Little One's Vacation is Big Fun!

"Nobody can do for little children what grandparents do. Grandparents sort of sprinkle stardust 

over the lives of little children." 

-Alex Haley

(Archive photo from last spring)

Mom and Dad weren't the only ones who had a great vacation, so did another little member of our family.  When I told Zoey we would be going on a big boat, John and I were considering taking her also.  I introduced the idea to her and she said, "No thanks, I'd rather go see Grandma Donna."  Since John's mom had, at some time in the distant past, offered to watch Zoey while we visited Belize, Zoey had her heart on staying with her while we went abroad.  With her heart on going to grandma's, we worked out the details- happy it would leave us to have our vacation as just a couple. 

Although Donna wanted to try and visit us in Midland to see our little home and pick up Zoey, John's work schedule didn't permit him any time to spend with her.  Instead I decided to drive Zoey down a few days prior  to our departure.  The drive is no small journey, ten hours, with brief stops for lunch in Las Cruces and a quick photo op at Texas Canyon, AZ.  Zoey was an angel as always and took the trip in stride, only saying the famous "Are we there yet?" for the last hour.

Grandma G modeling putty bracelets

I stayed a day to stretch my legs and visit with Donna, Zoey's great-grandmother (Grandma G), and Zoey's Aunt Joan, then I left my little girl in the capable hands of her grandma.  Knowing this was the longest I would  have left her with anybody else, I prepared a bag of "artsy" goodies  and gifts for her to open each day so she be counting down to mom, but up to the next present.  As I left we were worried she would be upset, but she showed little concern over my departure.

Little did any of us know, there was to be more on Zoey's agenda than planned.  Shortly after I left, Grandma G injured her collar-bone as she fell while picking oranges, so Zoey had her first hospital experience (she wasn't even born in one).  The next days she got to spend some time getting closer to her Grandma G at her house, picking oranges and grapefruit, juicing, and even making silly-putty bracelets for the both of them.

Feeding the birds with grandpa.

Next, she got to take a road trip to Diamond Mountain to pick up Grandpa Rob after another stint of volunteer work up there.  She spent some time making an art project of her rendition of a map of the world.  The only existing places are: Idaho, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas (all states we have been in), South America, South Africa (Aunt Joan brought her a trinket elephant from there), Belize, and Hawaii.  Art project done and Grandpa retrieved, they made their way back for another adventure in Tucson.

Grandma had scheduled for a special someone to come for a sleepover, Zoey's cousin Hayden.  Although there are a few years between them, they play like siblings.  Zoey looks to Hayden for direction and Hayden lovingly caters to her wants and needs.  Grandma had as, Zoey says, "the coolest day ever" planned for the girls.  She took them to the Children's Museum of Tucson to play, explore and learn.  They drove an ambulance, fire engine and a motorcycle.

They shopped in a market where the fruit was picked off of trees, veggies pulled from the garden, and they could take turns as cashier.

 They cared for the welfare of stuffed animals.

Who knew they had bones?

They stuck their head in eyeballs, climbed in mouths, and pulled on boogers (I guess that's gross and fun).

ewwww

Zoey's favorite part was where " you stick a thing in one end, then it goes whoosh through the tube and out the top- then you catch it"...I guess you had to be there...though this picture helps explain.

(Insert squealing sound effects here.)

Per Grandma, they did everything at least twice...whew, thanks Grandma!

The next few days were full of scooter and bicycle rides, art projects, feeding the birds, helping with dinner, and playing with Grandpa Rob. I'm sure they wore her out and vice versa.  The last day John, Karlie and I met her at Brent and Le Aynne's (John's brother and his wife) and Hayden's house for dinner.  We had a super delicious dinner and after we shared a few treasures we had brought back from our trip, Zoey was showered with gifts from her cousin and Aunt Joan.

That's one happy fairy princess.

Another long drive back while Zoey gushed over the Children's Museum and sang us Grandma's favorite song, Three Little Birds.  Funny thing about my little girl is she doesn't recount the details of things unless I pry and sometimes I don't hear about it until much later when she's thinking back, but these are the highlights as they were relayed to me, who knows what adventures I don't know about.  What I do know is, I'm so glad Zoey got to spend such quality time with her grandparents and her cousin, and I'm also sure she wore them all out completely...she's good at that. Thank you, again.