Arizona Vacation

The next few days of vacation consisted of lots of pool time for the kids, some putting practice and a MLB game (the Arizona Diamondbacks vs the Pittsburgh Pirates).

My mom's husband is a BIG golf fan. That is actually an understatement, but I'll leave it at that. :) When they bought this house a year ago, the backyard was a mess. They took out all the rock and installed a pool and fake grass (which is amazing! You'd never know it's fake...really!). Jim also put in a putting green, which the boys thought was incredibly awesome. They spent any time they weren't in the pool at the putting green. Turns out that Henry has quite an affinity for golf!

The pool doesn't have a heater, which isn't really a problem in the summer, but they aren't quite into Arizona summer temperatures yet. So it was a little chilly for swimming but that didn't stop the kids from hopping right in! Henry found it to be cold and never has liked being cold. Thus, he swam a little but avoided any extended time in the pool.

Jonah, on the other hand, spent every waking moment he could in the pool. We had to actually limit his time in the pool every time we'd notice his little body doing uncontrollable shivers!

Sam and my brother spent some time swimming and trying to out-do each other's splashes with monster cannon balls. I spent a little time in the pool too but preferred just soaking up the sunshine from the deck. :)

Bridget didn't feel like doing much more than playing on the shallow steps, and definitely preferred her perch from the hammock with her little friend Mona (one of my mom's little dogs).

On Sunday we went to a Diamondbacks game. It was so fun!!! It has been years since I've been to a MLB game. Baseball is my favorite sport and I just love being at the ballpark. I was probably more excited than the kids. :)

Brian bought the kids some fingers to wave around during the game. They made good use of them, since the D'backs won 15-6. Those boys sat through the entire game and loved every minute of it. I might have a couple of little baseball fans on my hands!

I think I forgot to take a picture of the little dogs, but the stadium was handing out webkinz dogs when we first walked in. They all had a 'collar' around their necks that was actually a D'backs bracelet for the kids to wear. That was a fun treat upon walking in the building!

Bridget figured out pretty quickly that if she looked at anything longingly or announced, "I want ____" that Jim would buy it for her. So she had cracker jacks, cotton candy, ice-cold water, my mom's sunglasses, sitting in whoever's lap she chose...pretty much whatever she wanted. She had fun too, although I don't think she saw much of the game.

After the game, the kids had the opportunity to run the bases. It was quite a production, as the crew had to replace all the bases, set up ropes for the kids to follow, rake out all the dirt and lead the kids out a few at a time. Luckily enough, Jim anticipated that it would be a crowd, so somewhere around the seventh inning he disappeared. When we asked where he went, my mom said he had gone to get details on running the bases. He actually went and stood in line for the rest of the game to hold a place for our kids! He was right up near the front and it was crazy! Kids were lined up for what seemed like MILES. Another parent told us that sometimes kids have to wait an hour and a half to get the chance to run the bases. Whew...good thing Jim was looking out for us! I don't think we would have waited that long. Anyway, the kids were in the first group to come out and they absolutely LOVED it. They thought it was really pretty special. Sam went along with Bridget so that she could go, and I think he secretly enjoyed it quite a bit too. :)

Here's a group shot before we left the stadium...check out the kid's hats and t-shirts! My mom splurged and treated all three kids to a Diamondbacks hat and shirt from the pro shop. Henry hasn't taken his hat off since, with the exceptions of sleeping and eating (no hats at the table!).

It was such a fun weekend! Sam and my brother had to head to their respective homes the following morning, but not before we had made a trip to Costco! We really miss living near a Costco and it's always fun to shop with my mom. The kids were sad to see their Daddy leave, but we all got to stay on in Arizona until Thursday. There was a lot more fun to be had!