"AIRW PWANE!!!!!" is what we heard Benjamin scream over and over again as we walked through BWI ready to take flight. He had only flown once before and we forgot how awesome an airport can be to a toddler who is obsessed with airplanes. The kids did great on our 5+ hr. journey to Phoenix.
Upon our arrival, Grandma picked us up and we headed to the Brown's for Christmas Eve celebrating. We had so much fun watching Grandma mix potatoes, running away from the Tickle Monster (aka: Uncle Bob) and Grandpa, Vance, David and Kris all enjoyed playing with the kids.
Christmas at the Camacho's was next. The little cousins were reunited and that was pretty much the last time we saw Mia for a while. She and Melia did everything together while Ben tagged along.
We had dinner with the Camacho family and Ben and Jaidon got to know each other a bit. The girls, Mia, Melia, Emily and Sarah bonded instantly and played Pretty, Pretty Princess (THANKS GRANDMA) for what seemed like hours!
It was a warm 75' so we tried to get as much play time as possible while we were there.
The 3rd annual Ukulele party took place although towards the end, Uncle Alex was the only one playing a uke. Mostof us picked up whatever we could find and it sounded more like a poor man's drum circle. Ben was super happy to play with his cousin, Fletcher. The boys enjoyed drumming just like the grown ups.
We always love going to the McCormick Ranch Railroad Park. It's become somewhat of a tradition. We went a few times and one of the days, we reunited with some of daddy and mommy's friends from childhood/high school (Gary, Greg, Chip, and Eric). It was great to see everyone and our kids had fun playing together.
One of the coolest places we went to was the MIM (Musical Instrument Museum). We started off strong but after a few youngin's got hungry, we endured a double meltdown which wasn't too fun. The MIM had instruments from all over the world along with video and audio footage. The grown-ups really liked it. The kids like the "Experience" room a lot better since they got to play the instruments.
Here we are at Abi and Tata's house on the Perry's last day. We sure did enjoy the warm sun!
Back to Grandma and Grandpa's house we went. Mia and Grandma played Pretty, Pretty Princess and judging by the photo below, it's hard to tell who was having more fun.
Another trip to the railroad park, this time in the rain. No worries though, we still had fun.
On our last day, we went to the Phoenix Children's Museum with Chip, Morgaine, Grandma, and Abi. This museum was so cool. We climbed all the way up to the to of a three story play house (yes, Mommy and the guys almost didn't fit in some parts and we had quite a crowd of revelers watching us on our descent, including the security guard who was egging us on).
What a wonderful trip. We made it back with hardly a fuss (well there was this little one on the plane but that's because Ben was tired). Though we were exhausted, it was New Year's Eve so we just had to do one last thing. We went over to Sharon and Don's house for a delicious dinner and spent the last hours of 2010 with Allen, Elaine, Owen and Nora. It was the perfect ending to a wonderful holiday season.
Happy New Year everyone! May 2011 bring good health and good times!
