(***spoiler--really long and lots of pics!!)
there are so many things i want to document about our little weekend road trip...where to start?!
so i chose the beginning AND the end for today.
we began and ended our trip in flagstaff!
first off, i love road trips!
i love being in the car with dave and our kids for an extended amount of time!
i like watching my kids work things out, like who gets the DS on what part of the drive.
i love finishing sentences with dave about important things and also not so important things, like taking turns thinking of hobbies we someday might want to do together.
i loved on this long drive, singing songs from the movie, frozen, with sadie and abe encouraging vivian to perform. she sang and sang and it was so fun! she was an awesome traveler!!!
it has been exactly three years since we moved, so we were all excited to revisit flagstaff.
we arrived around 11pm. sadie slept at a friends house while the rest of us were happy to crash at Little America hotel. the boys wanted to all sleep in the same bed for old times sake. i walked by and could hear them talking together. it was wonderful.
we played at our favorite park...
visited old schools....
max didn't remember a lot and started to get a little discouraged. he wanted so much to remember something...he was thrilled when we drove to our old house and he remembered it!!!!
we explored our old backyard while reminiscing about huts we built, peeing off the patio, exploding volcanoes, playing baseball and where our dear 'azul' the moth was buried.
we spent time with good friends, hung out downtown, and ate at the kids' favorite pizza place.
we ended up going to a few of our friends houses and to a soccer game. we walked around down town, shopped and met our good friends for dinner. it was a fun filled day! i felt grateful as we drove away...
the middle of the trip is a post for another day.
the last day of our road trip began in flagstaff. i really wanted a picture of the kids in the ponderosa pines. one thing led to another and we found ourselves on the other side of town, headed home, with the trees slowly disappearing behind us. dave looked over at me and sensed my disappointment. we had a long ways to go, but the next thing i knew he was driving down a long dirt road to a patch of ponderosa pines so we could get a few pictures.
here are a few...ok way too many, but honestly, i loved this spontaneious family photo shoot!!!!
i felt dave's love for me on that little dirt road as he drove to the trees and then helped everyone out of the car "so mom can take some pictures". i loved the kids' willingness and watching them help each other and laugh together. vivian was wearing the dress from the day before, that she slept in and insisted on wearing again. i hadn't showered and had yesterday's makeup on. nobody's hair is combed and nobody matches....but these pictures remind me that we spent the weekend laughing together, playing together and taking care of each other. it is so real and i love it!!!
dave let one of the kids take a few pics of us....
had to take the classic utah engagement photo...haha!
the kids started to get grossed out about here....
which led to the big dip....awkward....
love dave's face....
kids were really grossed out by now, so i tried to make it more awkward....haha!!! who was taking these anyway? i can't even remember which child snapped these shots!
i'm glad they know dave and i like each other:)
i wanted one with my kids, because i seriously more and more realize what a privilege it is to be their mom. i love being a mom and a wife--it's what i enjoy. there is so much purpose in it and it is the most amazing thing i have ever done.
started leaning.....a little too far....
these kids make me smile....
"ok mom, we're done" :)
dave told me when, "when you're old you will want a picture of when you were young and pretty..." haha! he quickly tried to correct himself...
vivian missed out on our flagstaff phase, so i was happy to get a few pics of this little girl in this amazing place.
max came over to be in the picture and she got so excited! my favorite-- the loving look on both their faces!
it was abe's birthday, so of course, we needed a big thirteen year old, teenage picture. mature boy with all these mature trees and majestic mountains!
i love the next two photos because of abe's face. at this point, he was tolerating his picture taken....
then i think i told him to smile, so he looked excited....
i will always love Flagstaff. i felt like Heavenly Father led us there and it was an answer to my prayers. read a little about our experience here. it was a place where we grew together as a family and our testimonies grew stronger. we enjoyed living in arizona. i will forever be grateful for the experiences that brought us to that point in our lives and for how much we learned. i consider it a sacred place. here is what the visitors guide says about the peaks surrounding flagstaff...there were a few times that i really did feel close to heaven in flagstaff!
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