Vacation to a mystical island

We just got back from vacation, and I, for one, am SO sad to be back.  You see, we went to this magical place, it's called San Di-e-go (well, technically we stayed on Coronado, hence the island reference), there the temperatures are at *least* 30 degrees cooler than here, a lovely cool ocean breeze blows and there are lots of fun and interesting things to do, I miss it already.  The only part that I don't like so much, is the loooong car ride to get there, thankfully, Z was AWESOME in the car, no doubt helped by the promises of the "BEACH!!" when we arrived at our destination, we hyped it up for days beforehand, I highly recommend this approach.  Also, my poor hubby endured numerous potty stops, because he DARED take a road trip with both an-almost-3-yo, AND a almost-5-months-preggo, bless him, at least his bladder had no excuse to be full :).

After 6 long hours in the car we finally arrived at our hotel, we stayed at "The Del" aka Hotel Del Coronado, because we got a great deal that made staying on the beach cost pretty much the same as staying by the train tracks, Holiday Inn, I'm looking at YOU.  It is a beautiful hotel, full of history, probably worth a visit if you're ever on Coronado, behold:

Notice, this the view from the beach, where we IMMEDIATELY went after checking in and getting settled, for like 5 minutes.  Z was itching to get out to see what he was promised, and well, we *had* to deliver, so we went out, in our clothes, to the beach.  Let's just say, Z was... ecstatic, there is probably less high pitched screaming in glee at a Justin Bieber concert full of 13 year old girls..

The water was freezing, but we got used to it quickly, hard to complain when your kiddo is in a pure state of joy.  His clothes were soaked after, well, frolicking in the ocean, so we had to change before dinner, after these shenanigans he downed an enormous hotdog and some veggie sides for dinner.  He also slept like a rock, in blissful peace... between us on the king bed :p.  It was a fantastic start to a perfect escape.  Stay tuned, we also visited Sea World, and saw some dinosaurs!!

I've been keeping something from you blog

I didn't keep you from it on purpose, there was just never a good time to tell you.  And now, well, now it almost seems far past the moment to say this, so here goes.  Blog, I am knocked up, with child, expecting, straight up preggers, 16wks now actually, due the end of January.

Z is going to be a big bro.  We told him at around 8wks.  Naturally his response was to open his eyes really big, open his mouth in shock and then say "how she gonna get outta you belly mommy?!?"  I chose to spare him the horrifying details and just said "the doctors will do it" and left it at that, he seemed satisfied.   Quickly, he moved on to more pressing matters  "she gonna take my toys?!?"  These are the things on the mind of an almost-3-year-old.  You notice how he's decided it's a girl, for the record, we don't know yet, we find out in 3 weeks, and YES we will be finding out, as IF I could wait in suspense, my internal planner would probably go (more) insane.

So, there it is, it feels much better to have told you.  And now that you're in on the big not-so-secret news you can be a part of my ridiculousness.  I feel good, I'm past the super-fun nausea, and now, I'm straight up ravenous, like oh-my-GAWD if I don't eat immediately I'm going to pass out, even though I just ate a sandwich kind of hungry, it's crazy.  Oh and cravings-wise, CARBS, carbs are my like, super duper BFF.  And people, I am NOT a carbs person, but right now, give me a bagel, a loaf of sourdough and a bowl of spaghetti and I'll be a very happy preggo.  Crap, now I need a snack, see what happened just there?

We go to da MOUNTAINS!!

Well, kind of anyways.  Last month we decided to get out of this crazy heat and take a weekend trip up to Sedona, which technically involves driving through the mountains.  In order to get Z properly motivated to take a 2.5hr car ride and leave his droves of toys behind we promised him we were "going to the mountains".  And he certainly latched on to this idea, it was VERY exciting for him.

So exciting he HAD to make a silly face for the camera ;).  We arrived in Sedona around lunch time and hit our favorite Mexican place there for lunch, this is our routine every time we go up there, and evidently Z remembered from this past winter when we drove up, because he immediately wanted to look for "grasshoppers!!" in the courtyard in front of the restaurants.  Unfortunately it's hot in Sedona in July, I mean, it feels awesome to us, because it's obscenely hot in the valley in July, but I'm sure by grasshopper standards, Sedona is hot, so they were not out hopping around like they were in December.   After a very filling lunch we hit the tourist trap shops, did some walking around, and then checked in to the hotel.  Since in the Summer in the Phoenix metro area it's pretty much out of the question to go outside and play, Z was itching to do this here, where it was *only* in the 90s.

So we indulged him, and he immediately found some wildlife.. errr.. ants, to inspect.  Whatever makes you happy kid :).  The next day we decided to go on a "hike", and that means everything you'd think it means with a 2 year old, an easy walk in the outdoors, albeit with beautiful sites to soak in, because, well, Sedona is gorgeous.

This particular hike took us back and forth across Oak Creek, Z was a little timid about this creek crossing business, but by the end of the hike he was all about getting in the water.  Oh, and he has discovered the camera, and taking pictures, and he's not to bad at it, when his little fingers aren't covering the lens ;).

He is carefully taking pictures of the ants, I assure you people, we have ants in Phoenix, I have no idea what this was all about. 

On the last creek crossing on the way back, we decided to change his shoes into water shoes and let him burn some energy playing in the creek a little, he LOVED this..

He loved looking at the little fish in the creek, and picking up small little rocks to throw in the water so they would splash.  This hike will definitely be on our agenda when we come up "to the mountains" from now on, it's one that B and I enjoyed pre-Z, especially in the fall, when all the trees turn their leaves into a beautiful spectrum of colors.  I have a feeling Z will love coming here in the fall too... as long as we bring his water shoes :p.