The kids were home again from school because of runny nose issues, so they made use of the time by painting each other’s faces. I am sad I didn’t get a picture of Clarissa with her little ghost face. She hates the post face-paint scrub-down and the minute she saw me she gave a little shriek and ran upstairs to wash it off herself. That’s what she was doing while I was taking this photo. I then went upstairs where she had splashed some water on her face and declared herself clean. Poor thing. She tried so hard. To her dismay, it was about ten minutes of scrubbing before she was actually clean.
I don’t remember what happened on Monday other than we were all sick and everyone stayed home from school. One day this week Lydia asked to just stay up talking with me and so I’ll put that conversation on Monday’s blog even though I don’t know which day it happened. During the course of the conversation Lydia turned to Mary and said, “Mary, I asked Mom and Dad if this life is just a dream. One said that that was a very good question, and the other said it was most likely not a dream. Which parent do you think said which?”
Mary replied, “Mom said it was a good question and Dad said probably not.”
Lydia laughed and said, “Mary, how did you guess?”
Mary said with her little characteristic mousy voice, “Well, Mom is the type of person who likes to give compliments and Dad is the smart one who knows all the answers.”
At that exchange, I was doubled over in laughter. It was hilarious.
During this conversation I also learned that Lydia thinks Ammon is very similar to her because after playing they like to relax and because she thinks they are the two kids who get in trouble the most. I also learned that Mary gets offended easily (according to Lydia) and will huff away from their games if she feels something was offensive. She also told me that she and Mary have a whole world for their stuffed animals and that at this point they don’t even need their animals to play pretend with them. Sometimes they play pretend stuffed-animal world just talking while lying in bed before they drift off to sleep. They only own one stuffed animal that doesn’t have a specific family and home and identity in their world. I thought this was all so interesting and wondered out loud why we don’t talk about this stuff more.
Both girls said that it’s because I have four kids and whenever they want to talk to me they get interrupted or somebody whines or cries. That’s probably true. Hopefully though I can make more time to have intentional talks with my older kids more regularly because I loved learning what’s going on in Lydia’s mind.
On the way home from Sedona we stopped at Vermillion Cliffs National Monument, which has its visitor center at Navajo Bridge National Monument. Navajo Bridge was amazing! The water below the bridge was stunningly clear and the most incredible color I had ever seen. And the bridge was covered with California condors!! They are impressive birds. They would occasionally take off in pairs and fly over the river, which was beautiful to see especially considering they almost went extinct. It was heartening to know that they were recovering from the brink and thriving in this magical spot.
Abe particularly loved the slow soothing motion of the waterThe girls staring at the actual wingspan of the California Condors they had just observed on Navajo Bridge.Clarissa was tired and very weepy on the bridge. She did not want to have to hold my hand, but since her head fit through those diamond slats, I overrode her will on that one. A look at Vermillion Cliffs. I am assuming it was windy.After Navajo Bridge, we drove past an ancient Pueblo site. The girls got out to buy some Native American pottery and briefly explore the pueblos. We grabbed some fry bread for lunch and ate it at the LeFevre Overlook, which is more breathtaking than any photo could capture. The LeFevre Overlook lets you see three national parks, a bunch of national monuments, and many more points of geological interest all at once. It expands well outside the frame of this photo and had us all open-mouthed. We were staring at Utah from an angle we’d never seen before and we were wowed! Also, the kids loved climbing all over this overlook. They were a mess of
After we passed Kanab Lydia saw a sign for Lydia’s Canyon Road! Of course we did a U-turn and checked it out. We spent the next thirty minutes driving up and down this canyon and daydreaming about buying a home in Lydia’s Canyon. We even stopped a family who was out walking and asked them about their experience living in the canyon. I guess it gets a lot of snow in the winter, which would kind of defeat the purpose of a vacation home…but it was fun to daydream!
In the morning we got up early and hiked the trail by the Sedona airport to get to the center of one of the spiritual vortexes in Sedona. We kept checking in with each other to see if we felt anything special, but we concluded it was hard not to feel something when the views were so spectacular.
I don’t know what is going on but in these pictures I do see rings of light around Abe and me. We are standing in the center of the supposed vortex. Maybe those rings of light are manifestations of our ineptitude at photography, but it does seem a little strange given where we both are standing…
After the hike we had one interesting case of synchronicity happen that also made us think maybe there was something to the vortex. Abe ran back to get the car so I wouldn’t be late to my energy healing appointment, and I was waiting at the center of the vortex because I preferred that to waiting in the parking lot. At one point I got a feeling to go down to meet Abe. I immediately that there was no way he was already there to pick us up and that I didn’t want to wait around by a busy road with the kids, but for some odd reason I gathered the kids and hiked down to the parking lot, arriving at the exact moment that Abe pulled up.
So I don’t know what to think. It seems like a spiritual vortex should be doing something more significant than improving a rendezvous experience, but at the same time it was really nice not to have to wait around for Abe and to have such a peaceful, happy experience when we did meet up with him. So if that was the vortex at work, thank you Vortex! Also I should note that for no reason at all Abe, Lydia and I had trouble sleeping the night before this hike and had very vivid dreams. Abe’s dream was obviously a surge from his subconscious, and a week later I can still recall mine too. Some people say the energy swirling around Sedona makes it hard to sleep. Huh.
After we met up Abe and the kids dropped me off for my energy healing session. I don’t know if I believe in energy healers, but since humans clearly have energy and Sedona is a Mecca for energy healers, I thought I would give it a try. It was really expensive, and I was torn about that, but when I think about how much money we wasted on tithing, I thought why not? It’s not even close to that and maybe there will be some spiritual pay-off!
After the session I really don’t know what to think. I didn’t particularly like my energy healer or the things she said to me, but maybe that’s a sign that she was just truth telling and the truth is always hard to hear. She did have amazing eyes that just poured out light and for a couple days afterward my body felt pretty light. But was it worth the money and would I do it again? No and no. I am starting to conclude that anyone who is monetizing anything spiritually related is probably a fraud. In short, perhaps I am becoming a skeptic.
After Abe and the kids picked me up we drove to the Chapel of the Holy Cross, a church built into a Sedona cliff. It was really, really crowded, but still quite pretty.
Then we drove to the Grand Canyon. I was in kind of a bad mood from the energy healer session and also kind of crazy and stressed at the idea that the kids might fall in. But the Grand Canyon is much more amazing than I remember, and Abe said it was the highlight of the whole trip. Considering this trip had more views than any we’ve ever taken, that was a big statement. If I had been in a better mood it might have been a highlight for me too, but as it was all I wanted was to see it and retreat with all of my kids in one piece.
As always, the picture doesn’t do it justice. The thing about the Grand Canyon is it is so DEEP and VAST, and it’s kind of mind blowing to stare into it’s swirling depth. After feeling stressed out staring at the canyon, I found the Flora glowing in the evening light to be incredibly soothing. I actually took more photos of the plants than I did of the Grand Canyon…
When we got back to our hotel we thought we’d try the restaurant. This was a really nice Hilton resort (we got to stay for free with our points!) and because of Covid and the kids feeling slightly under the weather, we couldn’t use any of the cool resort facilities (like the amazing pools). But we decided to try the restaurant and the food was soooooooo good. The kids got a pumpkin stuffed with mushrooms and quinoa, a beet burrata salad and some interesting stuffed and fried numbers. Abe got a very filling steak and I had a delicious salad that I can still taste in memory. Yum.
Ammon slept through the whole thing and at one point woke and begged to be put to bed, so I took him to bed. Abe and the girls stayed behind and scored a table with a fire pit to make s’mores. They had a great time staying up late and being silly together. I’m really glad they had that time. When I am with the kids in public I spend a lot of time shushing everyone and anxiously (needlessly, usually) worrying that we are disturbing everybody. Abe is much more able to let the kids be themselves and not care what other people think, so I imagine they all had a great time (as they all reported after).
In the morning we went on a hike in Sedona that Abe picked out. It was gorgeous, although three quarters of the way in the girls and I thought Abe was lost. We were certain he was heading the wrong direction–and then he turned a corner and we were right back at the parking lot! We had completed the loop, just like Abe had been telling us we would. He mentioned he anticipated being doubted because the hike was slightly long and apparently we all break down an hour into a hike. I didn’t realize we were so predictable! Haha.
I think Mary took this photo and the one of above it.
Then we drove North to two National monuments. En route we stopped to see the view in Oak Canyon.
On the path back to our car.
Then we visited Wupatki National Monument. I had read a passage Willa Cather wrote about the monument and was so excited to see it. Now I want to read her book based here!
This is a blow hole that comes out of the earth. The native people who lived here anciently ascribed spiritual properties to it. The ranger told me before hand the kids love the playing in the blow hole, and I was really confused how this could be without periodically losing a child or two down the hole. All was made clear when we came to the actual blow hole–it was safely grated over but nevertheless a blast. Heehee.
Then we drove to our absolute favorite national monument of the day–possibly ever–Sunset Crater Volcano National Monument. Oh my goodness, the colors and textures on that hike were so bold, so dramatic, and so full of contrast. It was so beautiful.
On the way home we listened to Wicked and all the kids fell asleep before we got to the hotel. What a beautiful day.
Ammon turned FIVE today! He is the sweetest boy ever–so kind, friendly, and gentle to the core. He woke up a little sick on his birthday after having spent the previous day in the pool and in the sun. We think he swallowed too much pool water because as we picked up breakfast at 5th place Market, Ammon threw up straight pool water. So sad!
We were also so, so sad to leave our gorgeous Tucson Airbnb. After my own home and my grandma’s house, it is my favorite home I’ve ever stayed in by far. I loved every corner and every minute there.
We stopped by two national monument sign on our way to Sedona. The first was Casa Grande. On the way there we listened to The Devil’s and passed a detention center. It’s hard to wrap our privileged minds around the abject misery and horror so many were suffering right at the very area where we were having such a wonderful vacation.
This was in the middle of desert nowhere. I tried to imagine what it would be like to live here anciently. SUCH a different type of life, but at the same time there had to be so many similarities too.
Our second national monument en route to Sedona was Montezuma’s Castle National Monument. This was a beautiful monument with peaceful breezes and soft light.
Wednesday morning we headed to the Mini Time Machine Museum, which is a museum full of miniatures from or depicting different periods of history.
Then we headed home and spent the entire rest of the day swimming in the pool. By the late afternoon I was seriously worried about how much water the kids had swallowed and ordered them all out of the pool.
Sadly, I didn’t take any pictures during this fun time because we were all so wet but it was FUN. I literally loved every second in the pool with my kids. They are so playful and joyful, and with the hot Arizona sun overhead nothing could have felt more refreshing than swimming.
After everyone got all cleaned up and ate dinner, I played Jenga with the kids until we discovered the Karaoke machine. Abe, who had worked all day and had planned to work all evening, also got enticed by the Karaoke machine and we ended up singing with the kids until waaaay past everyone’s bedtime. By the end Ammon and Mary were asleep on the floor. We each had almost an unbelievable amount of fun doing karaoke, and it made me resolve to get a machine for Christmas.
This was maybe my favorite day of 2020. I can’t think of a moment that I didn’t like, (except maybe keeping track of Ammon in the museum). Pretty much everything about this day was perfection.
On Tuesday morning I dropped Ammon, Mary and Lydia off at the Tanque Verde Ranch for their kids program. They spent the day fishing, horseback riding, tie-dyeing, playing, and eating ranch food. I had to make a last minute dash to Target to get them all jeans because it turns out they needed jeans to horseback ride, but other than that the day was a rousing success. When we picked them up after they all chattered about all the fun things they did for the rest of the afternoon and evening. They loved fishing, they loved horseback riding, they loved tie-dyeing, and they raved about the ranch food. Yay!
Meanwhile I took Clarissa back to the house and played in the pool with her the whole time the kids were at the ranch. (Abe had to work.) I am borderline upset with Abe for not remembering to pack his GoPro camera so I could have video taped Clarissa in the pool. She was over-the-top cute. We would bounce up and down and say, “One, two, three, TOGETHER!” Then I’d hold her as we ducked underwater together. We were both in goggles so we could look at each other underwater and the expression of pure elation on her face was something I hope I never forget. Ever since she could move, Clarissa has been OBSESSED with water. Seeing how joyful she is when submerged in her favorite element was a highlight of motherhood to date. After staring excitedly into each other’s eyes, we would spring out of the water together, she would shoot a stream of water out of her mouth, look at me, grin and shout, “AGAIN!!!!!”
We basically did that all day.
Abe finished his work from the car so he could be with us to pick up both the kids and dinner. On the way out of the ranch we saw a fox!! It sat down and stared right back at us.
Then we drove to downtown Tucson to pick up a platter of Ethiopian food from Cafe Desta. Oh my goodness, it was soooooooo good. We took it home and ate it at the dining table, and we almost finished it all.
We finished with a Frangipane tart Clarissa and I had bought at Whole Foods earlier and then all of us jumped in the pool for an evening swim. I think we all can say we love Tucson.
On Monday the kids played a bit in the playground at the house before we loaded up to go see Seguaro National Park.
We ended up doing our hike in the Desert Museum adjacent to (or in, I could never figure out which) the park. Lydia was feeling sick and was a total trooper to hike in that desert sun for forty five minutes. Before the little hike we explored the museum and saw all of its exhibits, and after the hike we drove into the actual national Park and admired the Seguaro cacti. They are my new favorite plant!! So human like and full of personality. We all loved them.
After the national park, we picked up some food at Whole Foods and headed back to the house to swim until dinner. Lydia still swam even though she didn’t feel good. She was determined to have fun no matter what! And we were so happy to be all together having fun in a pool together.
Being silly at dinner. We had stuffed mushrooms, gnocchi in vodka sauce, popcorn shrimp, salad and spaghetti. It was a Hodge podge yummy dinner.
On Sunday we woke up early and the kids had fun running back and forth between our cabins.
Each cabin only fit four so we had to rent two. That worked out because Clarissa was so excited she kept me up until past 2am crawling everywhere. Abe, who drove the next day, would have not fared well with that in the same room. As it was, I loved her playfulness and honestly didn’t mind a minute.
Then we loaded the car and met Liem and Phuong around 9am. We hiked the Queen’s Garden trail in Bryce Canyon together, and wow was it stunning!
Phuong hiked this whole trail at 26 weeks pregnant!! It was pretty much straight down into the canyon and then back up again. By the end we were huffing and puffing, and I know I would have keeled over had I been pregnant. I was so impressed.
Then we said goodbye and drove, drove, and drove some more down to Tucson. We got stuck in the worst traffic either of us have ever seen (this includes L.A.!!!) outside of Phoenix.
I looked back to see Lydia and Ammon sleeping and holding hands. So sweet.
By the time we got to our Airbnb it was late and dark, and we just transferred the kids to their beds.
Ammon was excited that he got this room to himself.
Then Abe and I went outside and unwound in the hot tub underneath the gorgeous Tucson night sky. It was a really relaxing conclusion to a loooooooong day of driving.
