Phoenix

 Few months ago, my friends wife invited me to his 30th birthday party.  Great....only they live in Phoenix.  I wanted to make sure that we did everything we could to make it but David only has a few vacation days and we were going to be using them for a trip to Disneyland.  I figured out a way to fly out on a Friday AFTER school was out and then we flew from Phoenix to Disneyland for the rest of our vacation.  We asked Jeff if he would join us so that he could stay at the hotel and watch the girls.  We flew out of the Ogden airport which was new for all of us.  I hate flying but I only mildly freaked out for about 20 minutes.  I get so nervous!  The girls are always so amazing while waiting at the gate and on the plane.  They got to keep their shoes on when going through security which was nice and Kadence was excited her rod didn't set off the alarm.

 Because the party wasn't until Saturday night and we arrived late Friday we decided to meet up with Amanda and her family.  Nothing beats a quick visit with cousins! She had a membership to the Arizona Science Center and was able to get one of us in for free which we appreciated.  The kids all had fun exploring and I love that our kids get along well together.

Kadence learning about tectonic plaates

 Abbie and Shelby building a house to ruin in an earthquake

 David on a bed of nails

 Shelby was brave enough to lay on the bed of nails too, but Kadence was too nervous

 Asher and Shelby spinning

 Jeffy pole dancing....I mean spinning

 Not only did they help us save money on admission, but they let David try out a bike attached to a cable that can rock side to side.....I don't know how else to explain it.  Here's Matt showing him how it works

David only had flip flops and you were required to wear shoes.  Unfortunately Matts shoes wouldn't fit and Jeff was wearing flip flops too.  No worries, Amanda saved the day by letting David wear hers!

David isn't able to do anything without hurting himself

 No idea why these pictures are out of order, but here are the kids.

David helping Eden with the water exhibit so she didn't get her cast wet

 The girls raced on wheelchairs

 We had so much fun and were thrilled Matt could join us too.  I wasn't sure he'd be able to make it.  It was nice spending the morning and lunch with their family.  Plus, Jeff got to try the Arizona Smashburger! (One of our favorite burger places)

We went back to the hotel so I could shower which was pointless because it was so humid that my hair was still a wild mess.  Then we ate and left the kids and Jeff and started off to the party. I loved the sunset and wished my girls would have been with us so they could see it too.

 Will had no idea we were coming and was so surprised!

 After the party we went back to the hotel where we quickly found a bedbug on Jeffs pillow!  I was beyond grossed out!  The hotel offered to let us move rooms to which I immediately thought "HELL NO!" I'm sure David handled it all much better than I would have and I stayed in the room and packed up our things and tried to find another hotel.

 The girls were already asleep and we were able to pack without them waking.  Kadence woke up in the car, but pretended to sleep the whole way to the new hotel.

Having bed bug exposure has made me so much more paranoid to stay in a hotel.  Not to mention it has made things a LOT more difficult upon arriving home.  Our suitcases are still in our garage and I've been washing everything, including the clothes we never wore, which has made the whole laundry after a vacation situation much more exhausting.  We had fun in Arizona despite the nasty, crappy hotel. (The first day they left our room door open for who knows how long after they were done cleaning it....I wasn't thrilled with any aspect of the hotel....well, I guess breakfast was good.)