Of course, we are still working on the french braid. I have to remember from a bazillion years ago.
We also discovered our clay from when she got this for her birthday. It requires the oven, so we had to do it when we had a little time. A turtle, a sloth, some penguins!
Then she wanted me to make her barbie doll some shorts. Aye! Can we make it a skirt? We pulled out our sewing kits, and I got to work.
Then, she wanted to BE the Daddy. Hard at work. (Maybe she’ll organize his desk? Maybe not)
Oh, she has a call….Please stand by.
Later he wanted to surprise her with some more goodies. Tot and I spent the day doing girlie things and Daddy worked on the outside of the house. He always makes it so beautiful despite the quails making it unbeautiful. (Love those little guys but eerrrrggghh!)
Ok, so we met up around 2, and WOW! First, Tot gave him a card. She loves to draw them together.
Then, what time is it? MINION TIME. Bob came to listen.
What’s this?
No way…how appropriate because at 4:50, we are going to take her to the new Minion movie! Surprise!
LOVE DAY! Hooray! It’s a GAS?
So later, we go. But she also got another surprise. Yes, we have a real live cutie Ken living with us, so she wanted a Barbie Ken doll. I call him the Daddy Doug Doll. He’ll be here Monday, but thank goodness we already have our own cutie here!
Off we went to the movie, and luckily we got there in time for her to
…..drive (off-roading?) Tot! stay on the road. Daddy, you have your work cut out for you when she does learn. Glad that’s your department. HA!
What a great day. You two….Your relationship with each other will continue to grow and develop. For that, I’m eternally grateful. Thank you Jesus for being at the center. Happy Love Day!
WE LOVE IT HERE! It’s our happy place. So, I decided to book a trip to our favorite hotel, Poco Diablo. While I don’t care for the name, I love the grounds due to the golf course being free and the prices being adequate. This time, I got a deal to stay at the Villas. They are like mini-condos, so I thought it may be fine to do a Hay adventure at the Villas!
On Monday, July 4th, we headed out around noon. We decided to celebrate our country’s birthday in Sedona this year.
The drive was lovely as we listened to a few podcasts, and Tatum read and played. We loved the Adventures in Odyssey podcast about Nathan Hale and his heroism coupled with our country’s Founding Father’s faith and sacrifice. It was perfectly delightful. When we arrived in Sedona, the weather said, “COOL OFF KIDS!” Hooray!! Tot and Daddy had some Mexican food, and then we headed for our favorite destination. ICE CREAM AT McDONALD’S!
We couldn’t wait to get to our hotel, and it didn’t disappoint. It was truly like a little condo with a bedroom, kitchen and dining area. We headed to the store so we could stock up, and then…. our celebration of our country.
My honey….I love you~!
We wanted to get up early for our hike and surprise, so we ended with the usual of reading and relaxing. Although none of us slept well, we were ready to tackle the gym and the hike. Easy Breezy this time at Cathedral Rock.
Yes, we’ll take the EASY route today. Ha!
Welllllll, while on the hike, our lack of sleep caught up with us (and really some underlying unsolved issues). Tatum had a few hiccups, and Daddy (and me) had had enough (or maybe it was the straw). We had it out..right there on the Templeton Trail. (Remember Templeton from Charlotte’s Webb? The rat?)> Appropriately, it was a rat that tried to worm itself into our family, and Tatum threw a rock and said NO MORE! Apologies; time outs; remorse; and PRAYING. Tatum ended up hurting her ankle, and Daddy sacrificially carried her all the way down.
LOVE THAT MAN.
We moved on and made the rest of the day good. Our family FIGHTS for the US. With God at the center, we will continue to prosper as a team.
I love you, TOT! We’ll make it! SO BEAUTIFUL! Our cathedral..our family. We stick together.
OK, Circle K (Daddy drove us to the one that had cinnamon…thank you baby!), and then…..THE SURPRISE!
A…..
Helicopter…..
RIDE!
(with Apex and Joshua!)
We ended up getting the longer tour which took us through all of the back side of Sedona and all the monuments.
First, let’s get in and get situated. Tot and I sat in the back and Daddy up front.
Now just loooooook! WOWOW! The black on the rocks is the manganese from the water.
You can see the little cave where there may have been someone living there in the past!
When finished, we were so grateful and happy!
We thanked Joshua and Apex profusely and gratefully; we went to Tlaquepaque for some shopping and just to enjoy the architecture. Daddy makes our house look even better than this place!
Lunch and of course McD’s after lunch; swimming, dinner and just hanging out relaxing. SO good! We were EXHAUSTED, so we fell asleep early and were ready for the next day.
BETTER NIGHT SLEEP. Off to the gym, then a new hike the HHH found!
About one hour around the chimney; Perfect!
OH this is glorious!
Daddy found this cool tree that looked like my highlighted hair! HA!~ A cedar tree?
And a bluejay. He was absolutely beautifully blue and breathtaking.
Almost finished. ….
Oh, I’m ready for my coffeeeee!!! Have you noticed that your pace picks up ten fold when you know you are A…L…M…O…S…T there…… YAHOO!
After our coffee, we went back to change clothes and head out to the downtown Sedona area to walk around and shop.
Tot had $13 allowance, and she had been saving for just the right thing. She decided on a shirt, but first, we had some diversions with other (MANY) options;
Ok, the shirt. Yes mommy…I want the glow in the dark shirt.
Here it is (a later day after I washed it)
After our shopping gig we headed to lunch and McD’s. And then…it happened. No family is perfect, and no family can have perfect children. We know this. We also know that there are behaviors that need to be given grace, and then there are those that need to be nipped in the bud because they can become BIGGER issues as the child matures. A sass here; a disrespectful comment there. When you have an only child, that child can be in the spotlight with ALL the behaviors, and that is what happened (BUT NEEDED) (We owe it to her as her parents because we LOVE those that we discipline just as the Lord loves us). At McDonald’s, Tatum had a few comebacks which were surprisingly ugly. Surprising, yet also had happened in the past (but not as bad), but this time, it was time to deal with it. Doug and I had had it, and she needed a wake up call.
Daddy had some NEEDED words with her, and she remained silent; taking it all in. (So did I! As Daddy needed to get it all out). Back at the hotel, we spent about an hour down at the creek “working it out,” but more importantly realizing that we truly need a DO OVER for our TEAM HAY and for our COMMITMENTS to each other, to Jesus, and to ourselves. Actually, it woke up Tatum. She had us throw some LARGE rocks into the creek to remember that those days over. We are going back to Scottsdale with a new start, Forever Peace path, and a newfound love/deep appreciation for each other.
This is what I LOVE about our family. We deal head on with our “stuff,” and nothing goes swept under the rug to fester. We deal with it then (or within the day).
Getting home, we welcomed our beds, our wonderful home, and our lives. Thank you Jesus for it all.
Oh, alas. It is time to retire the Honda CRV. Wally, you have been tried and true.
Now, I have been eyeing the Bronco Sports for a while now, and finally….after a year, we have found one! They are so hard to get, as I had to wait for one to be ordered. Honestly, they are way too popular. I liked it before it was, but oh well. I still LOVE IT!
When we were in Sedona, I saw my exact Bronco! It will be here in about a month.
It’s becoming and annual tradition. Last year, we started with just a quick jaunt over to the Doubletree and Fleming’s for a girl’s night/dinner/sleep. This year, I promised a bit more! Oh, the pressure. I researched and researched and eventually, came upon a deal! Fairmont Princess is super pricey, but I called, and guess what? Calling was the answer. They gave me a great deal on a room with $150 in resort credits, a kid’s package, and they donate to a kid philanthropy. ALL WINS! Plus, they have SIX pools with one having a water slide. That will elate the Tot.
I knew dinner would be pricey, so that $150 would be very welcomed. I also researched to see if we could get ice cream when we arrived before we swam. NO problem!
The day was set. We’d leave around noon on Wednesday, and try for an early check in. They had our room ready early, so we headed over! Here we are, bags packed. Swim gear..CHECK. Dress for tonight..CHECK! The TOT…CHECK! Coopy? Sorry Buddy…you’re staying. He’s pouting.
We get there and IT IS H.U.G.E!!!
You truly feel like a princess when you arrive. They take such good care of you.
We checked in, and they handed Tot a hat for her day and some kid activities for us to partake.
Her first activity? Pet the Lobby Doggy. Her favorite thing to do.
Off we go to our room. Plan: Plop down our stuff, tour the room amenities, grab our map since the property is the size of a city, and find our way to activities! Swimming later.
First stop: Kid arcade. She brought $7 of quarters. She was smart this time, but when we got there, everything was F.R.E.E!! My kind of fun! (save those quarters, TOT!) WHAT!? Life sized PACMAN> Oh memory lane.
We played together. I had to remember how to play!
Then B-Ball, pool, air hockey…and we had the whole place to ourselves.
Now, it’s time to scope out the grounds. I got turned around so many times, and Tot was wearing her uncomfy flops, so guess how her feet felt after about 20 minutes (not to mention us going the wrong way once we hit the ballroom.) Blistery and bleedy.
Ugh….where is that store!? Lobby? La Hacienda with the ice cream??? Luckily there were plenty of Princess helpers to show us!
I need a moment, Mommy! (It was super humid out plus like 110!)
Ok, me too.
We found our destinations, and ALAS….La Hacienda closed until dinner. BUT OUR ICE CREAM??? Sadness. Disappointment. We just headed to the little “general” store where a bottle of water is $6, and we bought some goodie treats. Tot of course found many over-priced items to buy.
We headed back to our room to eat our treats and change. On the way, so many fountains. (Ours is the most pretty since Daddy made ours!)
Alright, the reason we came was for the pools and water slide. We headed over there, and I noticed it was pretty empty. Weird. They informed us that the pools are ALL closed due to a bit of lightning. HUH? Where? There were maybe three clouds in the sky and lightning? It sure was undetected by the human eye. Tot started to cry on the way back to our room. The lady said to check back in 15, so we went back to our rooms DEJECTED and DEPRESSED> NOOOOOOOO!!!! We prayed and asked for Favor!
When we went back in 15, the clouds seemed to disperse, and guess what! The slide was open! AND.. there was a bit of a cloud cover so it was cool. GOD IS GOOD!
Tot ran…I mean SPRINTED….up the ladder to the top and here she comes…….
BEST DAY EVER! She commented.
She ran up and slid down about 1000 times.
I even went up with her and OH BOY…it was soooo fun!
We stayed out for a couple hours, and she made some friends and played. It really was perfect.
When we got back to the room, we had to get ready for dinner. She put on her dress, and guess what? The dress she brought was too small! She hadn’t worn it in 2 years, and …well…we needed a plan B, because all she brought was shorts and t’s. I suggested she wear my black wrap over her GCU shirt. PERFECT! It dressed it up a bit and we thought outside the box.
We waited for our shuttle…they took us to TORO in their shuttle; this was one of their six restaurants. (one of them, Bourbon Steak, is the most expensive restaurant in the state. Well, Toro will be an adventure, and we look pretty cute!
Shuttle is here!
Here we are! SO PRETTY! Right by the golf course.
We have our $150, so we are going to enjoy ourselves! They gave us a lovely window seat.
The menu was quite eclectic. Sashimi, sushi, some latin type of cuisine. Very southwestern/asian?
We opted for some sparkling water. For me, limes and for her, cherries.
We ordered some ceviche with mango and tuna. It was SOOOO spicy, we both couldn’t eat it, so they took it back. I wasn’t going to give her a kid’s meal because seriously…hamburger, chicken nuggets, Mac and cheese? NO, you are having real food.
So we both ordered the salmon. It was covered with a bacon fig jam atop parsnips, carrots, and mushrooms. It had this red sauce on the side. DELICIOUS!
Oh, and they served some banana chips with it. YUMMMMM
Dessert? OF COURSE! Tot ordered some ice cream. She never had had dulce de leche, so here we go! There were two scoops, and she ate every bit. The tummy ache was worth it.
Well, when it was all said and done, just the salmon, waters, and ice cream, the bill was $101 plus I gave a $25 tip. Not bad! We have enough for tomorrow brekkie. (sort of)
We took the shuttle back, read some books, relaxed and fell asleep at 9:30pm. PERFECT! At 6:30am, we woke up, I made some NESPRESSO (HOORAY…this stuff is sooooo good), and we headed to the pool for a final goodbye swim. It was overcast, cool, and the pool was empty. It couldn’t have been better.
Then, we headed to the “generally expensive” store, and she got a donut, turkey stick, and sparkling water. I got some espresso. We spent exactly $20. That $6 donut better be good.
She was in food heaven, and I was elated about how much money we were credited.
This was such a highlight. I had an amazing time with you, TOT> Look how we overcame all the disappointments. We always can make lemonade out of lemons, and with you, that is the best because you have such a positive attitude. Thank you for making this so memorable. We’ll be back, Princess!
Two teeth in one week! Honestly they were just hanging there for so long!
And the TOOTH angel has gifted her now with two 5’s!
It’s the same day as our appreciation dinner. I love these nights, 4th Monday of the month, because we get to focus on how and why we appreciate each other.
Tot went first.
I love what she says about quality time. It’s all about what she loves…spending time, hugs and kisses.
Then Daddy’s turn! Wow. He makes us feel so special.
I treasure this list. My goodness; how blessed.
Now, ME!
Coopy, you are SOOOO appreciated too. I WANT UP, Mommy!
Yes, I do. I love what I do, teaching classes for GCU. However, I have been enjoying my role as a speaker for them. They call me an “expert.” HA! ME? OK, well, apparently I am to them. SO…. I appreciate it fully. In July, I’ll be speaking for EdKey to a group of teachers about the Gifted and teaching to them and also Writing Across the Curriculum (My passion).
On Saturday, I enjoyed meeting with the other “Experts.”
I received a shirt, and made sure to get one for the Tot. She hasn’t taken it off in three days.
You see, I’m grooming her to become a LOPE herself. (GCU Antelopes)
I also have been writing more lately with two other ladies. Dr. Marjaneh Gilpatrick and Dr. Tracy Vasquez. Surprisingly, I received our article in the mail as it was in the Principal magazine!
Kinda cool!
Thank you, GCU for the opportunities. So grateful.
