Arizona Family Vacation

I am not one who loves to travel; it honestly causes me great anxiety.  I used to love it, but Jasper changed all of that.  There is so much more to worry about...it's harder to get all my work done before we leave, there is a lot more to pack, there is worry about his sleeping schedule, and worry about how he will do being in the car and a plane for so long.  On top of all that, if you are a mom you know, it is just easier to be at home with kids than away from home.  So it is never truly a relaxing vacation anymore.  One time Kelly Ripa said that it's a vacation if you travel without kids, if you travel with kids it is called a trip.  So true!  I never quite understood why my mom rarely traveled anywhere, but like most things that I didn't understand when I was younger about her, I totally get it now.But even with all this stress and anxiety, there is still one thing I love about traveling...seeing the world from a fresh perspective.  There is just something about getting out of my normal routine that makes me see the world, my life, and my family in a fresh way.  I get so inspired by it all.  So I make myself travel...but definitely not too often or I might have to go on some kind of medication.  Ha!  Trevor will vouch on that one.When the opportunity came for us, along with my four little brothers and Dad, to go to Arizona, we couldn't pass it up.  We needed this, a time together to laugh, see and experience new things, and believe that our even though our lives are different than we have ever imagined there are still so many fun adventures in front of us.I was amazed by how well Jasper did on the flight.  I worked for hours the couple weeks before vacation getting together surprise activities, snacks, and movies, and he barely touched any of them.  I guess when you have four cool uncles along for the ride you don't need mom's crafts.We went to a lot of Spring Training Baseball.  Within the first 10 minutes on the very first day that we went to a practice, a guy dressed in street clothes walked past and noticed everyone's Indians hats and Ohio State shirts and stopped and introduced himself.  His name is Adam Eaton, he plays for the Arizona Diamondbacks, and he is from Ohio.  He chatted for a couple of minutes and then went on his way.  It was so cool, and the boys were so excited! We looked him up on our phones right away and found out that he was playing in the majors this year which made it even cooler.We continued to walk around that morning, and about 20 minutes later Adam Eaton came running out towards us and handed the boys a brand new wooden bat saying, "You think you can fit this in your suitcase?"  He also gave them all rookie cards, and talked with them a bit.  Later in the week, they saw him again, and he signed baseballs and more baseball cards for them and took pictures with them.  He was so unbelievably nice!  It is amazing how one person can create an experience of a lifetime.  None of us will ever forget all that he did.  And now we are huge Diamondbacks and Adam Eaton fans!We went to Old Scottsdale for tourist shopping and dinner one evening.I think Jasper ate a little from everyone's plate that night.  :)And my favorite part...relaxing by the pool.  It was so nice to feel the warm sun, and the pool was warm enough that I didn't mind one bit getting in with Jasper.The boys went home with 66 baseballs from catching home runs at batting practices. Needless to say, it worked out that they didn't pack that much and had plenty of room in their suitcases.Jasper couldn't quite keep up with his uncles every day.  On this particular day he was so tired that I took him for a drive while the boys stayed at practice. He was awake for less than a mile!We enjoyed an evening baseball game!  Trevor was excited because it was Jasper's very first major league game!My Dad and three of the boys made the trek to the Grand Canyon!  It was a once in a lifetime experience and they came back with plenty of stories.I'm just glad I wasn't there to see this!We went hiking all together at Cathedral Rock.Jasper and my Dad stayed down here on the flat part while the rest of us climbed.  I have never climbed anything like this before, and I am not very found of heights but am so glad that I did it.Views from the top.  I so wish I could have got my SLR camera up here, but there was no way I would have felt comfortable with that.  I love my iPhone, but these images just don't do it justice.We had such an amazing time!  It already feels like it was so long ago, but we will hold onto the memories forever.We made it home just in time to celebrate Easter.  So glad we grabbed this quick photo of us three before we headed out to church that morning.