AZ

In mid October we took off for a two week family holiday in sunny Arizona.  It was a fantastic trip away.  Time together relaxing by the pool, discovering new playgrounds, riding trains, golfing and shopping.  The most important thing to all of us was "no work for daddy!".  The kids and I were thrilled to have Andrew all to ourselves.  There was a lot of laughter, fun and reconnecting.  A perfect time away!

Our place had a putting green that Malachi couldn't stay away from.  He spent many hours with his clubs practicing and was pretty proud each time he'd get it in the biggest hole of all.....the pool:)

I know we all think we have the happiest baby but seriously, Ebony is all smiles.  

Jayda absolutely loves the camera and tries out as many crazy poses as possible. 

We hoped that by the end of our trip the kids would be swimming like fish.  Unfortunately by the second week there was almost no desire to put on bathing suits.  Jayda would actually prefer snow and cold over the balmy weather we were having.

 More smiles and tons of drooling.  Let the teething begin!

 Ever since Ebony's arrival the older two kids have been fighting a lot more.  When I saw Jayda grab Malachi and watched them walk hand in hand together I was literally teary eyed.  It warmed my heart to see a moment of love for one another.

Riding the miniature train around the beautiful park.

And hopping a ride on the carousel.

 We are definitely little buddies.  Where I go Ebony is and vice versa:)

 With two other active kids there was no stopping us from going out to explore.  Ebony adapted well and fell asleep wherever we went.  This particular pic is during breakfast at a local diner.

We took in the community halloween event that was held shortly before we returned home.  They had cookie decorating, a candy buffet and pumpkin patch......all for free!  

Both were pretty pumped to get a bag full of candy.

At the new outdoor mall they have huge water fountains that they allow kids to play in.  One afternoon when Andrew was golfing we headed to the mall to play at the splash pad.

Back to the train park.  They had two awesome playgrounds.  

 A trip down South just wouldn't be complete without stopping at In n Out Burger, am I right?!  Ebony fell asleep while we were scarfing down fries and burgers.

I don't buy pop so the kids were thrilled to get their very own 'spicy drinks'.  These went down pretty fast!

Mal really wanted a picture of himself sitting in his carseat.

The 'desire to be nude' gene was definitely passed down:)

 I took almost the entire two weeks off of cooking.  I hadn't planned on it but really enjoyed the time to sit and enjoy each other without planning a meal or cleaning up dishes.  One of the nights we headed out to Andrew's favourite Japanese restaurant.  The kids loved all the raw fish.  I can't get them to eat grilled cheese sandwiches but they'll eat raw yellow finned tuna, raw salmon and unagi (bbq fresh water eel).

 Yet another playground.  We are used to bark mulch at our playgrounds so the kids really enjoyed playing bare foot each day in the soft sand.

This must be where they get their winning smile from:)

Out for steak.  After we sat down we realized this was going to be one of the quickest meals ever to be eaten at a restaurant.  The kids were tired from a long day of sun but we wanted to eat well that night.  Thank goodness for water....

...there was an outdoor fountain for the kids to run around after the meal.  They have a LOT of energy and it was time to get it out.  We chased around this fountain for at least 20 minutes before heading home.

All time fav picture of the trip.  Complete joy.

After lots of running Andrew thought it was time to switch it up and throw them in the water.

We usually started our mornings off in the hot tub.  Ebony enjoyed hanging out while we relaxed.

Sweet moments to remember forever.  

This picture was the inspiration for cutting Malachi's hair.  The water had slicked his curls back.  As soon as we got home I chopped off the locks.  Pictures to come!

Lounging at the pool just isn't complete without snacks and POP!

 Last day of our trip and still smiling!