Back to Reality...

Vacation is all done- BOOHOO! We had a nice time. It is always nice to see family and friends. If I have one regret, it is moving from the Midwest back to the southwest. This is a daily regret. I wake up regretting the move and go to bed regretting the move. I have been suggesting, requesting, begging to move back almost since we got settled here. It was my bright idea to move back here. Hopefully the time will come when we make the move back up there.

Anyway - vacation was fun. It was rainy and crappy weather for the most part but that's okay. Wednesday was the only nice day in ND. And it was only nice the afternoon :- ) The kids enjoyed playing with Daddy's old toys and sleeping in the same room where Daddy slept as a little boy. Thursday we had plans to visit either the local zoo or some Indian ruins and we awoke to rain so we changed plans and hung out with Grandma, Auntie Lisa and Lacie. Thursday night Daddy Piper and I had dinner out alone while Grandma watched the munchkins. It was a delayed celebration for my 29th birthday. Funny side story: Our nephew's graduation was on my birthday so it really wasn't much of a birthday celebration for me. I didn't even get a cake. L realized this on Tuesday. She said "Mommy you didn't get a cake or have your happy birthday song". I told her it was okay. She then told me how sad it was. She mentioned this a few times throughout the week. It was pretty funny how affected she was by this. Friday we woke up and got things ready to hit the road and head to our friends' house. First we said goodbye to Grandpa and had lunch. We had an uneventful drive minus the potty break on the side of the road :- ) Friday night was so nice hanging out with our friends. They have 3 little girls the same ages as our 2 and we are due within a few days of each other - my 3rd, her 4th. Friday evening the kids all hung out and we had pizza for dinner. S got to have a bath with 4 other girls - every guys dream! We stayed up till midnight just talking and laughing - so nice! Saturday, we rode to see the girls' at dance class. The boys stayed home. We don't all fit in one vehicle anymore!! After dance (which was so cute!), we went on a Gator ride at Great Grandpa's house and then L got to have her 1st tire swing ride. We also had to make a quick stop at Best Buy since I forgot my charger in ND and couldn't stand the thought of being with my camera. After the excitement of the morning, we headed back for lunch and naps. The neighbor had a waterslide blowup thing in their front yard so OF COURSE the girls all wanted to do this. We had lunch and then made our way over there. L had a blast on this slide. She had even more fun riding in the motorized Jeep though. (Guess what L wants for her birthday now? yep - the Jeep.) The kids all napped after the fun waterslide adventure. That evening we headed to a local hotel to enjoy their waterpark. And wouldn't you know it, we had a tornado warning! This was quite crazy. L was super scared. She kept asking to go home. S slept through most of it until we had to be evacuated to the basement. One of my close girlfriends drove up with her daughter and fortunately they made it before it got too bad, so they hung out with us in the basement of the hotel. We were only down there for about 20 minutes until the storm passed. Thank goodness the tornado didn't touch down where we were. So we headed upstairs to get ready for the waterpark. My other girlfriend and her husband and 3 girls drove over to spend the evening with us. Super cool though - this guy overheard us by the front desk and asked if we needed more tickets and he was able to get 4 free with his room so we all got in for free - can't beat that!! The waterpark was fun - not nearly as cold as it was when we were there in Dec. 06. We had a great time. S didn't really like it at first because he got coldy and hates water in his face but he warmed up and enjoyed his time there. L was happy to just splash around in the water - not up for trying the slides like Miss H. After about 2 hours there, L warmed up to the slides and started going down by herself. She even asked about visiting the waterpark at home! All the kids had fun and so did us adults :- ) We had dinner at the hotel. It was quite the chaotic scene with 5 adults and 6 little ones. It went well though. It was such a nice time with our friends. I miss having those friendships on a daily basis. Everyone headed home after multiple kisses and hugs and we headed to our room. While giving the kids a bath, I heard Daddy Piper talking with someone... his friend had stopped by to see him. 10:00 at night and more socializing - we are lucky to have so many people that want to see us! He left to hang out with his friend for awhile after arranging to have breakfast before we left the next day. Both kids slept fairly well in the hotel. We had a 3 room suite, which was so nice but will be even nicer when they are older. The only way to share a hotel room with kids!! We woke on Sunday, got dressed and headed over for some yummy breakfast and (more) pleasant company. I got to meet their new baby. It really made me excited to meet our new baby! We wrapped up there and headed to the airport. The car return, baggage check and all went smooth. We did cut the time close. After going through security, we only had 20 minutes to get to our gate. For me, that was nerve wracking but it was enough time to hit the potty and get some lunch for the plane. We boarded and while we were waiting for others to board, L noticed some chips outside. I thought she meant the cooler bag we checked that had chips in it but noooooooo, she saw the chips we had just bought. They were in the stroller we had gate checked and we forgot to grab them out! Even more amazing.... they were in the stroller when we got to Phoenix!!!! Plane ride was uneventful - everyone napped. We got our luggage, grabbed the van (with a minor sour milk explosion - GROSS!!) and went home.

It was a wonderful time as always. Can't wait to be back up there full time!!