Christmas In The Desert

We enjoyed Christmas with my family in Arizona this year!
A quick lesson on what a cactus was and not to touch them, and we were set for a week of fun!

The girls loved spending time with their cousins, aunts and uncles
All thanks to some special grandparents!

Our First Plane Ride!

We earned our wings this Christmas on our first airplane ride.
A trip out to Arizona ... one smart mom planned the seats.

Emily, Daddy, Claire - and mommy across the aisle :)

The drinks with ice were probably the highlight and then we found out you could get out of your seat and there was a bathroom in the back. We made a few trips :)

The Ranch

The coolest activity Aunt Debbie planned for us was the horseback riding adventure.

We went to this old ghost town ranch

The older kids and a few adults went riding on the trail

Scott, Grandma and the little girls stayed behind for pony rides and the petting farm.

We played some horseshoes

Explored the Ranch

And we all ended the day with a weenie roast around a bonfire.

Phoenix Zoo

A day at the zoo with the family

Emily and Papa Nick mapping out the route

"Hey - little girl ... do you know the way out of here?"

Family Christmas!

We got to celebrate Christmas on Sunday too when the whole family was together.

A few sparklers to celebrate the occasion!

It was lots of fun to hang out with our cousins

And to play with our aunts, uncles and grandparents

Just being able to be outside was fun!

Christmas Day

We woke up to a nice surprise - Santa remembered we would be in Arizona and left a few things for us!

We enjoyed playing with our new toys and then headed out for dinner at a fun restaurant.

We got to play on the slide while we waited for dinner and then danced to some country music.

Christmas Eve Activities

Swimming - Couldn't do that at home!

All dressed up for church ...

We only lasted about 15 minutes, but at least we went!

Authentic Mexican

We headed out for some authentic mexcian food - YUM!.

Maybe a few too many margaritas :)

A fun restaurant with a duck pond in the middle to keep the kids entertained.

Phoenix Children's Museum

We spent a fun day at the Children's Museum.

They had all these cool rooms with different activities - Here were some of the highlights:

The Fort Building Room

The Craft Room

Complete with a princess castle to paint

The Car Wash

The Noodle Forest

Turf Tubes - You don't find a whole lot of grass around here.