness, right? Slowly going bonkers for lack of adult conversation is my sacrifice. Not only is Hubs gone while I'm awake, I have spotty cell coverage. I'm good for texting, and that's about it.
Anyway, I hurriedly ordered some business cards for Hubs since he forgot his, and he picked them up before the party. Hopefully (fingers crossed) he meets the right people. Hopefully he actually talks to people and doesn't spend the whole night in his typical wall flower pose. Hopefully, he channel a little me tonight. (Or really, a little anyone who isn't half agoraphobe.)
Later: I just found out Hubs isn't going to come home at ALL tonight. Which means he won't be here in the morning. Which means I get to explain that to my kids. Super. It also means I will have been on single parent duty for 48 hours by the time he makes an appearance and it ALSO means, I don't get a nectarine. I could kill for a good nectarine about now. Seriously.

PS It took me FOUR HOURS to put Zsa Zsa to bed. No lie. I thought we'd both go crazy before she passed out. This child needs confined and defined space like no one I've ever met.

Vacation: Lake Tahoe Day Two

Today was stellar on LOTS of levels.
First, Hubs was here when the kids got up so he made everyone breakfast. Score. :)
Housekeeping came by while the children and I were getting our gear together for the morning's excursion. We ended up leaving in kind of a hurry since like, 8 people came to clean our one bedroom condo and it was a touch crowded. (and PS how do I tip for that at the end of our stay?)
We took the shuttle up to the Gondola. Sadly, the camera was in the car with The Hubs, so I made due with The Boy's Camera (which the kids fought over) and my iPhone camera. We waited FOREVER for the shuttle to pick us up, but once it did, the driver was super nice and gave us lots of tips on stuff to do while in the area.

We arrived an hour before the Gondola started accepting customers so we killed time with bathroom breaks, badly done photo ops with kids as shooters and a mini cinnamon roll. Zsa finished hers in a hurry and wanted to start in on The Boy's, but I held her off with left over frosting.
Then another great thing happened; we found out that not only would it be free for Zsa Zsa to ride up, but The Boy was free, too! Stellar! Instant $20 savings. THEN we found out for just $4 more on my ticket, we could get a $15 voucher for the restaurants at the top of the mountain. A ride AND lunch!

The way up was simply terrifying. I'm glad I didn't think on it too hard before we loaded up. It's so quiet in the car, it's eerie.  The kids had a blast taking (blurry) pictures and generally enjoying the 17 minute ride. We gained something like 3000ft so our ears were popping, also. We got off midway and looked through some telescopes and went potty before loading up again.
At the top we goofed off for a bit and then headed to the restaurant for grub.
Both kids wanted mac n cheese.

 What I did not know until we paid was that it cost $4.50 each for a tiny tub of it. I tasted it, and it was worth $4.50 a tub. Still. For mac n cheese? And that's when I figured out going to "the top of the world" had pretty much the same exchange rate as going to Europe.
At this point, a certain member of our party was in full-on melt down, but I couldn't really blame her since it was close to nap time and she was all oxygen deprived and stuff, so we headed down mountain.

Since I'd tipped the shuttle so well on the ride in, we didn't have to wait long to get picked up. (See Sandy? I listen to you.)
The kids laid down for 4.2 nanoseconds, and then we walked The Boy down to the beach house for the activities hosted by the resort. (Do you tip for that?) Zsa and I headed back to the condo where I laid down, and Zsa Zsa colored and ate a cookie. Then she laid down too, and went to sleep. I ran to the beach to pick up The Boy without Zsa, since she was sleeping, and I'm sure that act cost me 2 years of my life. I've never left a sleeping kid alone. I actually did it twice today, since I went to check on The Boy once mid-activity. So there's 4 years, at least. I was only gone 8 minutes each time, but it was a harrowing 8 minutes. If you've ever met Zsa you know it's totally possible I'd have come back to a building on fire or at the very least, newly decorated walls.
Here's what I found instead. Just like I left her.

We just chilled for a while after naps, waiting for Hubs and his friend to show up for dinner, which is when the next cool thing happened.
To Be Continued...
And PS, if your gallbladder hates you, give it Lecithin. Holy Toledo. That stuff WORKS. I ate real food and didn't vomit. My shoulder didn't ache and I pretty much felt normal. YAY! Thanks for the advice, Whitney. :)

Vacation: Lake Tahoe Day One

We made it. The first day was NOT stellar, but really, any day that starts with vomit before breakfast just isn't destined for greatness, so I shouldn't have been surprised.

After my gallbladder forced my stomach to evacuate it's paltry contents (during family prayer), we loaded up the kids and said our goodbyes to Idaho.

Once in Reno, the kids and I dropped Dad off at the hotel for his Geek Convention TM and headed over to Costco. Did you know at the Reno Costco they make you show your card before you can use the BATHROOM? Did you also know that while you're digging the card out from the cheerios on the bottom of your purse, they will close the bathroom and laugh at you and your two small children doing the potty dance until another (female) employee takes pity on the three of you and makes the bathroom guy let you in? True story. I would not make up a tale about potty dances.

The kids and I shopped a week's worth of groceries and then drove on out to the condo at lake Tahoe. Which is when we found out the condo boasted a MINI fridge. Oh yeah, baby.
Here's what I bought:
pizza
whole chicken
2 gallons of milk
tub of salad mix
2.5 lbs cheese
1/2 flat raspberries
2 lb blueberries
2 dozen eggs
jam
ranch
veggie tray
watermelon
tortillas
lunch meat
Um yeah. It all fit. (not)
The first night I cooked the pizza and it touched both edges of the oven, because the fridge isn't the only mini thing about this condo. It's kinda like living in Japan. Diminutive.
Oh, and the fire alarm went off when I opened the oven to get the pizza out. It wasn't even crispy yet, let alone burnt.

I took the kids swimming, Zsa Zsa got a bloody nose when the car door ran into her face and  that about sums up the first day. Luckily, Day two was better.

Northern Migration

Well, we made it to Idaho. In a fit of stupidity, Hubs and I decided to try the trek from Arizona to Idaho all in one go. Again. Because it went so well the last time.
This trip the children did beautifully. They played nicely, napped, and only watched one movie for the entire 17-18 hour trip.

Hubs and I both stayed awake the entire journey. I started out this trip in slightly less than stellar condition. I'd tweaked my back (no doubt doing something stupid) and sitting for that long didn't improve things. In fact, I walked like an old woman every time we got out of the car. I'm sure I gained all sorts of sympathy from strangers with my beautiful children and my hunched over, gimpy gait. :/
Luckily, my awesome chiropractor was able to see my Friday, and by the time I left his office I was again walking in the full upright position, albeit still rather sore overall.

Playing In Pioche, NV.

Here are some awesome Boy quotes from the trip.
"Zsa Zsa damaged her toe on the bathroom door".

On Las Vegas: "This is a funny sort of place for a town".

And some Zsa Zsa quotes
"The bugs! They eat me!" followed by a full-on melt down. And the bugs? Gnats. To be fair, she did walk into a swarm and I don't think she's experienced gnats before.

Saturday The Hubs and I got back in the car and drove an additional 4 hours to Driggs, Idaho for the Huntsman Family Celebrate America shindig. We rather enjoyed our free time, ate funnel cakes and square ice cream and generally goofed off. The speeches by Huntsman Sr and Glenn Beck were both fabulous; focusing on the wonder that is America, and our God-given right of freedom. I may have to write up the speech at some point.

My cell phone camera doesn't zoom, but there's snow on those mountains. In July. Just say'n.

We watched the start of the fireworks and then drove to Idaho Falls where we stayed in THE crappiest motel IF has to offer. Seriously. It rivaled the by-the-hour hotel we stayed in during our honeymoon to San Diego, solidifying my theory that poor people shouldn't travel. :)

Both coming and going we got to visit with wonderful friends from our years in Idaho Falls. We wished we'd had time to see more of you. We also wished Bajio Restaurant hadn't closed. Ferills. That place is da bomb.

Father and Sons, a Mom's Perspective

This weekend is our church Father and Sons camp out. The Boy has been practically apoplectic with excitement for a good week now. This morning I did some last minute shopping for things like buns and s'more fixn'ns. The Boy REALLY wanted to come shopping with me, but not enough to stop watching a movie and get dressed in the 90 minute window I gave him. He was kinda pathetic running down the drive in his super hero undies and pj top with tears and snot dripping down his otherwise handsome face.
So sad that he has to suffer the consequences of his actions, isn't it? I know. I win the Best Mother Award.
(Just so no one calls CPS, The Hubs works from home and was on board to take over if he didn't get dressed in time.)
When it came time for the guys to leave on their trip, Zsa Zsa was just so sure she'd be going, too. And why not? She always gets to go when Daddy leaves!
As she snuggled me on the couch in tears I asked her if she thought she was a girl or a boy, and with out missing a beat, she said, "I a BOY!" This statement was made just that much more hilarious by the pink and frilly tutu around her waist.
So I've done my best to make our girl time special. We watched Gone With The Wind and Caillou and I made exactly what she requested for dinner, "eggies and straw-babies". Later, she gets to take a spa bath and have her nails painted. And maybe, if she's a very good kid, I'll play trucks with her before bed. But only if we get to wear our pink tutus.

PS: I have to say, if I had all boys I'd really look forward to Father and Sons all year long; but if I had all girls, like my mother, I'd dread it. How awful to have to stay home with FIVE girls and no help! Sorry, Mom.

One Upping: A Funny Story

Friday I found a $5 variable speed Black & Decker Sander. {Choirs of Angels Singing the Glory of My Craigslist Prowess}. On the way to pick up this little treasure, we ran a few errands. One of which consisted of picking up a pizza and taking it to the park so our hungry children could eat dinner and quit whining in the back seat.
At the park, we were, eh hem, privileged to meet some future stars of the MTV hit show, Jackass. One in particular stood out. This young man was really something. I'm guessing he's about 8 and we shall call him Scooter, because obviously his parents didn't care enough about him to give him a real name...or any child-rearing-ness.

Dear, sweet Scooter was playing the One-Up Game with a 6 year old I'm calling Reginald, because he was the less obnoxious pre-pre-teen.  This game consisted of  Bud saying something completely ridiculous like, "I'm the Neighborhood Champion of Skateboarders. I won by going down these stairs!" Then Reginald would say, "Well, my friend, Suzy Q, is the best! She did jumps from HERE! (pointing to the very top of a play structure pole). Then our little TV starlette wannabe would prove his skillz by (badly) performing a "trick".
Truly, it was hilarious.  The hubris was so thick, I nearly choked on it as I tried mightily to contain my mirth.
The best bit was when Scooter attempted a "trick" he just couldn't manage and introduced his face to the concrete. At that point, there really was no way to stop the laughter. It was guffaw, or die. And by die, I mean soil myself.
Needless to say, there's a reason I don't watch Jackass on television. It's much better live.

Where To Start

I'm having a hard time wrapping my head around the last 6 days.

In that amount of time, my only Grandpa died, I travelled to Utah for a funeral, came home again and resprained the ankle I paid oodles and gobs of money to have hacked open and repaired last year about this time.

All while dealing with some intense and personal issues. Too personal for the readers of IdahoBecky, withwhom I share practically everything? Yes. Even *I* am amazed by that.

In the near future I will publish a post on Grandpa, but I'm still mulling it over. I will say now that I was not prepared for his passing. Mostly because I did not want to face it. This was the inevitable end everyone saw coming, but I failed to brace for the storm. Oops. My bad. :/
The end result of my lack of preparedness is; this feels like loosing my dad all over again, except now I don't have that stopgap in the form a grandfather who loves me, knew my dad better than I did, and didn't mind standing in as surogate father when I needed one.
I'm feeling awefully alone, despite my husband in the kitchen making the kids, also in the kitchen, a pizza.
Really I need to just quit my moping and start counting the many blessings all around me.
I'm giving my self a week to finish boobing around, because I think that's how long it will take my ankle to heal. (haha, ankle...heal......anyway)
So this morning I did what I do every morning at 6:30 am, put on shoes and go for a brisk 3 mile walk/jog to warm up for an even more brisk 6 mile jog/run later in the day. But today, I didn't get very far because I'm a dork who recently has been experiencing balance issues. Basically, I tip over. And this morning, I tipped on the curb edge and rolled the ankle not a 1/8 of a mile from my front door. Oopsies.

Anybody know if they do ankle transplants?

The SURPRISE

I believe I mentioned two posts ago that a surprise for The Hubs was in the works.
Because he knew a surprise of some sort was coming for his birthday, I had a bit of fun with the misdirection:

1. Discussed hot air ballooning ad nausim
2. Left http://www.cruise.com/ up on the browser of our shared laptop
3. Mentioned it's cheaper to update your passport in Idaho than in Arizona ( by kinda a lot, but not enough to make it worth the trip)
4. Told him I'd need a blood sample and current passport before I could finish booking his "surprise"
5. Oh, did I mention his surprise came a month early? No? Well, a birthday surprise ON your birthday is not so much of a surprise, now is it.

Let me clarify: we're on a budget here, folks. The Hubs is no dummy, but he's also married to an extremely expensive wife (I make it a point to never be more expensive than the paycheck...if I can help it)
He didn't have a clue that we were going to....

DISNEYLAND!!

But first, we wentt to breakfast with The Hubs Uncle E. Have you tried The Original Pancake House. Oh my goodness. I'm still carrying around an extra couple lbs from this place, but it was SOOO worth it. The crepes were awesome, the apple pancake was awesome. I must resist all temptation to reverse engineer these marvels of culinary genius or I will NEVER fit in my skinny jeans. Not that I have skinny jeans, but you know what I mean.

But Idaho Becky, you ask. How did you do Disneyland on a BUDGET?!?!?!

It helps to know someone. A Disney cast member, to be exact, because then, the tickets are FREE!

So I shelled out $120 for gas there and back, $130 for two nights in a three star hotel (I love Hotwire, don't you?) and then about $60 for food. Grandma and Grandpa watched our adorable kids. Strangly, the kids got even more adorable after our absence. Imagine that!

Cheapest three day trip ever.

Plus and also, I got to go to the beach, which is more my thing than The Hubs, but I went on California Scream'n with him, so I deserved it, don't you think? I'm WAY to old for that ride. Needed me some ocean to get my bearings back. People are just not meant to go upside down at 60 miles an hour.

We met Woody in person. He's really very nice. Not much of talker, though.

I ran out of film, eh hem, but The Hubs totally got the sword out of the stone. He's awesome like that. He can even unstick stuck jars! I know. Amazing, right?

To make up for the fact that The Hubs had to smell fish on the beach AND walk in, gasp, sand, I took him clear into Hollywood to eat at the best Thai restaurant EVER; Thai Patio. Seriously. The drunken noodle is to die for. We got FOUR meals so there would be leftovers for dinner (and lunch the next two days).

Love you, babe. Happy Birthday...A month early.

I should mention at this point that yes, The Hubs was taken completely by surprise. So much so that he didn't believe me. I had to show him the email from his boss, granting the time off I'd requested, and the travel bags packed and ready to go. Yes, I'm THAT devious. Makes you a little bit scared of me, doesn't it?

And a big shout out and thank you to Matt's Uncle who so sweetly took us to breakfast AND got us past the gates of Disney with our wallets in tact. You're the best, Uncle E!

Again, Not Perfect

There has been a rash of recent mommy-blog bashing wherein everyone is sick of the "perfect mom" pose people are taking when writing their blogs. The notable exception among blogs I read regularly being Erin over at Things I Learned Talking To Myself. (Erin I really hope you don't mind me sending traffic your way or referencing you in my blog, dang girl, you are funny and I totally feel all your new mom pain. It's only been three years since I went through that but it DOES get better, promise.)

So in an effort to alleviate the pressure everyone feels from reading how perfect *I* am (commence laughing now) this week is going to be "Not Perfect" week. I'm going to document all the stupid things I do and/or caused through shoddy parenting. Starting with today.

Today the boy said, "Oh my Go" and the end really sounded like 'd' but may have been 'sh'. Did I mention we were in CHURCH NURSERY?!?!?! NO? We were. I would like to point out that he has never heard this particular expletive from a parental unit, but I *may* have exposed my son to another kid who uses, eh hem, *salty* language on occasion. Oops.

I have a strict "No Homework On Sunday" policy, Sunday is a FAMILY day. Today I did homework. Lots of it. For all the classes I'm currently taking. In my defense, Saturday was spent traveling to and from Utah for my aunt's funeral. I brought my books. Heaven knows why because I get sick if I read in the car, but I brought them!

The Baby thinks its funny to blow raspberries with her tongue sticking out. During Sacrament Meeting. No amount of tongue-pinching deters her. She also thinks it's effective to throw a major hissie-fit any time she doesn't get EXACTLY what she wants EXACTLY when she wants it. She may be right. I have absolutely no idea what to do about this or WHY Cheerios, or the absence thereof, can cause such drama! I also do not remember anything even remotely similar when The Boy was nearing two years old.

I think I just figured out why people never write about the stuff that goes wrong in their lives. I'm feeling a bit depressed...

B.U.S.Y. spells: Insanity

My sister was supposed to drive The Hubs to Boise on Friday so he could hop a plane to Phoenix and get our house ready for the renters. She was also picking up her twin at the same airport for a weekend visit home.
But Thursday her baby spent the night in the E.R. with croup (she was a micro-preemie)
So I threw all thoughts of studying out the window and drove my own hubby to the airport. That was the fastest two hours ever. I studied a bit and had kid-free time in which I could talk with The Hubs.
On the way to Boise my sister that was flying in called and said, "I thought I booked an 8am flight, but the airline says I booked an 8pm flight." Here's where I tell you I was planning on being back in town in time to take a test that afternoon.
"But I got placed on stand-by for the 11am". OK. I think to myself. This will be alright. If she makes the standby flight, I can still get home in time for my test.
After dropping The Hubs at the airport I headed down the street to the outlet malls and had way more fun than my bank account should probably have allowed. I got my mom a new set of knives and I got my kids some swim covers and a couple Melissa and Doug Toys.

This is for The Baby. When you put the puzzle piece in, the animal makes it's noise. 

And this is what I got for The Boy.

After I picked up my sister we made our way into town and visited the yarn store for Grandma and then, since we were too late for my test anyway, we found a Taco Bell. I paid extra to have them leave the chicken out of my chalupa and put extra bean in, since I don't eat meat. But guess what? They topped it with bacon. That's ok, since bacon isn't meat. It's a condiment. :)

We made one last stop at Ross, which ended up taking two hours. 

In short, I had tons of fun and lost about 10 study hours. Which means I'm going to have to hit it hard Saturday.

The George

The Boy calls St. George, UT "The George". Or sometimes just "George". I think this is hilarious.
Example: "We going to The George today?" Or "I go see George today!"

Who could resist? So I took my kids to The George. We got to town late, because it turns out traveling with toddlers causes a rip in the space-time continuem making every trip take twice as long as it would with just me or The Hubs and me. Our first stop was my favorite biological uncle on my father's side. (yes, there is only one biological uncle on my father's side, and he's my favorite.) It's still a bit of a shock to see him because in many ways he is very like my dad. It's bitter-sweet to visit. I'm sure it's a tad painful for the rellies, also. Grandma gets weepy about Dad at least once per visit. We had a brief but enlightening visit
during which I learned both my grandparents are very ill. Not surprising because they are also very old, but still sad because they are two of the most amazing people I've ever met. The whole situation is making me wish I had listened better to their stories when I was a kid. (I wish the same thing about my Dad's stories.) Their stories are so much cooler than mine and it would be really awesome to tell them to my kiddos. I digress. Back to the trip.

After some seriously gross Mexican food purchased near the mall (which supports my theory all Mexican Food by malls is nasty, I mean, these guys didn't even offer ensaladas!) the kids and The Hubs stayed at hotel for baths while I made a quick dash to my Auntie's house for a brief, weepy, visit. Sensing a theme? Yeah. Me too. Now.

The next morning we visited my Grandma Cuella (yes, her real name. I had to tell it because it's SO weird, pronounce it "Q-la") and then headed to my other grandparents' assisted living community.

Here's The Baby and The GiGi.

And Three of my favorite Men in the entire world. :)

  After lunch, Grandpa taxied planes outside for my boys, and they flew planes on the computer. I painted GiGi's nails and read to her between coats. It was an AWESOME visit. 

Then we got BACK in the car and drove one of the best legs of the trip to date. The kiddos didn't wake up until Cipio, afterwhich The Boy morphed into a bear, and his little sister thought it might be fun to try grumpy on for size. But that's a story for another post.

Be Sure to scroll down for another pictures only post.

PICTURE OVERLOAD

Here are some pictures from the Grand Canyon.  I should have put them in the last post, but I didn't have them downloaded yet.

Here's The Boy, looking happy (finally)

Me and The Baby, cozy in her sling. 

The Boy looking pensive.

 Obviously I'm in the car with a sleeping Baby, because I would not have allowed him to stand on the wall that separates sane folk from certain death.

And here's one to prove The Hubs came with. (And that The Boy was grumpy for most of the trip.)

And some smoggy views, for kicks (thanks Cali, for the pollution distortion)

The End.