The week before Christmas, which also happens to be the end of the school semester and my birthday, we planned a 5 day trip back up to Sedona. This time we took the kids (which negates the whole "vacation" feel) and invited my family up for a couple of days of jeeping. This just happened to be the weekend that Sedona got some unforeseen rain storms that lasted pretty much the entire time. Sedona + rain/clouds = eh. This place is know for it's gorgeous red rock and scenery, and the low lying clouds and fog made it difficult to see much. That aside, this was such a fun getaway. This is the first of our "time share"vacations where we have taken the kids and invited some family along. Besides Brooke not sleeping and having to drive her around each night, including one night where Curt and I took shifts because she was up alllllll night!
We rented jeeps when my family came up, two for 24 hours. My dad doesn't get out much since he works 7 days a week so this was a really nice treat for them, and I'm pretty sure the only vacation that we have all been on together. We went everywhere, up everything, and over anything that was in our path. I never knew the awesome power of jeeps or that they can literally climb the side of a WET sandstone mountain, but they can and it was amazing. The kids loved it, Kempton was in my dad's jeep (red) and every now and then would let papa know that we can't go down that mountain, it's too big. Brooke also thought it was great, at least the parts she was awake for.
The rain did have one advantage, all the creeks were full of water and there were waterfalls everywhere. It was so pretty and such a different experience getting to see all of Sedona's back country. I'm so glad we had this opportunity and that we were able to share it with our family. But I may leave the kids at home for the next one. Sorry kids, until you learn to sleep away from home, home is where you will stay.
The room that we had was amazing, thanks to the timeshare we bought many many moons ago, so we were able to enjoy some of the great amenities. I love staying in suites with full kitchens because than you can save so much money eating cooking own food rather than eating out for every. single. meal. But the best part by far was the 3 person jacuzzi tub with lights. The kids probably spent an hour in it every night, and if you wanted to enjoy it, you couldn't, because the kids took baths every night. We had an amazing time, saw all the sights, and made some great memories.
