Fleetwoods go to Phoenix

We had been planning a trip to Phoenix for over a month so we could see my Grandpa who wasn't doing so well.  He passed away before we could make it down, but we still went ahead with our trip and were able to attend his service.  

Our first leg of our trip was from home down to my brother's house in Vegas where we stayed for a couple of nights.  Our plan to get up really early and have the kids sleep didn't work out as planned...they were wide awake and couldn't wait to get to Uncle Noah's house.

"Talking" to Noah

Watching Movies

The trip went really well until we were less than hour from Vegas.  A trailer fire closed the road and with no idea how long we would have to wait we made the best of it.  We had snacks and were able to watch an entire movie.  After an hour we noticed cars start to drive on service roads, so we followed suit and it paid off in no time we arrived at Noah's.

Picture of smoking trailer

We were near the front of the line

Resting and watching Monsters Inc.

Finding a different way

Once we settled in at Noah's we made our way to his neighborhood pool to cool off.

Since we were staying with  Noah for a couple days we got to explore Vegas a little bit.  The next day after breakfast at Dunkin Donuts we headed to Red Rock Canyon.

Kiddos with Mojave Max

The real tortoise

Kiddos with tortoise statue

Taking a walk in the canyon

Photo Op

Kiddos with Uncle Noah

We returned and cooled off in the pool (to keep the promised we made Annabelle...she was not a fan of "hiking" in the heat) we headed back out and introduced the kids and Noah to In-N-Out Burger.

Loving it

That night after another great meal (Noah took great care of us), Sam and I headed to the strip while the kids got some time with Noah.

Hudson "helping" Noah in the kitchen

Taking in the sights of the strip

The following day we made our way to Phoenix, but not before visiting the base where Noah works.

With one of the old Thunderbird planes

Kids and a Joshua Tree on base

Boys talking about planes

Kids testing out the old aircraft on display

Noah and Huddy playing 

Playing some more

Touring the helicopters

We could have spent all day at the base, but we had to move on.  So we hit the road with Noah following us and made our way to Phoenix and our aunt and uncles house where we would be staying.  Dan and Larcy were so nice to open their home to us (working extra hard to finish a remodeling project so we could).  Their house was like a resort to the kids.  My aunt owns a jumpy house business, they have a pool, dogs, all flavors of kool aid concentrate, and Larcy loves to make ice cream; needless to say we were all spoiled.

First morning the kids "helped" Larcy prep a  bounce house for a party

Testing out the slide

Daddy got in on action too

an so did Noah

Then it was time to hit the pool.

Later my cousin dropped off her daughter Leila, who we were meeting for the first time.  The kids bonded over cheeseballs and later swimming and coloring.

The next people to arrive were Oma and Opa who were staying with my Grandma, but they made a stop to say hi first and of course go for a swim.

 Forgot to mention that in addition to everything else Dan and Larcy also have a cotton candy machine.

Sampling the Cotton Candy

We then made our way over to my Grandma's to say hi to all the family that was coming into town.  It is Phoenix, so of course there was a pool and the kids put it to good use.

Love that my kids are swimming in the same pool I learned to swim in

Also thankful that Opa was happy to swim with them so I could stay dry

After swimming we were able to hang out for a while with family... the kids enjoyed playing with Noah's and other cousins' smart phones.

Bad Piggies

Leah teaching my kids how these things work

Cuddles with Grace

Annabelle modeling her unicorn backpack

She bought this with birthday money from the thrift shop my Grandma volunteers at

Then it was back to Dan and Larcy's where the "kids" were able to test out another Jump house...this one included a water slide.  There were only smiles as they played well into the night.

The big kids played too

The kids did help out a bit they were excited to feed the animals with Larcy

Enjoying some down time with Uncle Dan

We spent another evening at my Grandmas where everyone gathered.  My Grandparents have 8 kids (all there), 21 grandkids (18 made it), and 9 great-grandkids (5 were there), plus other extended family it was one full house.  We ate, talked, laughed, cried and just enjoyed the time we had together.  We also fit in a practice of the song we were singing at the service.

Dan brought along the cotton candy machine

Practicing the song

Our last day was spent at the service honoring my Grandpa and the amazing man he was.

The Family

Grandma with Hudson, Easton and Leila

We made the drive back home all in one day, with Sam doing all the driving while I did my best to keep everyone happy.  All in all it was a great trip and one we hope to make again, hopefully before ten years pass like this last time.

Grandpa and Grandma in Hawaii

Sam and I were lucky to travel there twice with them