We will admit it was a bit rocky getting out of here the night we were leaving. Most of you know that Sara got very ill the day before we left. She ended up missing school the week we were leaving and did not show much improvement.
That day she ended up crashing on the couch for about 5 hours. When she woke up, she was running a 102 fever. Early that evening the fever started to break. We kept up on the Tylenol and gave her a warm bath and lots of cuddles; and put her to bed super early. About 9:30 p.m. we woke her up to go to the airport and she was definitely on the upswing. We made it through security without too much trouble, got to our gate on time....and to our surprise Alaska Airlines was giving away prizes. AND GUESS WHO WON? Amazingly enough Sara sat in the only chair that had an envelope taped underneath with a gift certificate. She won 1000 airline miles and a $25 discount off her next flight. What a good way to start our flight.
She handled the trip beautifully despite not feeling 100%. Once in Arizona we were good. We all took a nice long 3-hour nap at GG's and Papa's and we were set...Let the festivities begin.
Our Christmas in Arizona this year was a very relaxing and quiet one. The majority of our time was spent visiting with Mom & Dad, watching the Phoenix Suns basketball team on T.V., swimming, drinking, eating, some shopping, a movie and of course a trip to Sara's favorite place...The Phoenix Zoo.
This year was even more special at the zoo....now offering everyone a chance to feed the giraffe's. What amazing animals they are. To get that close to them was truly an awesome experience in itself. Sara and Bill got to feed them while I took a few photos.
Sara also experienced camel rides and petting a pool filled with sting rays. We literally spent about 4 1/2 hours at the zoo this one day and still did not see and do everything; but we sure had a blast.
Some other fun and new things we experienced were taking Sara to her first movie (The Princess & the Frog)....great movie by the way. Sara loved it, but thought it was too loud.
Coloring GG & Papa's driveway was very big on Sara's list of fun things. Sara would decorate the driveway while Bill and I soaked up some sunshine and had cocktails.
Sara also rode her bike quite a bit...and even got the nerve to take off her training wheels. She only did this the last three days we were there, but she did awesome!!! We are already looking forward to spring (????), whenever that happens up here; so she can begin again learning how to ride independently. We are so looking forward to the day when we can go on bike rides in the park together.
As luck would have it Sara was fortunate to have another special visit with Santa Claus this year. Santa surprised her yet again by showing up at GG & Papa's house. Sara was "SPEECHLESS"...which is very unlike her. She always has something to say...but she was very reserved during this visit. Again, she was very shocked that not only did Santa come to see her, but also managed to bring the letter that she wrote and mailed to Santa.
She was a very good girl this year and she had asked Santa for a Boy Prince Doll...which she ended up receiving on Christmas morning. We all had a lovely visit with Santa and are very thankful that he was able to take time out of his busy schedule to say a quick hello to our daughter.
However...Sara being Sara is now questioning the whole Santa thing. She realizes that not all the Santa's she sees are the "Real" Santa. We call them, "Santa's Helpers". She really wondered whether the one that showed up at the door was the real Santa or a helper....after all she did notice a strap on his beard. But Santa having her letter hidden in his hat was pretty magical...and we all know that only the real Santa could pull that off. Thank you Santa:)
Our stay with Mom & Dad was for two full weeks, but it amazes us how quickly the time passes. We are so thankful that we were able to pull off this years trip and are already looking forward to when we can see them again. We all miss seeing them on a regular basis and really enjoy the time we do get to spend with them. Leaving was hard...we could have easily stayed another few weeks.
The trip home was about the same as coming down. Sara's allergies flared up off and on in Arizona due to the dust and pollution levels. Coming home she was insanely congested and had a very sour tummy...poor thing....however a really cool thing happened to Sara in the Seattle airport. SHE MET HER FIRST CELEBRITY!!!
Sara spots this person at our gate and pulls on our arms that she wants to go say hi to this person. It was Jonathan Hillstrand, the Captain from the Time Bandit crab boat on Deadliest Catch. Leave it to Sara to spot him in a crowd. She goes up to him with Bill and says "Your Real"....too cute. He was incredibly nice and took a picture with Sara. Check in out in the slide below.
So to everyone in Arizona...Mom, Dad, Big Sara AZ, Steve & Tina....thank you for everything, we had a blast!!! Love and miss you already.
1 comment:
Looks like you guys had a great holiday! We took B to see Princess and the Frog too. Wish Santa made a visit to us too! :)
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