After an exhausting move day, and not hitting our beds at Little America in Flagstaff until 1am, we thought for sure little man would let us sleep in the next morning. Not so. Parker was standing up in his pack-n-play in the hotel room by 8am, saying he was ready to start the day. He must have been very excited for our road trip to Alabama ;) Originally we figured we would fly, but Max suggested that we take our time. Also, this way we would be able to bring our important things that we didn't want the movers to be handling. It ended up being a great decision because road trips equal lots of family bonding time.
The temperature in Flagstaff when we got up was probably thirty degrees cooler than the weather we had left in Scottsdale, and the view out the window was so pretty!
We ate breakfast at the hotel restaurant and decided to take it easy on the road. We stopped at Meteor Crater in Arizona (the crater was way bigger than we expected, very neat to see!).
And Parker had fun running around.
He actually got a nap in after this!
Border crossing to New Mexico.
We decided we would drive to Albuquerque and stay for the night, but we had no idea where we were going to stay. I sent a help message on Facebook asking for suggestions and within minutes had people responding! So sweet! I ended up booking us (from my phone on the road) at the Hyatt resort at Tamaya, just north of Albuquerque. I was a little apprehensive about leaving Pepper in the city lots at we were toting all of our too-important-for-the-movers items. The Tamaya resort was really spacious and removed, so it was the perfect choice for us. It was very, very "Southwest" but we really liked it.
We did dinner at the resort and headed out bright and early the next morning. It was a shame we didn't get to enjoy the beautiful grounds more! The leaves were changing colors and the scenery was gorgeous.
We drove through McDonalds for breakfast and coffee. Neither Max nor I could remember the last time we went to a McDonalds for breakfast, but on this road trip it did the trick! Plus, since it was drive-through and we ate on the way it took almost zero time! This would be our heavy-driving day so every minute mattered! Our goal was to make it to Dallas, about a ten hour drive away.
For the most part, little man was AH-mazing. He was so happy just talking, reading, singing and being together with Mama and Dada. He also loved looking out the window. He pointed out big trucks, radio towers, windmills, water towers, cars, yield signs, stop signs... he actually had too much fun this day to sleep.
When he did get crankstery, it was Taylor Swift to the rescue. Y'all, I'm not even kidding. Since he was a wee one, he has loved T-Swift. I put it on and it instantly calms him. #swiftyfanlikemamma
Texas crossing!
I'm not gonna lie. This day got long. Especially with a little man who did not want to sleep. But we were together as a family and that made my heart so happy!
We kept thinking for sure little man would pass out, then he'd just go back to being entertained by the scenery! (Which, btdubs, was not at all entertaining. This day was miles and miles of desert and tiny towns).
Ellie did great on our European road trip this summer but in sure that now she is running around everywhere she might be a little less compliant. Sounds like a successful trip so happy you are all together in your new sweet home!
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