This was one of those epic trips that can never be duplicated no matter how hard we may try. It was THE BEST break for us and just what we needed to take a little breath and keep on truckin. I miss my sisters, they live too far away and this upsets me. They are my best friends.
So Lincoln and I set out for scenic Oakland on Wednesday morning. Izzie was at school, and I’m so thankful for JaNae and my mom for picking her up while we were gone. Also Jazz did her hair, which was the most endearing adorable thing in the world. He got a flat iron lesson before I left. Dad of the year points for sure.
Anyway, we drove to Oakland and flew to Phoenix. Lincoln hasn’t flown for awhile so it was all really fun and new for him which in turn was fun for me too. Man, I love that kid.
His face here is just awesome.
We got there and immediately went home to PLAY. Margo is 2 1/2 (don’t let her height fool you) and she and Lincoln were best little buddies. They understood each other really well which was adorable because sometimes grown ups can’t understand Linc. You know, toddler language. Every morning we got up and got ready, packed a lunch and left on an adventure. Phoenix has SO many fun things to do- we thought we could try to do a couple and we ended up doing everything we wanted and more. This is a giant park north of their area. I mean, giant. Three stories of climbing and huge slides and a sand pit and a toddler section and a splash pad in the summer and everything you could ever want. Linc and Margo just followed each other around.
 |
| her hairrrrrr. |
 |
| Quinn, Linc, Margo |
 |
| splash pad at 5 pm = freezing |
 |
| lucky placement of that side mirror. Linc is NAKE. |
Thursday we went shopping at this fancy face shopping center. Mall sounds too pathetic for what it really was, stores for DAYS although hilariously not stroller friendly. Plus we ate really really good pizza. Everyday we would come home at 2ish and have “rest time” for the kids. A few nights we ate out, a few nights we ate at Morgan’s house. Someone would do the dishes, the other sisters would handle bath time. Tag team at it’s finest.
 |
| not to be left out, Archer! 5 months and the most mellow baby in all the land. Lots of people ask about his helmet, he had a flat spot on his head so the helmet evens it out. He has to wear it a few more weeks and then done. |
 |
| These cupcakes were FIFTY dollars and FIVE HUNDRED calories a piece and completely worth it. |
 |
| smiley baby |
Saturday we went to the zoo with the whole family, menfolk included. I love zoos, and this one was so diverse! So many animals I have never seen in real life. Lincoln’s favorite was the red bottom baboon (“He forgot to wipe!) and the dog. The wild dog, seriously, of all the things. My favorite was the albino crocodile, the huge morray eels, and all the big cats. They also had this adorbale petting zoo full of goats, baby alpacas, and deer. The goats kept trying to eat Lincoln’s shirt and he thought it was HILARIOUS.
 |
| “Just chillin waiting for my crocodile to get off of work.” |
 |
| hi, I am adorable. |
 |
| Picnic lunch! Jared, Linc, Mo and Archer, JR, Margo, Quinn, Sabrina and her BOY baby! |
As soon as we got home the zoo we raced to the temple. We were trying so hard to make the 3:00 session, Morgan is nursing archer so we really had a small window. Sabrina and the boys stayed with all the kids and as a bonus they handled dinner. We made the session with two minutes to spare. Being at the temple is so lovely but being at the temple with family is the BEST. Every time I’m there I feel like Max is right there with me.
After the kitchen was clean and the babies were asleep (we skipped naps so it was like 7 pm PASS OUT. goodnight children.) we ran to waffle love. My utah friends will know what I am talking about- it’s a food truck that serves gourmet Belgian waffles with all kinds of fancy toppings. Morgan literally hopped the fence to make sure they were still open. I 100% thought she was going to fall and die but she made it in good shape. The original plan was to share mine. I had one bite and I was like dude, order your own.
Our last day we went to the children’s museum. I can’t sufficiently describe this place without sounding ridiculous but it was amazing. Really, really amazing. Everything is perfectly thought out for kids big and small, so many things to do. After we left the museum I was like MKAY MOVING HERE. Sometimes Redding is so behind on things it is frustrating. This place blew my mind. Bike car wash! A forest of giant pool noodles! Craft center! A big ol’ room full of balls!
 |
| this is a giant three story play structure. inside. |
 |
| This wall was so fun- shove a scarf in the tube and suction carries it all around and spits it out at the top. |
 |
| the grocery store room. adorable. This cute little girl scanned all of Lincoln’s things and bagged them.
 |
The last night, Jared built a very worthy campfire and we made woofums. Have you heard of these? You take pillsbury biscuit dough, roast them over the fire and fill them with pudding and frosting. Ummm yeah they are as good as they sound. We sat around with my sisters and their husbands and shared embarrassing stories and laughed SO HARD about those dang woofum sticks.
Monday morning we hurried to make it back to the big park, and it started to rain on us. We retreated to chic-fil-a for chicken and diet dr pepper. At the airport I cried, like I always do, because it is SAD to leave! Lincoln actually told me that he could stay and I could go and he would sleep in margo’s bed and Aunt modan would wipe his bum. A bed and a clean bum, that’s all you really need.
An epic trip- a spontaneous little vacation that totally lifted my spirits. Thanks for everything girlies! See you in twelve weeks.
Like this:
Like Loading...
Related
the sorensen six 
