Flagstaff!

We just got back from a quick trip up to Flagstaff. I packed up, drove Connor and myself 3 hours north and checked us into our hotel. All by myself! :) Yes, I'm pretty pleased that we pulled it off without any mishaps. Connor and I even ventured out to explore Flagstaff for a few hours while we waited for Nick and our friends to arrive.

stretching our legs and checking out the view at a rest stop

having fun on the hotel bed

Oops, I forgot: we did have one mishap. About 10 minutes outside of Flagstaff, Connor started getting antsy. I reassured him we were nearly there and he was a bit whiny but we made it to the hotel and I got him out and saw the source of his discontent: a VERY big explosion in his diaper! So we hustled to our room and the mess was so bad, Connor needed a bath and a full change of clothes before we could do anything else.

We went to Flagstaff to get away but also to meet up with some dear friends that were passing through on their way home to Texas. These "real life" friends of Nick have been mine for about 8 years now, but online only. After thousands of e-mails, we got to meet and visit in person and it was great!

Connor had so much fun playing with their kids, the youngest was his age. I'd share the pics we took but our friends are really private and don't like their pictures posted online.


After our friends headed home, we went off for some fun. Our first stop was in Bearizona, a VERY cool place that I was so excited to take Connor to. Wouldn't you know, Connor fell asleep just as we arrived and my camera died! No batteries and a sleeping kiddo. Bummer huh? We ran to the gift shop and they were out of batteries too so I got a $5 disposable camera and we did get a lot of pictures that I hope came out well. I need to get them developed before sharing.

Connor woke up in time to see black bears ambling outside the car window. We drove through the park a second time and Connor loved it. We then visited the zoo area and saw lots of babies: baby bears, baby raccoons, foxes, etc. They also had a petting zoo that Connor went nuts in, petting rabbits and goats and pigs and chasing ducks.

After lunch, we found some batteries for our camera and headed to the Lowell Observatory. We only had a little less than 2 hours before needed to leave for Phoenix so we took a chance and hoped we could find somewhere fun to explore near the observatory. This place is fantastic! We opted not to pay admission and instead explored the grounds for free. They had many trails and interesting things to see. We were all really happy, especially Connor who picked out a $2 spaceship in the gift shop and played with it constantly for the rest of the day.

I think I got some pretty pictures of our time there. Here are a few:

The solar system trail

such a pretty view! Connor showing off his spaceship too of course :)

picking a flower for Mommy

this was the Galaxy Trail. So pretty!

peek-a-boo! I put this little flower behind Connor's ear and he left it there all day! :)

hiding from Daddy

What a fun day we had! We really hope this winter we can afford to go back for a longer stay and introduce Connor to snow.