Smith Family Staycation

 couple of weeks ago we went on vacation with Mark's family. But, we slept in our own beds at our own homes, or at least most nights we did. Everyone took a week off work and other responsibilities to party together as a family for a week. 

Day One: Temple, bowling, family pictures, and 5 Guys Burgers for dinner

Day Two: A day trip to Four Peaks.  (I stayed home with Owen who was sick, so no pictures from my camera)  That night we got babysitters for the kids and the adults all enjoyed a nice dinner at Caffe Boa in Ahwatukee.

Day Three: Fishing with Grandpa (Though we didn't end up with any pictures of grandpa)

Arizona Science Center. lunch at Mi Amigo's in downtown Phoenix, came back and some went swimming and then we set this thing up in Grandma and Grandpa's backyard.  (Okay, we is incorrect.  The guys did this, with the help of Uncle Gary and cousin Brandon.)

This tipi belongs to Mark's uncle who is scout master extraordinare.  On the other side of the back wall is a street that many people in the neighborhood have to use to get to their homes.  This gigantic tipi sticking up over the wall was quite a sight.  But we were pretty certain that the HOA wouldn't have a rule about tipis and it would only be up for a few days anyway.

Day Four: A trip to Flagstaff to go to the Skylift at Snowbowl. This was the highlight of the vacation for me. 

The skilift takes 25 minutes each way.  Here is the view going up:

After you get to the top you can take a short little hike to the summit of the mountain.

From there the view is incredible.

You can see as far as 70 miles, looking down on several mountains, and you can even see the rim of the Grand Canyon which is 60 miles away.

This is everyone except Mark's sister Lachelle and her husband and little boy.

This is the view riding back down the skyride.

If you are looking for a daytrip idea, you should definitely check this out. 

After the ride we went to a place in Flagstaff called Salsa Brava.  It had been featured on Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives on Food Network.  I'd been telling everyone I wanted to go to someplace during our vacation that had been featured on the show.  So I guess I was to blame that the food wasn't good.  Some people thought theirs was good, but most were not impressed.  The restaurant was featured for their Navajo tacos and stuffed sopapillas, not even their specialties.  I think it just made for good tv.  Oh well.

Day Five: Sunday we all went to church at a somewhat-random ward that none of us belonged to.  Then we gathered at home base (the parents' home) to make dutch oven dinners, hang out, and sleep overnight in the tipi. 

Day Six: In the morning the guys (Mark, his dad, his brother Ryan, and bro-in-law Danny) left to go play a round of golf.  The gals took the kids to a splash pad and park in Chandler. 

After lunch the guys came back and hung out with the kids while the ladies went out.  We ended up seeing "Letters to Juliet" and painting pottery at As You Wish.  It was a fun evening out and although most of us seemed to think the movie was cheesy, we all still left with smiles on our faces and a spring in our step.  That's what chick-flicks are for.

Day Seven: Wet n Wild and pizza.  This was a fun day too, but no pictures.

And Wednesday life went back to normal, except a mound of laundry to catch up on. 

And good grief, no wonder why I don't do this more often anymore--blogging takes too long.