take time to play.

as crazy as life has been in the past month with the remodel and everything, it hasn't been all work.  somehow we've managed to squeeze a few fun activities into the mix as well, if for no other reason than to at least steer the conversation away from house related stuffs for a couple hours anyway.  I feel like that's all we ever talk about nowadays; house this, house that.  blah, blah, blah.

since my dad hadn't visited the Grand Canyon in umpteen years, we decided to make the trek out there one chilly and blustery Sunday afternoon, sans kids.  (call me a wuss, but I cannot bring myself to do the Grand Canyon with wee ones.  it's way too nerve-wracking, especially when you have a thrill-seeker like Rowan threatening to dive head first off the edge.  come to think of it, we did go as a family shortly after we moved here (with Ruth and Mark and their crew no less), only I spent the entire time hollering at the kids to "stay on the path!" and "back away from the edge!" and "stop running!" and "quit fooling around!"  and...!  and...!  and...!  it wasn't very enjoyable, to say the least.  in fact, as we made our way between observation points, I'm pretty sure we gave several tourists heart attacks.  although I didn't dare look behind us to see how many bodies lay sprawled out on the sidewalk to be certain.)

anyway, first on the agenda: Mama Burger, because it's unlawful to view the Grand Canyon on an empty stomach.  kidding.  that was just an excuse to stuff my face full of burgers, fries and shakes.  sluuurp.

*all images taken with my phone and edited via instagram.

gives me the itch to hike this thing again.

the following Sunday we hit up Crescent Moon Park in Sedona.  can you believe that my dad, in his entire 62 years of living, had NEVER been to Sedona?  yeah, that's what I said!  unfortunately, he was feeling a little under the weather, so he whiled away the afternoon basking on the rocks like a lizard, while the rest of us splashed in the creek.  to be honest though, I couldn't think of a more relaxing place to hang out while sick.

the view never gets old.

and in between the (near daily) Home Depot runs, we've made several trips to the park.

I have to say, it's been awfully nice having my dad here.  he's done a TON of work on the house, things Gary wouldn't have been able to even touch yet due to all the infrastructure work he's had to do (wiring, plumbing, framing, etc.)  

of course, my dad's been spoiling the kids rotten too, running them to DQ or McDonald's for ice cream and to the library to check out books.  it did, however, take him a while to adjust to the noise, and one morning, after not getting much sleep (the kids must've been extra rambunctious that night), he told me he was considering checking into a hotel for the remainder of his stay.  (sounds familiar, huh?) 

"I mean geez, does this house EVER quiet down, like to something below a dull roar?" he asked.  

not known to be the sympathetic type, I just shrugged my shoulders and said, "nope.  here's a dollar, go buy yourself a pair of earplugs."

cheapest, easiest fix I could think of.

-jessica

PS. stay tuned for a remodel update this week, I think.