Spring Break 2009 Part I

Getting There

I know I haven't updated in awhile. Part of it being we left for our family vacation on Monday (3/9) and returned late last night (3/13).

Christian turns 5 on St. Patrick's Day (this Tuesday) but I'm not off for Spring Break this coming week (though the kids still are) so we went to Disneyland and had an early celebration of Christian's birthday.

First of all, driving to Disneyland wasn't done in the straightforward manner that most Arizonans in the Phoenix area do it. We went by way of LAS VEGAS. No, it wasn't to hopefully finance our trip (hardy har har). It was because my sister Kariann was joining us on our Disneyland trip and she was able to find a cheap round-trip flight from Idaho Falls. But the flight wasn't into LA, Orange County or Phoenix. Oh No. It was Vegas. Oh well. Close enough. Vegas is not out of the way per se, but not exactly ON the way. If you don't own a globe and have no sense of direction, look at a map of Southern California, Arizona and Nevada and you'll see what I mean.

Therefore, on Monday 3/9 we picked her up from the airport in Las Vegas. But it took a lot to get to that point. First of all, my friend Lara (hi Lara!) came down to Vegas from Cedar City, UT to do a photo shoot of Christian and Mikelle. She was a sweetheart to do that at my request, and while Vegas is easier to get to from her abode in Utah, it was still not exactly a short drive. It was fun seeing her family again (and I found out I'm totally attached to their youngest Sophia and wanted to take her to Disneyland with me!), but even though we planned on arriving in Vegas around 4-5pm (when there is LIGHT from the SUN), it didn't happen. There was Lara and her family waiting for us, and we just couldn't get there in time for the light to still be out.

So we arrived just at sunset and the light was *poof* gone pretty fast. And even though there were some pretty spots that we chose to take the picture (right by the temple grounds there in the east part of town), it was windy. That part I can't take the blame on, but the getting there late part is where I still feel horrible about and am still upset about it. I'm not upset in a "letting it bring me down" way or "taking it out on anyone" way, but I'm still upset.

I could go on and on with this entry about my frustrations of why we didn't make it to Vegas in time, but I have to tell myself I LOVE my husband and despite the fact that he and I do not seethe concepts of TIME, the CLOCK, (and how those things are important when trying to get to a far away destination by a certain time) the same way, that I LOVE him and do not want to kill him permanently. Just on Monday I wanted to kill him. It got to the point that I saw how his, um, "way of doing things" was slowing us down, that at one point when he hopped in the passenger seat of the car, I started to move before he even got the door closed and his seatbelt on. Boy, he was mad at me for that one. But seriously, the DONNER PARTY moved faster! :sigh: So I tried to make up for lost time, and what happened? I got a TICKET trying.

It was on the 93 highway between Wickenburg and Kingman. Just south of the reaching I-40 and heading west to Kingman. Stupid cop nailed me going down a hill, so my already crazy speed was even faster due to gravity plus acceleration. Gosh, it was so classic. I'm going down the hill at an already ridiculous speed and I pass the cop. I'm thinking, "CRAP! Maybe he's on his way to a call." No such luck. I see him flip a U in my rearview mirror and I knew I was screwed. He wasn't going to give me a warning either. I was just 2mph off of criminal speed. Almost a year ago (gosh, about a year to the day) I got pulled over out by the Superstitions east of Gold Canyon. But I got off with a warning. But I had a few things on my side that particular time. I was by myself and got to be cute and the cop was in a good mood.

But this time, the cop came to the passenger window where Chris was, and then there were the two kids in the back that didn't make me look very good with trying to be a good mom and keep them safe. So there was no being cute to get out of it. I didn't even try.

Anyway, back to Vegas. Even though there was lack of light and added wind, we still got to get a few pictures in and we went to Applebees with Lara, her husband and the kids. It was a lot of fun talking and catching up. Mikelle and her oldest daughter are the same age and they had fun seeing each other again, though as Lara pointed out on her blog - a little TOO much fun. But thankfully none of us live in Vegas and those poor people in Applebees have to see us again. And while we were waiting for a table, Lara and her husband got to see Christian getting his jollies licking my arm up and down. I don't know WHAT that was about. I can't think of him doing that before that night. I just have one word to explain it: Boys. Enough said.

Then we picked up my sister from the airport around 9:30pm and we were off to Disneyland! If only it was that fast. Holy cow. Don't ask me how it was 3am when we checked into the motel at Anaheim, but that's exactly what happened. Also, I'll never get over how ugly and tacky the Las Vegas area is. I mean, it looks like the surface of the moon with buildings sprouting out of the brown dirt for no reason. My tired joke (but hey, at least it's MY tired joke) is "Vegas is like an ugly version of Phoenix with a G-string". Seriously - People go there on purpose? And this is coming from someone who lives in a desert. But hey, I might live in a desert, but at least I live in a pretty desert. Vegas is just....blah.

And seriously, drive to the Cali-Nevada I-15 border town of Primm (actually, don't drive there if you can help it). It's in the middle of frickin' nowhere with a couple casinos, an outlet mall and fast food joints. The signs are huge, like all the tacky lights and signs in Vegas. If those signs and stuff were at least was surrounded with something of a scenery, it would be one thing, but it is literally what the surface of the moon would look like if we inhabited it with a bunch of drunks, gamblers, and hookers. But if we could inhabit the moon, at least it would be someplace we could send them and it would look like home to them.

And hey, I get to go back there in August!

This entry is already a little long, so I must pause before getting into the Disneyland stuff. But I'll do this the "TV" way:

Coming up next time on Unseasonably Warm, starring:

Our birthday boy goofball, Christian

Silly Mikelle and her Silly Dad


The third necessary adult that made the trip bearable, the kids' Aunt Kariann!

And then there's me. But a picture of me looks much nicer when the kids are added to it:

And you won't want to miss, the "Ode to the Fantasyland Bathrooms" near the Alice and Wonderland rides:

What's funny about this, is these bathrooms could also work in Vegas, for entirely different reasons! Interesting irony, huh?

See you next time!