Fam Vaca to Zona!

Home again, home again...

Late last night we returned home from a 5 day get-away courtesy of KK and Albi. We traveled out West... and not to Abilene this time... WAY west, where the cactus grow and the sun is hot (well, normally... but more on the un-hot sun later!)... to the great state of Arizona! On Wednesday morning bright and early we loaded up the car and headed South to San Antonio to meet up with KK and Albi before our flight!

We had been prepping Caden for his trip for days, which coincidentally turned out to be a bit nightmarish in the preparation process. We had SEVERAL meltdowns starring Caden, standing at the back door with his suitcase "packed" crying, "I YEADY to GO Mommy! I YEADY!" From here on out we decided that surprise and attack is going to be our motto with Caden. In our attempts to set expectations and get him excited about his first trip out of state, in a plane, etc. we got him WAY TOO fired up... which made for a LONG few days! :) Bless his heart, he must not get out enough! :)

So when Wednesday morning rolled along and we arrived at the airport the boy was a sight to behold... he was in his element... vacation HERE I COME!!

Thankfully, we had plenty of things to entertain Caden while waiting at the airport... #1 form of entertainment...KK and #2 Albi... #3 video player and #4 an insanely STOCKED bag of goodies I prepared the weeks leading up to our trip! I felt confident about our traveling experience...

And turns out... my confidence was well-placed! He did fantastic!! And I'm not just saying that... he REALLY did a great job in the airport and in the air! He even held his own boarding pass...

All buckled up and ready to take off!! We went back and forth with whether or not to bring the carseat, but of course, me being who I am... I decided that the safety guidelines recommended it for a reason so I was going to go with it... BUT turns out not only is it a safer way for kids to fly, but I think it also helped Caden be more comfortable in the air and we all know what a comfy kid means for mom and dad! :)

All smiles before take-off...

By the time we arrived in Arizona, picked up the rental and headed to our final destination Caden decided he was D-O-N-E and caught a GREAT cat nap on the way out to the resort. Traveling is hard on a guy!! :)

As a family (an Evans family) we have been to Arizona more than any other place on family vacations. We started going when I was in middle school. We found Scottsdale to be a GEM of a place, and as a 12 year old I declared it to be my favorite place on earth! AND I am still gonna go ahead and stick with that statement. Arizona is my favorite place to vacation! This trip we drifted away from our normal Scottsdale spots and headed just a few more minutes north to a town called Carefree. We were excited to try something new and still managed to head into Scottsdale for a night to eat at one of our favorite local spots! Typically, we come to Arizona in the spring to soak up some sun as the cooler temperatures in Texas come to an end. It is a great "warm-up" to the Spring/Summer season. We would always come back bronze and fully energized by the GIANT amounts of Vitamin D we'd absorbed, BUT this year was a bit different...

We landed amongst the clouds... we were greeted by 60 degree weather and we concluded our trip with a daytime high of 50 degrees! Sure didn't seem like Arizona weather... at least not what we had experienced in year's past, but God had a treat for us... we just had to wake up and NOT miss it!!

When we arrived Caden immediately found his "spot" for the week... on a ledge in front of the window... setting up all of his Sesame Street friends... PERFECT!

Once we got to the resort, it wasn't too much longer for Uncle Josh and Aunt Emily arrived as well! At last we were all together again... we haven't all been together since Christmas!! We were excited! To adjust to the time difference, we waited until 5pm and decided we couldn't wait ANY longer and headed out to dinner... PARTY ANIMALS!! After dinner we took a little tour of grounds and found the spot that would prove to be of the utmost importance the following day...

THE POOL... Caden and I were YEADY to swim!!

And thankfully, Thursday was a GORGEOUS Arizona day. Slightly cooler than normal, but with heated pools you can't lose... it was PERFECT! And let me just say... I had NO IDEA how much I would LOVE swimming until I did it! OH WOW... the things I missed out on in having a Januray baby... it is SO nice to let it all hang out in the water! It was the best I've felt in weeks!! I didn't want to get out!

Me and my little man had a GREAT morning at the pool with KK and Aunt Emily! We even managed to get a bit of color which was an added bonus! The boys enjoyed two days of golf while we were there so they TOO were experiencing a little piece of their personal heaven on earth!

Because we are the Evans family our pictures from the trip are a little lame... like we NEVER got a group pic... BUT we do the best we can! I need to start hiring Aunt Ree Ree to come on Evans vacations too. If it wasn't for her I'd never have pictures of Cox Family stuff either! I just don't want to miss anything... and every time I worry about snapping a picture I end up missing the fun... and I just can't stand myself... so memories will come from a few pictures and LOTS of words! Which if you've made it this far you are saying... UH DUH!!

I did try to capture a few photos before dinner one night... I LOVE this sweet outfit KK bought for Caden... it's going to be his Easter outfit too... so sneak peak! :)

And then we tried a little outdoor photo shoot with KK and Albi... and as you'll see it was kind of a lost cause... stinkin' Caden! :)

Oh but isn't he handsome in his outfit??!!!

He was the hit of the restaurant... of course that could also be because EVERYONE was out-aging his Mommy and Daddy by at least 30 years, which meant Caden wasn't even close to the average age of the joint! :)

On Friday the weather was nice but cool, and not quite appropriate for pool time so the girls and Caden decided to go on a little adventure outside of the resort and headed into downtown Carefree to explore! We found ALL SORTS of fun things...

A cowboy and his horse...

Sweet Aunt Emily was Caden's hand of choice that day...

And a Gila Monster slide...
Whooooooooo
And the sundial... which by the way... is one of the neatest things I've ever seen! I know it is amazing that people create things like computers and iPhones, but for some reason I am even more astounded at things like this... a sundial! We used the dial and it worked!! The time was right on the dot... SO COOL!

On our way to find a lunch spot, Caden decided he'd wash his hands...

We had a fabulous lunch and got some yummy goodies at a local bakery appropriately named Big Buns and had a fantastic day in Carefree. Back at the ranch the boys finished up their second round of golf and we all got spiffied up for a night out in Scottsdale. We hit up our favorite spot and had a YUMMY dinner!

Each night after dinner we'd retire to the patio and sit, relax and breathe in the cool, dry Arizona air. We also took full advantage of celebrating God's beauty in gazing at the moon and the stars! You forget how impressive the universe really is, until you behold it in the midst of nature... no light/air/sound pollution to disturb your view... spectacular!

Saturday, our last day of vacation, turned out to be COLD and RAINY, which actually worked heavily in our favor as we were all treated to a few hours at the Spa! The girls and Albi went first, while Uncle Josh, Justin and Caden hung back and watched the Masters. Then we switched! We all had our own special thing that we did and I think we all enjoyed our treats equally...

Actually, NOPE... I don't think that can be true, because I had the MOST WONDERFUL treatment I have ever had. I've had facials and massages and even a seaweed wrap and while all of those are well and good NOTHING compares to what I experienced on Saturday. They had several treatments especially for preggos, but one struck my fancy just from the description and now I'm hooked! Not that I'll be doing it often BY ANY MEANS, BUT whenever I have the opportunity to do it again someday I will definitely jump at the chance.

I had a Watsu treatment... which is most simply described as a massage done in the water. Except it is really more stretching than massaging. Basically a woman, a wonderful, gifted woman... cradled me in her arms and carried me around the a private pool leading my body through different poses and stretches that were meant to relax and heal ailing muscles. And bless my heart if I didn't near come to tears when it was over... I have never been more relaxed in my life! It was incredible! AND this little treat was a complete result of the rain... if it hadn't rained i would have never been persuaded to get off of my lounge chair by the pool and experience this... and I am forever grateful for it! I can't quite explain the power of Watsu... it is incredible! (PS: I am NOT in no way shape or form buying into ANY Eastern religious practice because of it. In fact, the phrase that popped in my head most during my treatment was PRAISE JESUS!! Hehe! )

SO after a WONDERFUL day at the Spa and a nice last dinner out with the fam, we packed it up and headed back home Sunday morning! It was a FANTASTIC trip, warm weather or not! There is nothing better than spending time with your family... you can't beat it! Making memories is what it's all about and we certainly did that!

And as you can see... our boy... was WORN out...

Which is the FIRST sign of a GREAT vacation!

We love you KK and Albi! Thank you for treating us to a wonderful get-away! WE had SO much fun hanging out with every one... and of course were glad to get to see our favorite Uncle Josh and Aunt Emily! Caden was one loved little boy!!

Until next time, Arizona!!