Phoenix Vacation

I suppose I should go back and document the vacation we just took last week before I forget what we did.  It really was a great week, just exhausting in some respects.  L and E both had pretty bad reactions to the air pollution up there, suffering from coughing, congestion, runny noses, and red eyes by the end of the week.  They also didn't sleep too well, but that's understandable.

Saturday, May 26th - We packed up in the morning and drove to Tempe during the girls' nap time.  E fell asleep right away (yay!), but woke up about 40 minutes later because L was still awake and squealing with way too much excitement.  L eventually drifted off, but E never did again.  Argh.  We got to my husband's grandparents' house, unpacked, had dinner, and then headed over to his uncle's house (south Tempe) for a pig roast (and Uncle Buster's 90th birthday celebration).  That's right, a whole pig, rotating on a spit, just like you'd imagine in some medieval feast.  The whole Chinese family was there, as well as quite a few of the grandparents' neighbors.  E took a naked dip in the pool with her grandpa, L had a great time playing in the basement and watching Dora with her second cousin C, and we ended up taking the girls home around 7:30pm so they could go to bed.  Pig wasn't done yet so we didn't eat.  Boo.  However, my husband's grandmother was kind enough to bring some back for us to enjoy the rest of the week.

E napping in the car on our way up to Tempe

L having fun with the flashlight in her "cave" (a dark room).

Busy readers:  L read Dr. Seuss while snuggling against Uncle Buster reading TIME magazine.

E taking a naked dip in the pool (thankfully, my FIL had swim trunks on).

Pig on the spit!  I'm told it was ~90 pounds and took ~12 hours to roast.

Sunday, May 27th - Husband and I's 7th wedding anniversary.  7 years!  I guess that means if I don't have the "itch" now, I'm probably not going to, so we're stuck together from here to eternity.  Not that I mind.  :)  I got him a set of headphones he's been wanting (the note said "After being married to me for 7 years, you deserve some quiet!"), and he got me a pack of flower seeds (his version of getting me flowers), and some books.  Yay!  He got me a trashy romance novel too!  Love that man.
     Since the weather was unusually cool (~90F during the day), and was forecast to go up to almost 112F later in the week, we decided to go to the Phoenix Zoo that day instead of later.  Glad we did!  We had a great time with the girls seeing all the animals.  I got a bit sunburnt on my shoulders, E panicked a bit at the petting zoo goats (a kind of omg-look-an-animal-does-anyone-notice-it's-roaming-free-omg-omg-omg panic), L loved anything with water she could play in, and I think the husband got some great pictures. 
     We then went to YC's Mongolian Grill in the evening for dinner.  It was where my husband and I went for our first date, so we were glad to come back.  The girls actually ate well, which surprised us, and then we just couched out at his grandparents' house the rest of the evening.

Me and E looking at the giraffes eat.

L and a baboon making faces at each other.

Husband, E, and L play in the border town area of the zoo.

L getting ready to go rub down another goat.

"Hey!  HEY!  Does anyone notice there's a goat there?!??  ANYONE?!?"

L being silly at dinner.

E gorging on frozen yogurt (chocolate, of course).

Monday, May 28th - Memorial Day.  We decided to go to IKEA and look through the children's section, as well as just browse in general.  We ended up getting some dog butts for the girls' bathroom (aka hooks), a new duvet set for L, a picnic basket toy for E, a bathroom towel rack (which doesn't fit so we'll have to return it), a new rug for E's room (to match it when I paint it), and a crib pillow, for E when she's ready to transition to a toddler bed (way, WAY in the future).  Then, we spent the day doing a whole lot of nothing while hanging out with the girls' great-grandparents.  It was great!

Reading with Ho-Ho.

Making pancakes with Ho-Ho.

"Talka dolls" (talking with dolls) with Great-Uncle B.

Tuesday, May 29th - Our wonderful  nephew (and the girls' cousin)'s 2nd birthday.  What a big boy he is now!  We called him to wish him a happy birthday that morning, and then it was off to the Arizona Museum of Natural History.  The place turned out to be a lot bigger than I thought it would be, and there were so many more dinosaurs than I ever imagined.  I wish we could have spent more time there - it's definitely on our list of places to go back to!
     In the afternoon, I drove up to Glendale to meet with my co-presenter for our session at the state music teachers conference.  It went well, and quickly, so then I ran over to my friend M's house to drop off some baby clothes for her impending little one (due any day now!), and then drove back in rush-hour traffic to Tempe.  Some days I miss living in the Phoenix metro area, and some days I'm so glad we're in Tucson!

The girls and I with the woolly mammoth (mastodon?) in the AZ Museum of Natural History entrance.

Look out, L!  There's a pterodactyl behind you!

E rotating the handle on an exhibit where you could make footprints.

L and I carefully "dusting" for dinosaur bones.  We found a T-rex!

L in jail (the museum is the old Mesa City Jail building, and the cells are still downstairs!).

L, E, and Husband with a triceratops.

Wednesday, May 30 - Husband's birthday.  Happy birthday!  The girls and I greeted him with a rousing chorus of Happy Birthday To You (at 6:15am, LOL), and we made sure Daddy had a very special day.  We went to Fry's Electronics (*groan*), had lunch at NYPD Pizza (yum!), opened presents, had cake, had an amazing dinner of enchiladas and taquitos (courtesy of Husband's grandmother), and generally had a good day together celebrating.  We were also desperately in need of a low-key day, and this fit the bill perfectly.

E and Daddy (I love the polar-opposite looks they have on their faces).

Mommy and L, celebrating Daddy's birthday.

Helping Daddy open his gifts. (this was the Captain America belt buckle from the girls).

The birthday cake, complete with superhero rings and a musical candle.  I kid you not, it played Happy Birthday when lit!

E attempting to serenade her great-grandmother.

Thursday, May 31 - We weren't sure if anything was going to happen today because E was a little under the weather.  Eventually, we decided that she was okay enough to venture into Phoenix and visit the Children's Museum.  We'd been here last summer, but E hadn't even been able to crawl yet, so it was a total novelty for her this time.  L loved it again, and we explored a whole lot more too!
     We came back and spent the afternoon at "home" (my husband's grandparents' house).  In the evening, I had to go up to the conference hotel for a banquet.  The food was alright, the company was decent, and the evening itself was uneventful.  Still, I hate going to stuff like that.  I had to go, though, as I was presenting in the morning.  Ugh, formalities, I loathe thee.

3-story wall of CDs in the Children's Museum.  Love it!

The 3-story climbing structure in the atrium.  It's amazing!

L climbing.  We made it to the top!

E climbing.  She seemed to have a BALL.

L pulling E along (with me behind) through the bike wash.

L and E shopping.

Mmm, dessert.  It must mean this fancy dinner is almost over!

 Friday, June 1 - Left bright and early for the conference hotel in order to get ready to present.  I talked more about the presentation on Sunday, so I'll spare the details here.  Once I got back to the house, we packed up our stuff, had lunch, and drove back HOME.  L napped most of the way back, and this time E didn't nap.  Argh!  Luckily, she did take a short nap once we got home, but omg CRANKY.  So nice to be home, except for the cat crapping everywhere in the house because she was pissed off we weren't there.  Damn cat.

So that was our trip, and I even managed to run 11 miles during that time.  How did your week go?