Memorial Day Weekend

This post should be titled Alaska-the trip that almost was. Saturday morning we were all packed and ready to go, so we loaded into the car and headed over to the airport to begin our Alaskan adventure. We had talked about going on a family vacation to Alaska when the kids were a little older and would remember more and have a fun time, but when Jake's parents were called to serve a mission in Anchorage, we figured it was the perfect excuse to go now. We can still go again when the kids are older. But alas, it was not to be. Yet. After checking our luggage, we got to the gate to see a looooooooooong line of people. The 7am flight was delayed. But that was okay because we were on the 8am flight. Oh, wait, we were on US Airways, so naturally it was not okay. I think part of their policy is to delay as many flights as possible. At least every time I've flown with them that's how it's worked out. So our flight wouldn't be leaving Tucson until after our next flight was supposed to be leaving from Phoenix. It being Memorial Day weekend, every flight was full, so getting another flight from Phoenix was not a guarantee. (Though with the delay policy, we could be fairly certain that half of the people on any given flight probably couldn't make their connections, so there would probably be seats that would open up.) Anyway, after scoring seats on a flight from Phoenix, we would still have one more leg to contend with. As much fun as all that waiting and fighting for seats sounded like, we decided that with two kids along it would not be worth the headache and trouble, so we cancelled the trip for now. Boo. The good news is we got a full refund on our tickets and were able to get new tickets in a couple of weeks that were cheaper and at better times (though flying from Phoenix rather than Tucson). The bad news is I have to pack all over again. :/

So, all of a sudden on Saturday we had the whole weekend ahead of us to fill. We decided to head up the mountain a little ways to one of our regular picnic spots, just past where the pine trees begin and the weather is a bit cooler than the valley.

It was a lovely day. And at a neighboring picnic table there were 2 little girls Rachel's age who invited her to come play.

They had lots of fun finding pine cones, kicking leaves around, and playing hide and seek behind trees. And they brought cool toys, like balloons and bubbles. Rachel had a blast.

Monday we decided to go out and enjoy the wonderful weather. This has been the mildest May I can remember ever. It maybe got close to 100 twice. And it was in the 70s and 80s for most of the month. Monday may have been the last mild day, as today it got pretty close to 100 and the immediate future looks like that'll hold for a while. Anyway, we went up to Sabino Canyon on a short hike and really enjoyed the beautiful day. We found some shade on one of the bridges that sometimes has water flowing under it, but as it has been an incredibly dry year (I don't remember it raining at all yet this year, though rainlog.org tells me there's been about an inch) there was no water to be seen this time.

We brought Annie along in a backpack carrier, which she was loving for a while, cooing and talking. Until naptime hit. Then she was out:

Rachel claimed to be tired and I carried her on my shoulders up a decent hill, getting a good workout. At the top I put her down and she and Grandma Knight apparently got their second wind and ran almost all the rest of the way back.

Except when Rachel found out that Annie had fallen asleep she announced that she was all of a sudden tired and was going to start sleep walking. She held our hands and proceeded to snore the rest of the way back to the cars.
Jake and I squeezed in Kung Fu Panda 2 while the girls played with Grandma and Grandpa Knight, before heading back home. Overall it was a nice weekend and we enjoyed being outdoors and spending time together. But it still didn't quite make up for all the fun we're missing out on this week in Alaska. Luckily, in a couple of weeks all that fun will be waiting for us. :)