There And Back Again

We arrived home late last night after our visit to California and Arizona. Whew. We took the girls to Sea World where it was much colder than we expected... and wetter! Still, we got to see most of the park before the hypothermia set in. :) The girls just loved Shamu and getting to feed the seals. Norma, Sonny's mom, flew to CA to meet us and made the trip so much easier and more fun! What a blessing it was to have her there!

After Sea World, we hit the road for AZ, but didn't make it far before we were stuck in a massive traffic jam. The freeway was shut down due to a huge snow storm and we ended up spending the night at a hotel. It was so wild! Everything was still blocked off the next morning, but thanks to answered prayers, we were able to get around it and back on our way. (Ry and Maddie were ELATED when they got to get out of the car and throw some SNOWballs!) Besides a few stops to accommodate my current health "situation", the rest of the drive was pretty smooth.

In Arizona, we took the girls to the Phoenix zoo. We met up with Lindsey and her family there. It's always fun to spend time with them! Ryen was especially loving her birth-cousin and new pen pal Payton. They were like two peas in a pod... or two monkeys in a zoo!

We visited Sonny's Grandma Church, which was really special. I love her so much! It was really sweet to watch the girls caress her soft hands and interact with her so lovingly. They sang "I Am A Child of God" to her and showered her with smooches.

The family spent Monday in the desert, riding horses and 4-wheelers. It seems like they had a really wonderful time. I spent Monday throwing up and trying not to die.

Before we left, we took the girls to a children's salon to get their hair cut for the first time. I've always cut their hair in the past, but it gets scarier every time and I just can't handle the pressure anymore. :) We took them to a place called Lollilocks and they were IN HEAVEN. They totally felt like princesses with glitter in their hair and everything. Very fun.

It was a really difficult trip for me because of my extreme nausea, but I did my best to tough it out. (I believe the low point was probably throwing up in the bushes at the Phoenix zoo, but passing out at home while everyone was partying out in the desert was a pretty bleak affair as well.) We just tried to make the best of four plane tickets to California. It was wild, but I am grateful we were able to see some of our family!

*If you don't have the patience for our slideshow (I don't) then you can just click here to go straight to our photo album.