Our Fabulous February Getaway

This past weekend was a three-day weekend for David and the girls from work and school. We had planned on heading north to my dad's cabin, but those plans fell through. I was somewhat upset because we'd been promising Amber and Jade a snow trip for the past 3 years and it never worked out and I didn't know how much longer snow would last this year. So David, being the sweet guy he is, surprised us all - including me - with a trip to Flagstaff for two nights! He found a motel we could afford to stay in, booked it, packed our warmest clothes, and as soon as Amber and Jade got home from school (it was a 1/2 day so they were home at 10am) we left. After a quick stop at Joann's for ribbon and zippers, and lunch at a yummy Hawaiian restaraunt, we headed north. With a movie to watch and plenty of snacks, the older three were prefectly fine. When we started seeing patches of snow on the side of the road, I told David to pull over and pretend that was the surprise. He did. Amber and Jade had fun playing in the "snow" while I fed Shyla in the van. Paisley did not like the snow. When I was done, we got the girls back in the car and said we were going home. Amber and Jade were not happy about that. lol Their eyes sure got big once we were far enough north to see lots and lots of snow. =)

The motel David booked for us had 2 rooms which was great since the girls go to bed eariler than David and I.  Paisley had fun "helping" unpack while Amber and Jade quickly found cartoons on the tv. We found a Safeway and got some basic groceries for the weekend. And while we were eating Little Caesar's in the motel room watching some Disney channel show, David and I just laughed that that's what we drove 2 hours to do.

Saturday morning we packed a lunch and drove up to the Grand Canyon. I'm actually surprised David agreed to go there as he has a very hard time with heights. He was very quick to remind the girls - expecially Bouncy Jade - to be careful near the railing. And even took Shyla away from me when he thought I was too close to the edge. lol We planned to stop at Snow Bowl on the way back to the motel, but Amber got carsick and barfed all over the backseat. So after getting that cleaned up, we went for a walk around Flagstaff. There were a lot of snowball fights and even a family of snowpeople built in a parking lot. Paisley decided she did like the snow after all and had fun throwing it at all of us as well. She even spent quite a long time giving David's snowman a "hat". Our dinner that night consisted of fresh bakery bread, strawberries, and dipping chocolate. It was a hit! And there's no doubt about it.....we are a VERY loud family! Hahaha! Even David and I were getting pretty loud playing games at night with Amber and Jade.

 Sunday morning we packed up our stuff and as David loaded the car, it started to snow! What perfect timing! We drove to Snow Bowl but the road to the park was closed unless you had chains or 4-wheel drive. So we just parked at the bottom and played near the van. Paisley kept giggling and telling us the snow was tickling her. =) Since Amber had barfed on her warm jacket, she just had a fleece hoodie left so I donated my warm jacket to her to keep her warm. Yeah, I froze my butt off. I think snow would be a whole lot funner in proper snow attire. But living in places with no snow my entire life, I didn't have one article of weather-proof clothing. Neither did any of my girls. David was the only one with a real snow jacket and waterproof boots. Lucky. But that didn't stop Amber and Jade from rolling around in the snow making snow angels! We were all pretty wet by the time we got back in the van to head home. I think Shyla was probably the warmest - she was wrapped up in a blanket tucked inside David's jacket. Her face was the only skin exposed and her poor cheeks were pretty rosey and chapped from the wind. We got lucky though cause she decided to sleep the entire way home. =)

We all had such a great time together! My kids got to see and play in the snow for the first time ever, and we all got to see it falling. It's very beautiful coming down. For sure next time we spend any length of time in it though, we'll definately have at least some weather-proof gear!