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| Graham, Owen, Margaret - Camelback |
Shawna drove the group back from the gardens to pick up the hikers and to go to Keith's office for a quick change and also some free snacks at the Wolff snack bar! It was then a quick drive to the
Cornish Pasty Co for lunch outside before heading over to
Top Golf for a couple of hours. While most of the kids and Margaret had been to a Top Golf, Graham and Dick had not and they were the best of the group!
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| The Golfers! |
We then went home for a swim - the pool was heated to 75 degrees which was a bit chilly until we got going. We tried to play volleyball but the shorter kids struggled a bit since they could not touch the bottom! Dinner that night was grilled beef/chicken kebabs, couscous, roasted cauliflower, corn on the cob, and asparagus. Graham worked the grill and turned out some delicious kebabs. The dinner was topped off with homemade ice cream c/o Josie -it was really quite good for only 4 ingredients!
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| Pool Volleyball in November! |
On Sunday, we stared off with a heavier breakfast: Mexican Tostados (though the kids stuck with their honey nut cheerios). We then all drove to
Browns Ranch for a couple hour hike. It was back to the house for a light lunch before going to the
Butterfly Wonderland and
Aquarium for the afternoon. Shawna went back to the house early to start the cooking; the rest of us got home around 5pm. This evening was our Thanksgiving dinner: fried turkey, stuffing, brussel sprouts, scallop potatoes with mushroom, corn on the cob, and two - yes, two - steamed puddings with birds custard. Jodi stopped by for an hour to meet Keith's parents before we all had dinner. The food was delicious - the turkey was just about perfect as was the rest of the meal. The night was wrapped up with some karaoke before bed.
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| Thanksgiving Dinner |
Monday was the beginning of the road trip. Shawna was unable to go with us as she had work commitments so there were 9 of us heading north. The first stop was
Sedona - with a
Pink Jeep tour scheduled for 11am. We made it in plenty of time so the family walked around the main street and had their picture taken with snakes as Keith parked the car. We had to split into two groups - Margaret with the kids and Jean/Dick/Graham/Keith in the other jeep - though we saw each other at each of the breaks.
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| Pink Jeep Tour |
Lunch was a quick stop at
Wildflower Café before we went over to
Courthouse Butte for a hike. We were originally doing a loop hike, but once the kids saw that you could climb UP
Bell Rock we split into two groups, with Jean and Dick sticking to the loop hike. There were a lot of scrambles up the rock, and some steep areas which were fun. As we wrapped up the hike, Margaret ran back to the van to get a change of clothes for the kids so they could take their "formal" Christmas photos just at sunset. We then drove up
Oak Creek Canyon to
Flagstaff where we stopped for dinner at
NiMarcos Pizza - listed the best in Flagstaff! It was only about another hour from there to the
Holiday Inn Express in
Grand Canyon Village where we stayed the next two nights.
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| Bell Rock |
Tuesday morning we ate at the hotel (the kids loved the breakfast there!), grabbed a Starbucks in town, and drove to
Grand Canyon Airport for our morning helicopter flight over the
Grand Canyon with
Grand Canyon Helicopters! Keith and Margaret went with the 4 kids while Jean/Dick/Graham went in another helicopter. We did well with the front seats - Margaret, Josie, Owen, Jean, and Dick all got front seats. It was a great flight - about an hour - and also cool because the very first view the kids ever had of the canyon was as we went over the rim in the helicopter. It was also fun with the flight starting with a Star Wars song!
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| Helicopter over Grand Canyon |
Once the flight was over we drove up to the park - with free entrance care of Dick's lifetime park pass he bought for ten dollars! We parked the van at the visitors center and walked the 2 mile rim walk over to
El Tovar - taking pictures the whole way. We then walked back toward the visitor center, stopping at the Market for a quick bite to eat. We then drove back to the hotel to shower and get ready for dinner - which was at El Tovar back in the park. Keith ate with the kids and had the lamb shank which was delicious (kids ate off the kids menu). Jean/Dick/Graham/Margaret were at their own table and were not as impressed with the dinner.
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| Josie, Lily, Keith and Owen |
Wednesday we copied the breakfast plan from the day before (hotel and Starbucks) and then went back to the park for a hike down
South Kaibab Trail past Ooh Ah point to Cedar Ridge. Everyone had a bathroom break there, then we started the 1.5 mile hike back up. Boone was pretty stressed the whole way as he was desperate to be "first" - Keith gave it the college try to explain to Boone that it was not critical to be in front but it was a losing argument!
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| Ooh Ah Point - South Kaibab Trail |
We then drove back to Grand Canyon Village to see the
Imax movie (great imagery), have lunch at
Wendy's, then began the 3.5 hour trek back to our house! We made super time, arriving at 5:30pm after stopping at
Chick-Fil-a for dinner for the kids. Keith showered and then drove the 4Runner to the airport to pick up Rachel and her parents who were in AZ for a 5 day visit of Page, Monument Valley, and the Grand Canyon. Keith brought the three of them back to the house for Gin & Tonics, wine, and cheese (which was dinner for all of us). Keith then drove the van to the
Townplace Suites with Rach and her parents following in the 4Runner which they were borrowing for their road trip.
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| Sedona |
Thursday morning was busy - Keith took Graham, Margaret, and kids to the airport and got back to the house in time to join Jean, Dick, Shawna, and the Bunnings for a breakfast of avocado toast before Rachel and her parents headed up to Sedona for their tour. Then we went for a hike up
Sunrise Peak with Jean and Dick. While on the hike we made a game-day call for dinner - rather than going to the Hilton and having more turkey we changed the reservation to
Zinc Bistro so Dick could have his fill of French food! We showered when we got home, Keith had a nap, we had another round of Gin & Tonics, and then Ubered to dinner. Graham and Margaret graciously bought our dinner - it was delicious.
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| Sedona |
Friday morning we had our coffee, took Jean and Dick to the airport, and spent the rest of the day up to our ears in laundry - cleaning all the sheets, duvets, and towels that were used over the weekend!
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| Brown's Ranch |
It was a really fun time hosting the whole family and everyone seemed to have a great time!
