For Christmas my parents gifted us a stay at The Great Wolf Lodge with the whole family in Scottsdale. We had been looking forward to this all year, then became a bit concerned whether we would be going or not with the pandemic. We toyed with the idea of renting an RV and driving but ultimately decided to risk flying. Numbers were sitting at about 1,000 cases a day, which isn't great but also not terrible. We were required to wear a mask in the Uber and the entire time we were in the airport and airplane.
While our flight was completely full the airport felt like a ghost town. Most shops were closed and because airlines have limited flights it didn't feel crowded at all. We kept our distance and frequently slathered on the hand sanitizer. Once we landed we picked up our rental car which was a life saver! Last year I didn't have a rental and felt a bit stuck at my parents the whole time, so it was nice to have Pete there the entire time with us and have the ability to get out when we needed. Our first stop was Sodalicious and Los and they did not disappoint. It was so weird driving around Mesa, it still feels like home to all of us.
Grandma Carolyn moved to Laveen which is about a 20 min drive from Mesa instead of almost 3 hours to Flagstaff. That made it really convenient for us to go spend the afternoon with her. I loved being able to see her new place and the plans she has to make it her home. It feels like she's getting a fresh new start and that makes me happy for her. She made us lunch and we sat and had a good chat.
Melanie's Baptism
After adding all the pictures of her baptism I realize I probably should have made an entirely separate post but it was a part of our AZ trip so I suppose it's appropriate here as well. Melanie's baptism was a little unconventional due to the virus. In March it was postponed, then we got the go ahead but with only our family of 5 in attendance. We decided we wanted to wait until AZ and possibly do it in my parents pool that way we wouldn't be beholden do the immediate family rule. We ran into some issues with leadership and were resigned to do it at the stake center. Two hours before the baptism was to occur Ellie and Pete went to the stake center to choose her baptism jumper and fill the font but the fob key would not work. The lock didn't even recognize the fob to light up. We assume it's because the buildings lock down on Monday evenings for family night. We had no desire to call a bunch of people in an emergency to come help us open the door so we decided to do it in the pool after all!
This made for a CRAZY final hour before the baptism because we had nothing to baptize Melanie in. We ran to Target and did our best and ended up with a white dress and undershirt. Starting at 10am that morning all the way up until the last second I was running around crazy getting everything prepared. Typically when I'm putting on a birthday or baptism I'm planning and preparing a couple weeks in advance, since I wasn't in AZ we just threw it together that day and it was stressful. There were things I wish I could go back and do differently to help everything run smoothly. I wish I took more pictures, but family had sent me some of theirs thank goodness.
All in all it turned out really nice. Brandon gave the opening prayer, Audrey gave the talk on baptism, Pete performed the baptism, the grandma's were the witnesses and I gave the talk on the holy ghost before she received it. Amongst all the craziness, I did feel the spirit and it ended up being a really nice and special evening. I'm thankful that she was able to get baptized surrounded by cousins and family who love her and are proud of her.
Grandma Carolyn
Cousin Sleepover
We typically don't do sleepovers so my kids were so excited to have one with the cousins. The girls came to Granny's and the boys went to Jackson's house. They swam, ate pizza and watched How to Catch a Dragon.
Homestead
Months ago when we were originally planning our trip the intention had been to fly into LA, go to Disneyland and a Dodger game before driving to Arizona. That became impossible but we knew that we wanted to do something together with just our family since this is our family vacation for the year. We went up to the cabin for the weekend to celebrate Father's Day and just chill. It was so nice to relax, play cards, watch movies, and go for rides on the Polaris. I think the only thing we would have changed about our trip was having a little cooler weather and some rain. My cousin Stacy Guthrie also happened to be up at the homestead and is a photographer so she took Melanie's baptism pictures up there which made them extra special.
On top of Sierra Trigo.
Great Wolf Lodge
We had the best time here. Due to the virus the hotel was only able to book 50% capacity which meant the water park was a dream. There were hardly any wait times for the slides, the wave pool wasn't overly crowded and we just fully enjoyed our time here. The rooms had a kids area that looked like a cabin with bunk beds and a side bed with a TV, so when we were in our rooms the kids were happy to stay there while Pete and I got to chill in the main area. We spent a full 2 days there and didn't tire of it. We loved going down the big slide where Pete and I could go together. The hotel had other things to do like bowling, a rope course, magic wand hunt and other things but we weren't interested in spending the money. However, after we checked out we learned that Dallas just charged the room for all the extras meaning my dad ended up paying for everything so I suppose we could have done that but owell. Every morning we went to my parents room for a little devotional, then the kids got a lot of time to run and play together. I felt like it was a perfect little reunion for us. I know it was a little harder on those with little kids, so Becca took her 2 youngest home early while Cam stayed with the older 3. We loved seeing and spending time with all the cousins and miss them very much.
At dinner everyone was ordering a lemonade or root beer and when it gets to Melanie she looks at the waitress and says a pina colada. She had spotted it on her kids menu and so when her drink came out all fancy with a pineapple and cream on top. I think everyone was a little jealous!
There was one of those slides where the ground falls out and you shoot straight down. All the older cousins had done it, except Jackson, and Melanie was determined to go. A few times she would walk up the stairs and stand on the slide then back out. Each time she failed she was devastated and there were tears. She received many pep talks and was offered $10 and then eventually did it! Once she did it she went on it several more time. I was so proud of her for finally doing it, we knew she would have been so mad at herself if she didn't. I wish I had a picture of her telling us she finally conquered the slide she felt victorious.
Final Snippets
Audrey loved playing with the younger cousins and they all adore her.
A big thanks to my dad for getting us there and providing an amazing vacation. We had a really great time and it was really hard to leave.
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