Daddy & Hayden Trip Year 1: From AZ to Africa and Back

We decided to start a new tradition this year: to go on trips with our family, but to break them up and do it with groups within our family. So we will go on trips:

• With one parent and one kid (with each of them)
• With the parents and no kids
• With all four of us together

This was our first weekend and we were excited to put this plan in play. Savannah did a staycation in Scottsdale with Ellie. Hayden and I went to Cottonwood, AZ (about 1.5 hours north of us).

Going in to the trip, Hayden was a little unsettled about it. All she knew was that were were not going with Mommy or Ellie, which she didn't like too much as that was new. She heard about what Ellie was going to do and that she was going to stay at a resort and swim all day. That sounded awesome to her, despite the fact I tried to tell her what we would be doing.

So she was not as excited as I had hoped going in. But once we arrived on our first night, she was starting to feel better about it. We stayed at a cute little motel in the heart of town called the Pines Motel. It got good reviews and for good reason. Good location, clean and comfortable rooms, and most especially important for 5 year old little girls, a heated pool.

Cheers to a great trip!

We dropped our stuff and went out for dinner. Since it is a small town of about 10,000 people we went up and down the main strip in about 5 minutes before seeing a place that looked good, 15.Quince. Hayden chose to sit in the bar in the "grown up" high tables and she was really good for dinner (this separating kids thing really works). It was a fun, lively spot that was perfect for us. After our meal, we went back and crashed to get ready for our long Saturday.

In the morning, we woke up and went to breakfast at Randall's Restaurant. It was a perfect local breakfast joint and I had the Verde Chicken Fried Steak (Cottonwood is in the Verde Valley and it works well since my chicken fried steak had verde chili sauce on it). It was yummy and Hayden ate her whole waffle plus some bacon. She said, "Daddy, let's come back here tomorrow!"

After breakfast we were off to our first adventure: Out of Africa Wildlife Park. This is a huge park filled with (mostly) African animals. Instead of looking like a zoo, many of the non meat eating animals roam free in their mock Serengeti. The desert here is similar to their native habitat so it works perfectly. Of course the predators do need to be behind fences, but you can get really close to them. We were 4 feet from a tiger and ate lunch right next to a tiger den.

There were two main highlights of our 5 hour time spent there. First, we went on an authentic Unimog tour. A Unimog is like a large jeep. Our guide took us briefly to some predators where we saw lions, tigers, a panther, and more.

"Mumph, mumph."

Mix in a breath mint, Kibo.

Then we went into the Serengeti. The animals just walk up to the vehicle. The first one we saw was a giraffe, Kibo. The guide had prepped us with carrots for him and he hungrily ate them all from everyone. He stuck his head right down into our laps practically. It was great. Hayden was a bit nervous about it and didn't want to do it so I gave the giraffe hers instead. "I'm afraid he's going to eat my hand." That's a good fear to have, but in this case it was unwarranted as Kibo was very gentle and barely touched our hands as he deftly took the carrots from us.

We saw all kinds of other animals including zebras, water buffalo, several kinds of antelope, a camel, and an ostrich. Hayden even got to old an ostrich egg (it was unfertilized) which was cool. The guide said it would make 24 omelettes. That got me hungry so I asked what it would taste like and he said "Gamey." Hunger gone.

"Roar."

After our safari we ate lunch and went over to the Tiger Splash show. There is a pool in a fenced in area, with an arena of seats around it. They let the tiger in the area first, a beautiful white tigress named "Chalet" (like SHAL-lay). Then all the workers got in the cage too. We thought they were crazy but the tiger was fine with them. They had inflatable toys on the end of poles which have a lifespan of one show. They would run and get the tiger to chase them, then they would jump into the pool and the tiger would jump in after the toy grabbing it and popping it with one sweeping motion. FYI, tigers can run fast, and SWIM fast too. Just in case you need to know that sometime. And the MC said they've had no accidents in the 18 years they've been doing the show, though he made lots of funny jokes about going through employees (implying they get eaten). The show was great.

After a quick giant snake show, we headed back to our hotel where Hayden wanted to swim before dinner. The swim was nice and we then changed and left for our dinner.

Enjoyin' her beverage in the saloon

Dinner was at Blazin M Ranch, a cowboy themed ranch/town/country show. After going around the town, and the shops for a while. We settled in the saloon for a drink where Hayden got to have root beer. She never gets soda but I figured we were on vacation and this was a special occasion so I became a softy. After our drink we went into the "barn" for our chuckwagon dinner. 

They had chicken and ribs, biscuits, baked potatoes, beans, and even apple pie a la mode for dessert. Hayden at at least a little bit of each, and I was pleasantly surprised when she dived right into the ribs first. She wouldn't even let me cut her 2 ribs apart, choosing to act like she was a real cowgirl. 

The band was great

Following dinner the show started, and I was pleasantly surprised as the music was really good. The performers were excellent, and apparently had won western music awards in the past. The show was fun and was capped by a visit from the local Blazin M Ghost Rider who raced around the outside of the barn on a white horse while the band played Vaughn Monroe's Ghost Rider in the Sky. It was a cool effect as he went around the barn as you could see him in a white cape through each window as he passed. Cool if you are a 35 year old guy. Scary as hell if you are a 5 year old girl. She didn't scream, but she sure held my arm tight.

That was the conclusion of the show and afterwards we went outside where we saw the Ghost Rider on his steed. When we walked up he saw Hayden was shy and scared so he nicely took off his mask and told her it was just pretend. She felt a lot better and even petted the horse.

It was a long day but a terrific one. On the way back to the hotel she said, "Daddy, can we do this exact day again next weekend?" Vindicated! My planning worked and she had a great time. And I had a great time watching her have fun.

And yes, we went to Randall's Restaurant in the morning for breakfast again. And she ate an entire waffle again. A great wrap up to our great first annual trip. She even asked if we could move to Cottonwood as we headed back to Phoenix. I love her passion.

Here are some pics

Click to See Photos

And some vids

A tiger feeding (and standing tall):

And a laughing Hyena (they "laugh" when agitated, which he is doing by acting like he is going to take the food). He is calling for the female in the background to come get some but she was not having it. She did eventually come, but after the video ended.

You're a Grand Old Flagstaff

On a whim, I wanted to go up to Flagstaff and the Grand Canyon with the fam. A lot of factors led to this decision:

• Savannah's mom is in town and we wanted to do something fun
• It was hot in Phoenix but only 72 degrees in Flagstaff
• Even though Savannah and I had lived in Phoenix for 14 and 13 years respectively, neither of us had been to the Grand Canyon. We needed to check this box to call ourselves true Arizonans.

Just 5 days prior to the trip we had no plans and no place to stay. So I researched hotels and they were all either booked or super expensive roadside motels with jacked rates hoping to sucker those last few idiots who waited until the last minute to plan their trip over a holiday weekend. That was going to be tough since we needed 3 rooms: one for Savannah and me, one for the kids, and one for Coleen/Oma, Savannah's mom.

So we had to think outside the box. I looked for vacation rentals and found one that looked nice. After the owner agreed to lower his minimum of 3 nights to 2 nights, I booked it. We were all set to go to the Flagstaff Rental Cabin. Yup, that's actually the name of the place.

Now I was anxious because I had sort of thrust this whole idea of a trip onto some people. Well, onto everyone. Savannah was afraid that the Grand Canyon was a giant hole and our kids would fall in, Coleen was not looking forward to a drive that long in the car (she gets motion sickness), Hayden outwardly pretends to hate freeways (sort of ironically and also sort of a means to hold onto her 'early years'), and Ellie took the temperature in the room and went with the crowd. 

So on Friday we left after work and drove up. With the movies in the car, and the drugs Oma took for the drive, the trip wasn't so bad. There was only one stop on the side of the road for the girls to pee in the weeds.

We drove immediately to our favorite Flagstaff restaurant: La Fonda. No, not that Lafawnda, this La Fonda. There is nothing healthy about the place which makes it so good.

After dinner we were off to see our accommodations. I was hoping everyone would like it since I was responsible for bringing them up here. After driving to the street, we couldn't find the exact spot so I had to get out and use the flashlight on my phone to make sure I had the right place. Once we did we were able to get in without issue.

Our home away from home.

Inside we saw that we would be roughing it. Full kitchen, a fire place, a big screen 3D TV with Netflix, 3 bedrooms - 2 of which were king rooms with Tempur Pedic adjustable massage mattresses, and a new deck with two hammocks overlooking the woods and the mountains. BUT THE MONOPOLY SET WAS MISSING THE IRON! DAMMIT! What would we do for two whole days!

I breathed a sigh of relief when the rest of the family breathed a sigh of relief. Everyone was excited for the trip at this point which was great. 

The next day we went to the Grand Canyon. It was a 1.5 hour drive so again, drugs and movies did the trick. Of course, on the Saturday off Memorial Day weekend, we were the only ones that wanted to go to the Grand Canyon. Wrong. 

Yes. It is a big hole.

Fortunately it wasn't too bad and we were able to find a parking spot without too much trouble. And when we got up to the edge, it was spectacular. Pictures do not do it justice and standing there looking 15 miles across and 1 mile down seeing all kinds of canyons and valleys and cliffs is quite amazing. Then 2 little girls start getting bored and off you go. We were there for about an hour. Ticket. Punched.

We left and went back south towards a small town west of Flagstaff called Williams to have lunch. The town is on the famous Route 66, and it plays it up quite a bit. We had a nice lunch outside and listed to some live music.

"Grrr!"

Next we went to Bearizona, an outdoor animal park that you drive through. Now the kids were excited. Many people feel like it is Jurassic Park as you drive through the gates and the animals come up to your car. We saw big horn sheep, donkeys, Alaskan wolves, buffalo (Run Ralphie Run!), white bison, and of course the stars of the show, the black bears. The girls were loving seeing all the animals as they are so close to the car. The bears especially would move all around us (but not in an intimidating way) which was very cool.

Then we got to the end and went to the walk around area and saw some cute bear cubs, and some other bears who were climbing trees. And not just little trees and not just a little way up. They went all the way up 60 foot trees. It was nuts.

After that everyone was zonked so we headed back to the cabin. I made some pasta and we talked about our fun day, then we crashed.

On Sunday we made a big breakfast, then packed up and left our cabin. But not before getting some quality time on the deck in the hammocks while soaking up the delightful weather. 

We wanted to have lunch in Sedona so we drove back through Oak Creek Canyon, a wonderful stretch of road on route 89A that passes down some cliffs to the bottom of the canyon with the somewhat dry creek. As it was a perfect day the canyon was littered with outdoorsy folks picnicking, or hiking, or just enjoying the day. At the bottom of the canyon it was very un-Arizona as it had a ton of foliage and the trees bowed over the street to create a serene atmosphere. 

What a spot for lunch.

When we made it to Sedona, the town was packed. We got really lucky and found a great parking space and found a wonderful spot on a patio for lunch. We briefly discussed doing a jeep tour but decided against it as everyone was tired. It was a good decision as 4 of the 5 of us fell asleep on the way home to Phoenix. You can decide which 4.

All in all it was a terrific trip that we will always remember. And everyone was happy Daddy pushed them into going!

Click to See Slideshow

A Fina Tima in Carolina

Our friend Greg Pronti and his fiancee Abby were to be married on May 18 in Charlotte, North Carolina. Of course May 18th is also Hayden's Birthday so we couldn't exactly desert our daughter on her special day so we brought the kids. We also convinced Vinny and Sheila as well as Jamie and Marcie to bring their kids too  so we were to have an Aces Reunion.

One story from when we arrived late Wednesday night in Charlotte. After we got our bags we needed to catch the rental car shuttle to the rental car facility. Looking to help us out with directions, the bus driver said, "Where are you folks headed?" Hayden immediately said, "North Carolina." Awesome.

At the children's museum

It was a great trip as there was tons of quality time spent together and it was great to see the kids bond together even more. The kids (Hayden and Ellie Wolach, Vincent and Stella Lecce, and Chadwick and John Carmody) were in the pool at the hotel a few times, had Carolina BBQ, had some great burgers and milkshakes at Cookout, went to the children's museum, and played with each other a ton.

They also convinced Uncle Cyrus to attempt a somersault:

On the patio at Corkscrew

The adults had their fun too. The guys played golf in the wedding tournament at Greg's Club, and the entire adult crew had a couple nights away from the kids. On Friday night we got a sitter and went to get drinks at a great wine bar called Corkscrew in a cool shopping center/town center known as Birkdale Village. It was really peaceful to sit on the patio and enjoy the company. Then we went to a nice dinner at Dressler's where all had a great time. After dinner we met up with Greg and Abby and their wedding party after their rehearsal dinner at an Irish Pub called the Galway Hooker.

A bunch of dinosaurs infiltrated the party

Saturday was Hayden's 5th birthday. When she woke up, as per family tradition, she walked through some streamers hanging from her bedroom door in the hotel. She was very excited and we gave her a couple gifts including a big girl necklace and locket. Then with the other families we went to Bounce U for her birthday. This place was cool: we had two rooms of giant inflatable bouncy thingys all to ourselves. It was terrific and Hayden, as well as the other kiddos, all had a blast. Then we went into the birthday room and had pizza and cupcakes. It was perfect and she felt like a princess.



That evening was the wedding so the kids once again had a sitter, and we went to the Club for the wedding.
It looked like it would rain but it held off and the ceremony was short and sweet. The food was good, the photo booth was photo boothy, the dancing was fun, and we had a blast.

It was a wonderful time and we will always look back at our trip to North Carolina with fond memories.

Click to See Slideshow of the Trip

Click to See Slideshow of the Wedding

Valentine's Day and My Birthday!

The month of February kept us busy with a lot of fun little celebrations - specifically between February 13 and February 17. We were so busy but had a blast running around!

On February 13th we were invited to the P!nk concert at US Airways arena. My boss is a HUGE P!nk fan and he got a suite so that all of my coworkers and our spouses to attend the concert. It was a really great show and she was such a amazing performer. It was a high-energy show from beginning to end and such fun to go out with everyone for the night.

On February 14th Matt surprised me with a huge bouquet of flowers and a sweet note. That night we had a quiet night at home with the girls. We baked heart-shaped pizza, ate heart shaped apple appetizers, had pink smoothies, and finished with chocolate covered strawberries. The girls each got candy and trinkets in their mailbox from us and while our night at home is much different now that we have kiddos it was such a sweet and special night too, and one that we'll remember for years to come.

On February 15th we got to celebrate my birthday at my office. My awesome co-workers wallpapered my office, hung up streamers and lanterns, ordered Mexican food from one of my favorite restaurants, and brought in German chocolate cake (my fav)!

On February 16th I woke up to streamers on my bedroom door. Matt and I do that for the girls on their birthdays and so Matt asked Hayden if she wanted to help him do it for me on my birthday. She was SO excited to help him and managed to be quiet enough that they didn't wake me up so I could sleep in. We lazed around the house and then drove to Biltmore for lunch at Zinburger. Then we walked around, did some shopping, and grabbed fro-yo at Mojo before driving home. That night we had a sitter hang with the girls so we could meet up with Dave and Sarah for drinks, dinner, and more drinks. We met them at the Princess Resort and had dinner at Bourbon Steak. The food was fabulous and it was so nice to eat outside and be with Dave and Sarah. It's not often that we get to spend one-on-one time with them since the girls are usually with us so we got to have some really great and engaging conversation.

On February 17th we had a sitter come again so that we could have a quick afternoon date to celebrate Valentine's Day. I surprised Matt with a trip to Cracker Jack's so we could hit a few golf balls at the driving range. I hadn't hit a golf ball since I was pregnant with Hayden and it was fun getting out there with Matt. I don't expect to be hitting balls again soon but it was really nice to be outside doing something "outdoorsy" with Matt. After that we drove to Culinary Dropout in Old Town Scottsdale. We sat on their patio and had lunch. We started with pretzel rolls and fondue (de-lish!!) and to be honest, I can't remember what we actually ate. The pretzel rolls kind of make you forget the rest of your meal.

Such a fun, crazy, and packed 5 days in February!! Whew!!

Valentine's Day and Birthday

February Recap

We had a fun February with plenty of activities to keep us busy:  little celebrations for Valentine's Day and my birthday, going to the P!nk concert, checking out Matt's new office location, potty training, hanging out with family, and dinner and drinks with friends.

Hayden loves her school and continues to do well. She's learning so much is currently up to about 50 sight words. They had a snow day at school where she got to throw snow balls and go sledding. It was pretty fun trying to find boots and mittens to send with her to school! We also attended her second parent/teacher conference at school and chatted with her teacher about her progress and her end of year presentation.

Anabelle seems to be growing every day. She is starting to talk so much, including saying, "Daddy, I'm ready!" when she's ready to get out of bed in the morning. She is turning into quite the character and makes us laugh every day with her funny facial expressions and sass. She really, really loves making funny faces and she equally loves to dance along to music.

Enjoy pictures from February!

February 2013

Anniversary Trip

Our Sixth wedding anniversary was on January 6th and Matt managed to completely surprise me with an amazing night away.

Matt made me think all week that we would be driving to Chandler, having dinner and then staying the night at his parents house with the girls. So we took off for Chandler with the girls and as soon as we got there Matt told me that we wouldn't be staying. The girls would be but we were heading back out. Yay!!

We drove to "The Living Room" which is a cute little wine bar in Chandler. We sat outside and ate lunch with wine. It was wonderful and so relaxing. After lunch we got back in the car and started heading south. We drove, and drove, and drove some more. Two hours later we arrived at the Ranch House Inn at El Rancho Merlita. We were greeted by the inn-keeper who showed us to our suite where there was a huge cheese, cracker, and fruit platter, courtesy of my Mom and Mark. The suite had a fireplace, private patio, sauna, and jet bathtub.

We snacked, laid around and relaxed for a couple of hours before our dinner reservations. We had dinner out a place that was similar to Cork and Cleaver (here in Phoenix) and then headed back to the hotel for the evening. We lit a fire and snuggled for a bit and then called it a night.

The next morning we had breakfast and then walked around the grounds. It looked like a great place to take the girls (when they're quite a bit older) or with another few couples for a few days. There was a great campfire area, a grill, a game house, a bocce ball court, and a pool and hot tub. We wished we could stay even longer!

It was a quick overnight trip but it was so nice to have a night away with Matt and was so special to have such a big surprise. Here are some pictures from our weekend away.

Surprise Anniversary Trip

January Recap

I realized that we're a little bit behind on our updates so we're going to try and start doing a monthly recap with pictures and then big events and stuff will be individual posts. And...we'll see how long that lasts.

We started out the year by going out for dinner and a movie while Nana Dottie hung out with the girls. We had dinner at Arrivederci Ristorante and then went to see the new James Bond movie. It was a fun night out with just the two of us. We were home by 11:15 and watched the countdown to midnight. We rung in the new year and were in bed by 12:30. Such rock stars!!

As a New Year's resolution I finally checked out the CrossFit box that's a few miles away from the house and started going every week. The first week I went in on Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. It was a busy schedule for my first week but I really loved it. That same Saturday was our six-year anniversary and Matt surprised me with a night at a bed and breakfast in Tucson. We dropped the girls off with Grandma and Grandpa, ate lunch at a little wine bar and then drove to the bed and breakfast. It was such a beautiful place and was so relaxing. We were greeted by the inn-keeper and Oma and Opa sent us a huge cheese, cracker, and fruit platter. We went out to dinner that night in town and the next morning had breakfast and walked around the grounds. It was a quick overnight trip but it was so nice to have a night away with Matt and was so special to have such a big surprise.

In mid-January I took a Girls trip to Palm Springs with Kathleen Tucker and Kristen McGinley. We went to a street fair, did yoga, took a wind turbine tour, watched Meet Joe Black (it's like, an 8-hour movie...) saw the Fabulous Follies (men and women from 50-82 years old performing), and shopped at the outlets. It was so much fun to spend time with my girlfriends and catch up. Matt hung around the house with the girls, watched football, and got a new refrigerator that weekend. 

Also during the month we made a trip to the Children's Museum in downtown Phoenix with Grandpa Dave, made pizza, played dress up, did make-up with Mommy, Matt and Hayden went on a hike (Hayden's first ever), and wound down from the crazy holiday season!

January 2013

Dentist

A couple of months ago we took Hayden to the dentist for the first time (yes, we know we were behind on it) and she did really great. The pediatric dentist office we went to was so well-run and organized. It was a great experience for both Hayden and me.

The lobby had books and games (including iPads on the wall) and a huge spaceship and little slides. We kept ourselves well entertained until it was time to meet with the hygienist. When we went back the exam room we found another iPad mounted to the wall that was pre-loaded with kid apps. The hygienist was great with communicating to Hayden exactly what she was doing. There was a TV mounted to the ceiling with kid shows, she got to pick out what flavor of teeth cleaner she wanted, and she got to pick out the toothbrush she got to take home. We took a bunch of x-rays and then we got to see the dentist. The dentist was equally wonderful and after looking at Hayden's teeth explained how happy she was with how spaced out Hayden's teeth are. She said that the more space in between their teeth the better because it allows the bigger adult teeth to come in more easily.

At the end of the appointment they took a picture of the dentist and Hayden together (that they mailed to us later that week), she got a bag of treats, and four little "coins" for being such a big girl that she got to use to get a prize in the lobby.  At the very end she also got a balloon!  Whew!!

Her dentist experience was much different than mine was as a kid. She really loved it and has already asked when she'll get to go back!  Success!!  (Big shout-out to Matt for researching online and finding a great dentist for our girls).

Are we at the dentist - or on the moon?!?

Playing with the iPad in the waiting room

The dentist "counting" her teeth.

The dentist is SO relaxing...

Hayden's Spring Show

Hayden's school, Rancho Solano, had their Spring Show where all the classes and the after school programs performed. Hayden had 2 performances: Yellow Submarine with her PK-4 class, and the Pink Panther with her dance class.

She had played soccer earlier in the day so she performed in 3 costumes/uniforms in a matter of hours. We were worried that her bashfulness would cause her to get a little nervous and not get on stage. But then her class came out and there she was. No tears and she looked confident! And she looked super cute in her Pink Panther costume. Here is the performance:



Then she got to quickly throw down some lunch with us and immediately report to her classroom for her next performance.



She did really well in both performances and we were so proud of her. Plus she scored a goal in her soccer game that morning so it was a terrific day!

We were also really excited that both Pop as well as Grandma and Grandpa were able to be there to see her do all this. Here are some photos of the day:

Hayden's Spring Show

Ellie's First Hike

It has been beautiful lately so we decided to go on a hike. Actually Hayden and I wanted to go, and Savannah and Ellie were to stay home. Savannah has always said that she hates hiking and does not have any interest in going. Yet the beauty of the day was too tough to pass up so with a bit of pushing and prodding, she begrudgingly agreed to do it, along with Ellie who was excited.

We went to Pinnacle Peak in north Scottsdale. There were a lot of people there even though we got there fairly early. We sunscreened the girls and headed up. Ellie walked about 43 feet. Then she wanted up so Savannah carried her. And carried her. And carried her.

Up a mountain.

It was super impressive. The girls loved it and we stopped every so often to take in the gorgeous views of the area. There are also a ton of boulders on Pinnacle Peak which made for some interesting spots on the trail.

Then Ellie decided she wanted to walk again, and she made it 53 feet this time before falling and skinning her knee. Poor little tyke. So we headed down.

All in all it was a fun day and a great way to get out of the house and get some fresh air.

Click to See Slideshow