chris.reese.girls1.2.3.4

We left Sedona and worked our way south to our final destination in Phoenix/Gilbert. We arrivevd in time for a Seattle Mariner's Spring Training game and met up with our Jarvis cousins and Grandma and Grandpa Apken who were also in town. We were lucky to visit the Jarvis' on Chris' side of the family, and the Snows on my side of the family. We bounced back between the two over the next couple of days. We stayed the weekend with with the Snows. We loved the chance to hang out with Aunt Amie, Uncle Scott and McCormick and their fun house of pets. The girls loved all the cats and followed them around trying to befriend them.   They all really loved Panini. Such a cutie.  Aunt Amie has the best selection of toys! Vintage Fisher Price for the win. So awesome.  We got to see Meg and meet her boyfriend too. Meg and Meg were a cute pair!  She busted out the American girl stuff too!  Saturday we were up early for Kaylee's baptism...

We parted ways with my parents the day after our Grand Canyon visit - they headed home and we headed south for another few days of exploration. First stop was Bearizona in Williams, AZ. We almost stopped here on our way into the Rim, but opted opt. Later we thought the kids might enjoy a change of scenery. It was a great wildlife park and the kids enjoyed it enough that we drove through twice! Afterwards, we worked our way down to Sedona (and the temps started to get a bit warmer, yay!). The views here were so pretty with the city settled right in the middle of all the natural beauty. Coupled with the artistic vibe that exists here, it was a really unique place. We had a challenging time navigating to find Bell Rock, but we eventually made it and hurried up one face before it got too dark. Stunning views in every direction at Bell Rock, including Courthouse Butte which is right next to it.     Meg let us know at this point that she was unhappy wit...

We were up early to see as much as we could in the Grand Canyon. The high temperature for the day was around 20 degrees, so some of us were wearing our ski pants to help us survive the cold.  This little deer family greeted us out the sliding glass door in the morning. We started in the main village near our Lodge, and toured the Lookout Studio and the Kolb Studio. Stunning views and great artwork and history throughout. The girls each worked on their Jr. Ranger program as the day wore on. We worked our way over to the Bright Angel Trail, which leads down to the river. We only ventured a short way down the trail because of the snow; it was pretty icy in parts and we didn't want to lose anyone over the side. ;)  We walked through the Bright Angel Lodge and then worked our way to the eastern side of the rim. We made stops at a few lookout points and then visited the Tusayan Museum and Ruins...a very interesting look at the ...