40th, Sunshine and Mountains

Ah, Phoenix in August! Everyone looks at us like we are crazy but the family, pool and cabin beckon. After getting back from the airport, I proceeded to urgent care to get medicine for yet another sinus and ear infection. As I like to say, it's not a Sanders' vacation without a trip to urgent care.Who needs 110 degrees when you can cool off in the pool. The kids love warm Arizona swimming.

Nathan hiked up Camelback a few times.

At the Science Center, Maddie and Theo had a blast. Maddie was so proud to pull herself up to the top of the hardest pulley system.

Such focus!

We, of course, need to have a trip to the Railroad Park. Another benefit of Phoenix in August, the park is practically empty!

But, the main reason for our August visit, a 40th Anniversary! What a celebration.

We had a special brunch at Aunt Philly's house.

Reading cards and doing the 1970s trivia contest.

We displayed pictures from the early years. Theo loved the star confetti.

The happy couple!

That night we enjoyed a dinner at Vincent's bistro. Delicious french food, lovely toasts and a fun evening with the whole gang to honor Mom and Dad.
Nathan even went back to the kitchen to chat with Vincent. He returned after closing to share a glass of champagne with Vincent and talk about the past decade.
Nathan left to go back to reality and we headed up to the mountains. One morning we went to a park and were thrilled to watch a big boy practicing baseball. The kids could have sat there all day watching him hit balls.
Puzzle time! Maddie and Theo were a great help putting together some challenging puzzles.
And fishing. They couldn't wait to fish! We weren't as successful this year but it was a valiant effort!

I love the big Arizona sky.

We went on a girls hike along the mogollon rim.

Last time we'll have a kid in the sink. Pretty cute, no?

Somebody loves to clean - hooray! He was very intent on scrubbing the shower. Grandmommy would be proud.

Fishing take two. No luck.

The mad hiker

A stop at the Pinetop jail.

And our annual dinner at The Christmas Tree. Unfortunately, it was also our last dinner as the restaurant closed shortly after our visit. So sad to lose the Pinetop institution.

Looking very fine and handsome in a suit.

Helping Pop Pop clean up outside makes for a necessary water break.

Scrubbing the sand toys.

Goodbye mountains. We did have one more trip to urgent care to put Maddie on antibiotics for her ear infection.
For our last night, we stopped at the Sugar Bowl for dinner, ice cream and games. This is another highlight of our Phoenix trips.
And in the most amazing toy claw grab ever, Uncle J was able to get each child an animal out of the machine. And each toy fit the child perfectly - a frog for Gabey, robot for Theo and pink glitter elephant for Maddie. I'm still in awe.

Goodbye Arizona! Until next year...

Disney!!!

Our surprise trip to Disneyland was fantastic! After taking the ferry back from Catalina, we stopped at the Queen Mary before driving into Anaheim. We hadn't told the kids about our plan. So we're driving through town, there are Mickey ears and the word Disney everywhere and we're asking the kids to guess where we are going - nothing, no clue. Finally, they put two and two together and the happy screams begin! I have the best video of it if I can ever figure out how to upload it.

I'd read about this amazing program called RideMax. You input your Disney parameters - times of visit, rides you want to go on, breaks, etc. and it spits out a to the minute schedule. Well, I hadn't put it together before we left and we didn't have a laptop with us. Thank goodness for Cabrini who spent hours on the phone with me to tweak our schedule. We had a minute by minute schedule of our day at Disney. This prompted a sleepless night for me as I pondered, fretted and worried about how on earth I was going to get the family to the Peter Pan ride by 8:03 when the park opens at 8. I dreamed about the schedule and awoke with a start gearing up for the day. A key point with the schedule, arrive early. Nathan scoffed when I said I plan to wake the family up to get to the park. Note the picture above on the shuttle - it's still dark out!
If you know us, you know that we normally are not the first in line - anywhere. We can game up though and note, us grabbing the gates ready for entry.

A clear view of the park! We roared through our schedule and it really was perfect. The entire morning we had nary a line. We did learn that Maddie preferred quiet rides and Theo loves roller coasters. Nathan became a convert to the schedule and realized the importance of waking early to get to the park.

My favorite line of the day. A mom with a new baby in line at Mr. Toad's Wild Ride. Me: How old is your baby? The mom: 5 weeks, it's her first visit said in complete seriousness. Really, because who brings a small baby like that to Disneyland? We also met kids who were on their 20th visit! Crazy.

Unfortunately, we didn't get the Mr. Sanders Pooh car.

We had lunch in the New Orleans restaurant serenaded by great music.

We'd scheduled rest time. Gabriel was in the middle of an almost four hour nap so Nathan took Maddie and Theo back to the park.

This was pretty much Gabriel's expression the entire time at the park.
Theo did go on Space Mountain. Would he do it again? No! It was at Space Mountain that I learned the beauty of the guardian pass. Because we had a child unable to go on all the rides, I was granted a pass to "get to the front of the line" for rides. Little did I know that you really got to the front of the line. I went through the back entrance and barely breaking my stride hopped on Space Mountain. We ended up riding almost all the rides that we wanted to. We were amazed at the crowds especially after 3pm and wondered if Disney ever cuts off attendance (we found out they do).

Both kids loved Peter Pan. Maddie's favorite was It's a Small World and Theo's Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

We stayed at the park until 11, catching the firework display but missing Tinkerbell. It was an amazing, exhausting day. I can't imagine doing a week of it. But, we caught the magic and will surely do it again someday.

Catalina Island

Vacation! We'd plan to visit California to see our Swiss friends the Staubs, who were planning to spend a month there, but a family emergency canceled their trip. With tickets purchased, we decided to go anyhow. Tense words were exchanged with the adult Sanders the night before the trip when there was no plan for the first few days, no hotel, nothing. Needless to say, Nathan pulled it off in style. Why do I doubt?

Our plane ride was perfect. The kids did great even with a 4:30 wake up call.

We caught the ferry to Catalina Island! It was so beautiful. Nathan surprised us with the private cabin. We did find out that our boys inherited my motion sickness. Nathan finally realized that my nausea is not just in my head! Luckily the windows opened and the fresh breeze helped. Next trip, they will be wearing matching wrist bands to combat the sickness.


And the most amazing site! To be followed by a pod of dolphins. It was spectacular.

Meeting the captain.

Very last minute reservations on Catalina Island do not luxury make. But, we had a lot of space and were able to walk everywhere we wanted to go.
A family first - miniature golfing. It was so much fun and a highlight for everyone. We went back a second time that very day.

Practicing their rally hats.

The beautiful casino which is an art deco theater. Maddie and Nathan saw a movie there one evening.

Renting a golf cart to tour the island was fantastic.

We dragged the family up the island. It was a tough climb but the views were amazing. The only downside were the beaches, small, rocky and crowded. Having promised the kids some beach time we were disappointed when one was closed due to bacteria - ick. What a fun few days we had here!