Sweating in Sierra Vista, AZ

Well! The kids and I just got back from a wonderful weekend at my sisters. 

My sister Kate and her family are down in Sierra Vista while her husband does some Army training at Ft. Huachuca. So we went for a visit! 

The only exhausting part was, of course, the traveling. 

My kids get an A+ though. The were great on the flights and drives.

We had to pay for Josie to get a seat and Todd was supposed to be on my lap, but luckily on the way there we got our own row. So instead of Josie in the car seat, Todd was. That was nicer for everyone.

Our flight from SLC to Phoenix was delayed an hour but the wait wasn't to bad since Joe was able to go through security and wait at the gate with us. That was awesome, I wish it was still like that. I hate saying goodbye in the security line!
But because of the delay, when we landed I had to make a mad dash to our connection. It felt like a mile from gate to gate. I wish I had a picture of what we looked like. 

I pushed the kids in the double stroller with one hand, with a car seat hanging off the back of it, and in the other hand I had pulled our two carry-on suitcases.

I was running as fast as I could and was still barely passing the people on the moving walkway.

(I think its ridiculous not being able to take strollers on those things.)

We made it to the airplane, just as they were shutting the doors. This time only two seats, but it was a very short flight. WHEW! We were off to Tucson.

Once we made that flight I thought all our troubles were over. All we had to do now was land, pick up our rental car, and drive an hour to Kate's in Sierra Vista.

Well, we were not so lucky.

Turns out, my drivers license has expired! So I could not rent a car. Kate had come to the airport to meet us, so we figured she could rent the car and I could just drive hers. (Her car is not big enough for all of us) No such luck! Kate is not 25 until December, therefore she could not rent a car without significant fees. Our $10 per day rental turned into $50 a day and we are way to cheap for that!

So this was the result. For an hour, the kids sat on top of each other. We barely had room for all our stuff.  The rest of the trip, anytime we had to get into the car Sarah would SCREAM! She did not want to squish with Josie.

Todd's car seat is more on the door than on the seat. He was falling out of it sideways.

Thank heavens for the TV to distract them.

We did finally make it to Kates and we had a very relaxing night.

But, the next day we had some shopping to do. 

The kids did not want to be at Walmart so Kate shopped, while I tried to entertain them. 

This is Kayla Rae, aka Chunk

She weighs more than Todd even though he is almost a year older.

Josie and Sarah, giving us some cheese

Todd, Sarah, Josie

Looking so good

Kayla

What can I say?

For lunch we hit up Mickey D's. Not just any, but an official historical site!

"Worlds First McDonald's Drive Thru"

What a thrill :) Because of neighboring Fort Huachuca, back in the day the Army guys kept getting in trouble for wearing their uniforms inside the restaurant. So they solved the problem by creating the drive thru! Thank heavens for it too!

Josie, Sarah-squished inside, Todd

Todd and Sarah

Todd climbed all the way up the playground but refused to come down the slide even when Josie tried to push him down. So I got to climb up and ride down with them both.

My sister Kate, and Todd back at the apartment

Best part of apartments, and vacations, is always the water.

Loved the pool and hot tub. Even with all the drunk soldiers.

Sarah, Me, Todd, Josie

Kate, Todd, Kayla, Josie

Josie and Sarah had so much fun playing together.

Todd stuck to doing his favorite thing for the whole trip, eating. He found this snack cup at Kate's and then never went without it. 

Sarah, Kayla, Kate

The Joseness

We bought those goggles on the trip at Walmart, to try to get her to start going under the water. She still refused, but definitely made a statement wearing them.

Sarah and Josie

Kate and Kayla, Sarah following Todd to the food.

Todd, back at the apartment

Todd, Josie, Sarah

The cousins had lots of baths together. Most of them enjoyed it.

Josie's favorite thing about Aunt Kate is that they always bake something together. So Josie begged to make a cake, and Kate eventually gave in. Josie put on her apron and 'safety goggles' cause she was sure the cake would explode like the volcanos at Grandma's house.

Kate and Josie making the fabulous Curtis Chocolate Cake

Sarah loved Josie, and most of the time Todd too. She just wasn't too sure about him. 

I took Sarah and Josie back to the pool the next day while the little ones napped. 

Love playing with these girls.

Sunbathing with the girls!

Of course we needed frosting. Later in the day the girls got back to it.

One of my favorite parts of the trip was Saturday when Kate and I took Sarah and Josie to see Bisbee, AZ and the Queen Mine. Somehow we managed to get a flat tire on our way there. We started changing it when a family stopped and finished it for us. We were running late for our tour reservation but we made it, by seconds. I dashed in, much like I did at the airport, while Kate parked and brought the girls. I'm glad we made it, it was awesome.

Kate and Sarah

Sarah did not enjoy the tour and kept screaming "car! car! bye-bye!"

Me and Josie

We both loved the tour. 

Me and my sis in our granny gear

Kate, Sarah, Me, Josie on the train

Josie didn't care to much about what the tour guide was saying, she preferred throwing rocks down the elevator shaft with Sarah. :/

Josie standing with the "Widowmaker" 

One of the original mine drills. Because it had no water running to it the two men who operated it would get their lungs full of dust. Most operators died about 10 years later.

I don't know if I'm standing funny in this pic or if its the outfit, but I look pregnant. 

I'm not, just to clarify. 

Josie and I standing next to the train we straddled through the mine. 

Josie's hat fell off on our way out. Oops.

Kate, Sarah, Josie

Bisbee, AZ

This town was awesome. The homes are stacked on top of each other and up the rocks. Most of them had hundreds of stairs to walk up to to get to the tiny homes.

The lowest homes you can see in this pic, are not actually the lowest. There are more beneath them, before you get to all the oneway streets below.

Todd and I just chillin!

One of my other favorite parts of the trip was the night Kate and I soaked in the hot tub for hours. It was so fun to sit and talk and not worry about kids. Lucky for you, I did not take pictures of those moments.

Playing on the deck. My favorite spot, cause we were outside, but they were locked in!

Kate and Eric are in a nice apartment, but poor them, they invited us to stay there with them. It's two bedrooms, so they had one for the 4 of them. And one for the three of us. 

Todd slept in a playpen, Josie in Sarah's Toddler bed, and I was on the air mattress. 

Sarah slept in a playpen in the master bath, and Kayla just stayed wherever she fell asleep.

Amazingly it worked out fairly well.

Still a stud, even in the princess chair.

Killing time, before church

This was my favorite plant. No idea what it is. But it was so beautiful and vibrant.

The landscape in Sierra Vista is so strange. Lots of red rocks, cactus and palm trees. We saw lizards, and bunnies, and beetles everywhere. But then there are these lush green mountains in view. It was hot there, but it rained everyday. 5 min rain, 10 min dry, 5 min wind, 10 min hot. You never knew what was going to happen with the weather. 

Before we could head home Monday, someone had to walk and pick up the car from getting the tire fixed. Turned out to be me. Kate told me Big O was 'just down the street' what she meant by that was 1.5 miles. This was at 10am, when it was already in the 90s and I had my flip flops on. Well, at least I got to go by myself.

For the drive back to the airport Kate left Sarah at a friends house, so we could fit in the car. We didn't think border patrol would let us through the way we came down, might look like we were smuggling someone. By 1pm the kids and I were through security waiting for our flight to Phoenix. 

Josie and Todd terrorizing the airport. 

Luckily the Tucson airport isn't very big or busy. I don't think we bothered anyone but the flight hostess by playing around the gates. At least they were quiet.

Watching the airplane taxi in. The flight to Phoenix is less than half an hour, so even though we only had two seats, it went quickly.

This time when we landed in Phoenix our connection was in the same terminal so we didn't have to run for our lives. We only waited about 15 minutes before boarding and we were headed home.  We didn't have the luxury of an extra seat this flight. So Josie was in the car seat and Todd on my lap, until we'd had enough of that and they switched so Todd could sleep and Josie and I could play. I thought the flight attendants would say something, but they didn't seem to care. I bet so long as we were quiet, they were happy.

We landed and Joe was there to take us home. 

We were all so happy to see him and to sleep in our own beds. 

Thanks Kate and Eric for everything! We miss you!