a spring vacation

Arizona. The Grand Canyon state. The desert. The place our family went for 6 days. And. It. Was. Fun.


We planned this trip back in the fall, when my parents "sky miles" were about to expire--Arizona trip: May 1st-6th. Our grandmother went with us, and two tickets were upgraded to first class (!). Parker and Lydia took turns up there (with the people who had done something with their lives) with our grandmother on the first flight.

HOV lanes are nice in traffic! :) 

Starbucks!

Dad and Graham

Lydia got the window seat! 

Our first stop after landing in Phoenix was the RV rental company! We found that RV's are much nicer to ride in than mini-vans. :) It was niece to be able to walk around while riding--not to mention being able to go from sleeping to eating breakfast in one minute (or less!).

RV back window (we nicknamed it "the TV")

Lydia

Parker

Graham

traveling

 From Phoenix (really, Peoria) we first stopped for necessities so that we wouldn't faint from hunger/thirst, and then headed to Camp Verde, AZ. We spent the night at a RV resort...that first night spoiled us! :) From Camp Verde, we headed to Page. The scenery on all the little road trips (but especially that one) was absolutely amazing! It was stunning to look out the window and see brick-red rock--as far up as one could see. We stopped at a "scenic view" pull-over...not only was there an amazing view, but about 8 Navajo Indian women were selling authentic, handmade jewelry and pottery! Us girls just HAD to do some shopping! :) 

Once we arrived in Page, we hiked about 3/4 of a mile to see Horseshoe Bend. Stunning. Our first view of the Grand Canyon just blew us away. (Figuratively speaking, of course. Unless we're talking about Dad's hat. In that case, literally speaking; maybe some birds will use it for a nest or something...)

Horseshoe Bend

Thursday morning, we went to a nearby marina to rent a boat. We spent the afternoon riding around Lake Powell! 

we fed them peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. :)

That evening, we all piled back into the RV and went to the Grand Canyon! 

We arrived in the National Park around sunset, so were able to pull off and see the first glimpse of the ACTUAL Grand Canyon with the sun fading away behind the colorful clouds! 

you wouldn't believe how chilly it was!!

Friday, we walked the south rim in the late morning/early afternoon....

see those tiny people...right in the middle of the picture? That's us! :)

a little bigger...

We each took turns falling off the side...

I have a such a wonderful, caring, concerned brother! ;)

stuck. :) 

It's amazing how nature forms things like this! :)

amazing, right? 

We learned that the oldest rock in the Grand Canyon is 2,000,000,000 years old. Why not just go ahead and add a few more zeros...just to make it sound that much more impressive?

(said by a little boy passing us) "Mommy! The cowboy is climbing the tree!!"  ...then...as he walked on by, he questioned, "CAN cowboys climb trees????????"

A. Loooong. Way. Down.

....ate lunch at the Bright Angel Lodge (they serve MASSIVE {but delish!} lunches!).... 

....and 4 of us went off to hike the Bright Angel trial.... 

I wouldn't recommend wearing CONVERSE shoes on a HIKING TRAIL...but some stranger did. (and gave us a laugh--not to mention a cool picture!) ;)

....while 3 of them went grocery shopping and prepared for our evening outing: watching the sun set over a {huge} hole in the ground. Pretty exciting, yes? :) 

a bus ride back to the campsite

 We decided to go see the Grand Canyon at night. Below is the more-like-what-we-really-saw view....

...and this is the if-you-set-your-shutter-speed-correctly view. Pretty cool!!

Saturday morning, we did some souvenir shopping while Lydia and Mom attended a talk about the Grand Canyon so that Lydia could fulfill her requirements to become a Junior Ranger. Then, it was (a mad dash) off to Peoria, returning the RV, renting a van (we got a 15 passenger so all our luggage would fit! ;D ), finding a hotel, eating, and SLEEPING!! (Almost) everyone was exhausted...Lydia had slept for 3 1/2 hours on the trip to Peoria, so she was a little....well, not tired. :) 

someone was glad car-seats weren't required for 6-year-olds in AZ!! 

Sunday morning, after a quick hotel breakfast, we went swimming for a short time...

...then it was time to pack up for the flight home. This time, Graham and I sat in first class with our grandmother. We found out that, technically, we weren't supposed to switch....oh well. ;) 


Now we're back home; back to reality...and have finally gotten used to the 3 hour time difference, again! :)