Arizona Trip!

Believe it or not, Derek and I flew together for the first time a few weeks ago!  We met our friends Evan & Jen in Arizona for a 3 day weekend.  It was such a good time!   The days flew by, the weather was gorgeous, and the quiet time was delightful!  We flew out on Thursday, Sept. 11.  Yah, I had terrible anxiety a few days before, and then even when we got on the plane.  Thankfully, the flights were great!    

Our first day in AZ we hung out by the pool and then later on, walked over to the JW Marriot, which is right near the condo we stayed in.  We walked along a little path from the condo to the hotel.  I was not a fan of all the creepy crawly creatures!  My iPhone flashlight came in handy on the way home! We ate at a place called Roy's & the food was delicious!

Snuggling Bronx before I leave.

 I put him down for an early nap so it was easier to leave.  I hate leaving the boys!

 Pool side in AZ!  So fun!

Friday morning we were all up bright and early.  I always say that I can't wait to sleep in on vacation when reality is, my body is programmed to wake up at the same time every morning thanks to my children.  We headed right to Piestewa Peak for a hike!  It was really neat to sight see, but oh my.. I am out of shape!  Jen and I headed back down earlier than the men.  It was 95 degree's by 9 AM, so aside from getting a work out (which is out of my norm) it was so hot!  We got some great pictures though!  After the hike, Derek and Evan went golfing & Jen and I went to the Spa!  We had a one hour massage AND a one hour facial!  It was my first time for a facial, so that was fun to try something new.  I could have laid on the table all day.  It was so relaxing.  After the spa, Jen and I relaxed at the pool.  We picked up the guys after they were done golfing and then all showered and got ready for a night out in Tempe!  The place we ate at looked great walking in.  It had a patio, lots of people, music.. then we got inside and told them we had called ahead for a table for 4.  They led us to the upstairs of this rickety little restaurant.  The upstairs looked like an attic of a horror movie!  It was so creepy!  We all laughed and said it would be a good memory.  The food was good though!  After we ate, we headed to a little bar for a beer.  We sat up on a balcony that over looked a touristy area.  It was fun to people watch!  Our night out on the town ended about 9-10PM.  Ha!  We are old!

Checking out the view from the condo balcony!  

I loved the sunshine in AZ, but I wasn't a big fan of all the brown.  I missed seeing lush green grass & colorful flowers!

Before the hike.

The long walk down!

A little lizzard that scared the crap out of Jen & I on the way down!

 Where are Evan & Derek?!  Believe it or not, if you zoom in you can see them way at the top!

The 4 of us in the creepy little upstairs! 

 It was super dark upstairs, eerily quiet and the walls were padded with fabric!  No joke!  

 People watching from the balcony.  I believe this was in old town Scottsdale.

Saturday morning we went out for breakfast before the guys golfed again.   Jen & I got pedicures, did some shopping and relaxed by the pool.  The day flew by again.  The guys golfed 36 holes!  They were hungry when we picked them up, so we went straight out to diner.  It was a pizza & beer place pretty close to the condo.  They were really busy, so our service wasn't the best, but the pizza and dessert were delish.  After supper, we headed back to the condo and sat by the pool & hot tub for an hour.  We had the pool and hot tub all to ourselves!

Derek was so torn on what meal to order, so he ordered them both!  

Jen & I took a break from the pool to watch the guys golf on the hole by the condo balcony!  

Sunday morning we were up at 5AM to get the condo cleaned up & car loaded! 

Anxious to get home and see the boys!  

We walked into the house and poor Bronx was miserable.  He had gotten up about 3AM & my dad couldn't get him back to sleep.  He said Bronx just cried and wanted to be held.  He was drooling like crazy so I took a look in his mouth thinking maybe his last 1 year molar had finally come in... and I saw about 8 kanker sores on the insides of his cheeks!  At first I thought it was a reaction to the antibiotic he had gotten the day before we left, but a quick trip to Acute care confirmed Hand Food Mouth.  UGH!!  When I got home from the clinic, Brigham had complained of a sore or two, but the next day there were a lot.  It progressively got worse the next 2-3 days and then it got better.  The boys were miserable.  They cried or whined about 75% of the time they were awake and sleeping was awful.  Brigham screamed out during the night about 1-2 times a hour.  Their poor mouths were so sore that Brigham wouldn't suck his fingers and Bronx wouldn't take his paci... so you can just imagine how comfortable they were.  It was the longest week of my life, and really made me want another vacation :)

After 4 nights of Brigham screaming in pain during the night, I brought him to the clinic on Thursday morning, Sept. 18.  I just wanted to make sure there wasn't something else hurting him (strep throat).  Dr. McKercher said on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the worst, Brigham was a strong 10 for the worst he had ever seen HFM!  My poor babies.  This is day 4 of the biggest sore on his tongue!  It even looks better in this picture than it did yesterday!  Thankfully, Bronx is much better.

Poor dude was not in a picture taking mood. Daycare was closed the entire week and Brigs missed school on Wednesday.  

 Brigham's cheeks even looked puffy.

Brigham perked up and improved more on Thursday, and was eating mac n cheese Thursday night.  Friday morning everyone woke up after a much better night of sleep, so Brigham made it to school!