Arizona 2014

We had a long, hard winter and what better way to forget all about it than taking a trip to a much warmer destination.  In May, we packed our bags and headed to Arizona for a week.  The girls were great on the plane ride there; Sophie played, worked in sticker books, coloured and watched TV on the ipad while Elise slept most of the way there and home. 

In Arizona, we rented a house with a pool and stayed with my brother and his family.  Sophie had a blast having her cousin, Madeleine to live and play with.  Sophie and Elise also quite enjoyed playing with baby Vincent the week we were there.  While in Arizona, we visited the Wildlife World Zoo and Aquarium, where we got to feed the giraffes.  There was also a petting zoo, which Sophie had a hard time leaving.  The Phoenix Children's Museum was everyone's favourite place to visit.  After getting past the indoor playground/maze/treehouse, there were three floors of interactive fun.  There was a craft room with a castle the kids could paint, a room set up as a store with food, carts and registers, as well as a bin full of beans and weigh scales for the kids to play with.  There was a cactus maze outside, a giant racetrack for toy cars, large instuments and so much more.  We were there for hours and we still didn't get to every room.  We also went to the Sea Life Arizona Aquarium, a place we had visited the last time we were in Arizona and enjoyed.  Another day, we headed to Mesa to spend an afternoon with Aunt Janae.

 

 

 

 

It was a great trip, however, I think Ryan and I have decided to wait a few years before trying another vacation like that again.  Elise pushed out 2 molars and a front tooth while we were there so she was more than a little bit cranky and barely sleeping.  Yet our biggest challenge was actually Sophie.  The first few days were exciting and fun but after that, she started to get home-sick.  During the day, as long as we were out doing something, she was fine.  But at night, she would cry that she missed her room and her stuffies, despite the fact that we let her load her backpack with anything she thought she might miss while she was away.  Being away from home caused her some serious anxieties which presented itself in this sudden fear of bugs.  Poor girl would scream at the top of her lungs at the sight of anything that even resembled a bug, whether it was a leaf, twig or flower that had fallen from the tree in the backyard.  She refused to use the pool in the backyard and so if we were at the house, we spent most of our time indoors.  She quickly got over this fear of bugs once we got home.  Every once in while she will get nervous around a bug but nowhere near the panic she showed in Arizona.
Despite our challenges, we had a wonderful time.  I especially enjoyed getting to spend the week with my brother and his family.  Thanks Uncle Dan, Aunt Tina, Madeleine and Vincent for the great week!
To see more pics of our trip and the month of May, click here.