arizona in the fall

For Fall Break, we decided to fly to Arizona to visit with our cousins in the desert.

The flights were surprisingly full, so we had to fly into L.A and then drive to Arizona, which put a bit of a damper on our plans, but the kids were all for a mini-road trip and we were exited to get off the island for a bit of cooler weather.

Here we are...waiting to board the plane.

Kaden LOVES flying and was so very excited to ride in an airplane!

 We actually flew to Maui first and then flew out to L.A...here we are, keeping busy with some friendly cards while waiting to board.

 After landing late at night in L.A, we headed straight out to Arizona without resting.  

We were a bit naive in thinking we'd have enough energy to do such a long road trip after a long flight.  Truth be told, we were both exhausted and had to switch drivers almost every hour in order to stay awake.  The kids, thankfully, slept the entire time.  Mitch and I, thankfully, managed to drive safely to Arizona WITHOUT any accidents or problems.   Whew!

Long road trips are NOT a good idea when coming off little to no sleep on an airplane.  

Anyway, despite the LONG drive over, we made it safely to Arizona and got to meet up with our cousins.  We had a pretty packed schedule and one of the items on our "To Do" list was to visit Mitch's favorite cupcake shop.  We patronized this cute little confectionary at least twice if not three times.  Cupcakes and cookies were enjoyed by all!

 Since the weather was too cold for any outdoor waterparks, we decided to visit an indoor one instead.  The kids loved this place since it had a good variety of small coasters, tea cup rides, trains, and even bumper cars.  Kaden was in heaven when Mitch took him on the race track course.  

And since they also serve food, we ate dinner and called it an evening.  

We always (always!) have to visit Bass Pro Shops at least once while visiting Arizona.  I'm not sure why, but the kids love this place.  We happened to come right at feeding time, so all the kids got to throw a few fish pellets into the Koi pond.  

And then we headed upstairs for some target practice.  We all tried out a few rounds and realized that Anna was the best shot out of all our kids.  

Jojo and Reina were content to simply "look" like cowgirls instead of acting the part.  Gun shooting wasn't really their thing.

Since the kids had SO much fun shooting at Bass Pro Shops, Mitch decided to bust out Grandpa's ol' BB gun and let the kids do some actual target practice in the back yard.  The weather was a bit rainy, but that didn't deter the kids.  Mitch set up some targets with empty bottles and and even bought a case of club soda so they could shoot some exploding targets.  Seriously, who in their right mind buys a case of soda for the sole purpose of shooting it with a BB gun?  That would be Mitch.

And for the record, it was a blast.

And on our final day in Arizona, we took the kids to the Children's museum in Phoenix.  This place is HUGE!  And since the Arizona public schools were also on Fall break, the place was super packed with kids galore!  But despite all the crowds, the kids had fun and managed to do all the fun activities they wanted to do. 

We were all famished by the time we finished at the museum and so took all our kids + Lynn's kids (because Lynn was working) to Matt's Big Breakfast.  This place is so yummy!  The kids ate their fill of some delicious breakfast (except for Kaden, who fell asleep) before heading back home.

Last evening swim before flying home...the weather was a bit chilly, but they all didn't seem to mind too much!  Although between you and me, they all spent an equal amount of time hanging out in the hot tub as they did the large pool.

All too soon, it was time to say goodbye to Arizona and their cousins.

We stayed for a total of 5 days, which was longer than most of our Arizona trips.  The kids were surprisingly happy to head back home, and so were Mitch and I.  We love vacations, but it's always nice to come home to our own house with our own beds.  

Oh, and the awesome flight attendants on Hawaiian hooked us up with some extra iPads so the kids were fully entertained on their flight back home.