ROAD TRIP

Last weekend we took Addie on her 2nd road trip. Most of our "trips" are planned around Clay's races and this one was no different. We headed to Moab for the Canyonlands 1/2 Marathon. Moab is only about 3 1/2 hrs away from here so it wasn't too bad a drive. Luckily, Maga (Clay's mom) came with us and kept Addie entertained in the back seat (although, that also means not much sleeping happens either)!

Another bonus to this race is that Clay's grandma (his dad's mom) lives there so we had a free place to stay and we got to visit her. We arrived late in the afternoon on Friday- did a little catching up with his grandma and tried to deal with a very tired and out of sorts Addie! She wasn't quite sure what to think of her new surroundings.

Clay's grandma is a HSN & QVC frequenter and has a lot of dolls (or babies according to Addie) and a lot of "tiffany-style"animal lamps (sort of like stained glass). She also has a VERY FAT dog named Pepsi. Addie liked the dog but mostly would just walk over to it, say "hi, gog" and wave her little arm. She didn't like Grandma- she'd do whatever she could to not walk by her- and if she did have to walk by her, she'd run!


Addie holding one of the "babies"

Saturday was the race. Addie was up early but in a good mood. The race didn't start till 10am so we got to enjoy our morning and relax. She took a great nap and we headed down to the race about 11:30. We found a place near the finish and waited for Clay to come in. Addie did great waiting in her stroller- occasionally she'd start yelling, "go, go, go" or "yeah!!!" to cheer the runners on.


Waiting for Daddy- notice the teeth!

Clay finally came into view after about an hour of us waiting (he was helping pace some friends who were new runners). He ran over to us to say hi and Addie was so excited to see him. He picked her up and carried her across the finish! She had a great time running with Daddy!


Daddy & Addison towards the end of the race!

Crossing the finish line with Daddy!

We hung out at the park after the race and Addie played on the slides and swings for awhile. She had a great nap once we got back from the race and then we went and hung out with Clay's running friends and their families that night. Addie loves being around other big kids- she's so proud of herself and loves to do everything they do. She had a great time!


Family Picture after the race!

Sunday we relaxed in the morning and helped his Grandma with a few things around the house. Maga found a wig in the bathroom and put it on Addie- she thought it was pretty funny and she kept it on for quite awhile.


Wearing Grandma's wig!

Addie became a "gaga's girl" this weekend. I couldn't do anything without Gaga and the gog in view! Of course, by the time we are getting ready to leave, Addie started to warm up to Grandma. She finally would walk by her and talk to her instead of acting scared or running past her. She even gave her a kiss and let us sit next to her for a picture!

We said our goodbyes and headed into town to get a bite to eat and do a little shopping before we headed back. The car ride home wasn't too bad-Addie was such a trooper. We got about 45 min. away from home and she was all upset calling for me so we finally pulled over only to find out that her diaper had leaked through and her pants and shirt were soaking wet! Poor thing!

It was a great trip- good to see Grandma and the weather was beautiful but it's always nice to be home!!!

The Zoo

We have been trying to take advantage of Clay being home over the past and coming few weeks. The weather was beautiful last week so we decided to take Addie up to The Hogle Zoo. We took her a few times last year and she LOVED it then and she still loves it now! The weather was nice and cool so the animals were out and active which made for an even better experience. We headed towards the bear enclosures (Addie's favorite thing last year) and on the way stopped to see some elephants, chimps, gorillas, and cougars (or big kitties). We didn't get quite the same reaction with the bears as last year but she was still excited to see them. When she saw them, she very cooly said, "hi, ba" and waved her arm.

On Clay's shoulders (that's a bear in the background)

After visiting the bears, we headed towards their new Asian Highlands exhibit where the tigers and other big cats are located. We went to see the Bengal Tiger and it was sitting in plain view looking at all the people! So cool! It was nice to have it so visable- Addie thought it was great! After visiting the tigers, we found some small replica tigers for the kids to sit on and get their picture taken. Addie was climbing all over them...once we finally got her away- she kept running back towards them!

Addie sitting on the tiger!

We went and met up with Grandma and took Addie for a train ride. She sat on the seat in front of us with Grandma and thought she was such a big girl. She had a great time on the train ride! She went again with Grandma and we could hear her saying, "wheeee, wheee" as they rode past us!

Whoa! This is so much fun!

So proud! Such a big girl!

After the train ride- Addie discovered something she wasn't able to see last year. They have a water feature near the entrance with a globe. The kids love playing in the water and trying to move the globe. There are always a bunch of kids around it. Addie was having a great time getting all wet! She'd lean so far in to play with the water that her hair was brushing up with the water running down the globe! She didn't want to stop playing- even though her little hands were freezing! We had to drag her away only to have her keep asking for the "wateee" (water).

We are glad Addie enjoyed the zoo (and so did we) and plan to go many more times this year to take advantage of our membership! It's amazing how exciting something is when experienced through a child! If you haven't been for awhile- take an opportunity to go! It's fun! Go in the early spring when the weather isn't too hot! Or, if you go in the summer, be sure to go in the morning when it's cooler so that the animals are more active!