The Grand Canyon

Before hitting up The Grand Canyon, we stopped in Scottsdale, AZ for a 3 day Sleep Conference. If you're ever down that way, I highly recommend staying that The Doubletree Resort in Paradise Valley http://doubletree1.hilton.com/en_US/dt/hotel/PHXSJDT/index.do . It was gorgeous! And as you can see from below, Holden really enjoyed himself. Plus, the weather was delectable!

This is Holden in front of the fountain. Every time we walked by it, he would start dancing with delite!

I don't know if you can tell or not, but a few minutes earlier, Holden got an injury playing peek-a-boo. It's a rough game, you know? Especially when curtains and an unfamiliar wall are involved.

He wanted to jump in.

Getting his energy out before the long car ride to The Grand Canyon.

He liked the way the stone felt.

Well, one migraine, a McDonald's bag of vomit, and a bottle of Pepto later, we had finally made it to our hotel at The Grand Canyon. Don't migraines always come at the worst possible times? Come to think of it...no time is ideal. Any way, I couldn't have asked for a more precious son. Since I was feeling so bad during the entire drive, I ended up laying my head on Holden's car seat. He played with my hair and gently patted me for hours. If I hadn't have been so doped up with codeine, I might have cried. I love him. He was so happy to finally be at the hotel. Just look at him relax-

Monday. Our first day at the canyon. Every thing was covered in snow.

This was Holden saying "Burr." Although, we kept him bundled, he had this word perfected by the end of this trip.

This is Holden saying "Swoosh" and making his hand soar like the birds. He was amazed with the crows. To a certain degree, I was too. They were huge. Although I'm not sure when I've ever seen one in person. Maybe in that nursery rhyme book...

Does this put it in perspective? It was quite a drop down.

He's a road trip pro! All he needs are books and gooks (That's what he calls cookies).

Isn't it beautiful?

Hey good lookin

This wimpy set of stones were all that was holding us back. Crazy!

We had to take pictures of ourselves when it got too cold for Holden to get out of the car.

Can you find paci in the parking lot? Thank goodness for spares!

Touching the snow for the first time.

Careful not to slip!

Holden loved the snow.

After this picture, Holden put some snow on his own finger and fed Tim.

This was inside a tower that overlooks the canyon.

Click on this picture so you can read it.

What a good read

The cell phone was a lifesaver toy. It could keep him busy for an hour- minimum.

This was on our drive Wednesday to Sedona.
No pictures there. (Never wake a sleeping baby).

Our trip home began before 6 on Thursday morning. Our plane left at 8am from Phoenix. From there we went to Denver (stayed on the plane). Next stop- Chicago. There we were cursed with a non-disaplined 3 year old. You know the type- still uses baby talk, screams for no good reason, kicks and pulls on the back of your seat, all the while, his parents think he's an angel. AKA the ones you'd like to thump while their parents aren't looking. He kept dangling markers over Holden's seat. His mom even asked if Holden could use them. I told her, "Sure, but you have to clean up the mess." Even after I said "no thank you," the little boy was still holding the markers over Holden's seat. I was so proud of Holden. He never tried to take them. Bless his heart, it was like dangling a Blow Pop in front of a diabetic. The flight couldn't have ended soon enough. We landed in Chicago a little before 2pm, grabbed some Mickey D's and got on the plane for home. After inhaling our super unhealthy meal, we experienced Mcgret the rest of the flight. You know the feeling. Like you just rolled in french fry grease. I tried to be semi-healthy and order a water, but it's just not the same when you're washing down a burger and fries, not to mention the big "M" arches marking the side of the Dasani.

We finally made it home last night at 7pm to a 40 degree house. (Side note, don't turn off the air completely in the winter time). As much as I love geting away, it's always nice when we get back home. However, I did get use to having Tim around.

I'm declaring next week "Retraining Week." Wish me luck! It should be fun!