The wind turbines in west Texas are very cool. We drove from Dallas to Amarillo and then across northern New Mexico and into Flagstaff, Arizona, where I finished my last year of college.
Northern Arizona is so beautiful.
The kids traveled very well. Jett napped, played with this toy (that we got Rylee on one of our first road trips with her back in 2004!), and babbled. Rylee read, played her DS, and played games. The twins did the same and also watched movies.
I spent a good part of the trip studying for my upcoming (last of 3) teaching exams.
I also helped navigate since we had to rely on paper maps. No more iPhone mapping. We missed it!
We stopped at the Painted Desert/Petrified Forest just inside Arizona. It was beautiful! The next day we went to the Grand Canyon.
Jett was being difficult, so he ended up walking barefoot pushing the stroller through the park.
I got to visit with my dear friend, Kathryn, who serves the Lord with her family abroad.
I haven't seen her in 7 years so it was really good to visit in person!
We stayed with our friends, the MacHughs, while we were in Phoenix.
Jett loved their dog! Can you tell?
Between the MacHughs and Fletchers, we had 7 kids (and their #4 will arrive in November).
It was a full house of laughter and fun, for sure!
My beautiful friend Kara (and her baby girl).
We spent time with the Burks family. Our kids had a blast with their not-so-little guy.
We went to Arizona to help Nana pack and move to Texas. Our days were busy with sorting, purging, and packing. Then, we would visit friends for lunch or dinner. It was a good balance.
The kids had a blast at Pastor Chuck & Mrs. Mary's house. The men were outside with the kids in the pool. I'm not sure what all they allowed, but I'm certain I would have had a hard time watching some of it! Then Pastor Chuck and a few men from Calvary came to help load the moving truck on Friday.
We went swimming with the Benders and another sweet family. And, Mr. Max stopped by to say hi. The kids had fun joking with him.
Before we left town, we made sure to visit the Norris family. The kids jumped on the trampoline with the sprinkler underneath, then watched a movie and had popcorn, theater style.
Denelle and Jerry had just moved so we stopped to see them on our way back to Texas. It was great to hang out for a few hours and enjoy lunch at their new place.
On the way back to Texas, Joel drove the moving van that was pulling my mom's car. Mom and I drove in the van with the four kiddos. We took three days to come back home since we couldn't go as fast with the moving truck. We celebrated my birthday on our second day of traveling. And, the kids did quite a bit of sleeping.
The kids were funny as we drove through west Texas. West Texas is just a L-O-N-G, hot, boring drive. (sorry west Texas people) We got to El Paso around mid-morning, which really messes up the schedule/routine. There is not much between El Paso and Odessa/Midland...which is a four hour stretch. We ate lunch at a gas station, making the best of what we found. It wasn't exactly my best birthday lunch ever. But, I was thankful for food and being with my family!
We had a fun trip!
No comments:
Post a Comment