We heard that Pinetop, AZ was getting hail and rain and cold weather and that sounded heavenly. So we went for an overnight to check it out!

We drove up through Salt River Canyon. The scenery is gorgeous but the windy roads were not kind to Brendan’s car sickness. We had to stop a few times.

We got checked in to our hotel and then found a great little playground nearby. The weather was really nice and clear. But all the lakes were totally dry! Can you find Brendan on the playground?

There he is!

Sliding Trevor

Another sliding Trevor

Peeking Trevor

We stopped at our favorite rock shop and picked up a few more geodes to cut open.

Since we were in the area, we decided to stop at the Meteor Crater

This picture is for scale. That little white patch in the middle has a cardboard cutout model of an astronaut that is 6ft tall. You can see him with binoculars.

The full crater

They are building a big addition on to the visitor center

Revolving doors were like a ride – so fascinating!

That night, we went swimming in the hotel’s indoor pool while it was about 40 degrees outside. It was raining with strong winds and we floated in the pool. What a cool experience. Brendan LOVES indoor pools. He always asks to go to hotels with indoor pools.

Happy 4th of July!

Yesterday, we spent the morning doing the “Laser Maze” at Odysea in the Desert. Once the door opens you have exactly one minute to try to get through the room without interrupting the beams. Three beams touched, you are out. There are two buttons to push and you have to push them simultaneously with your partner. The whole thing is a great idea and fun. But if you succeed, your game is still over. 60 seconds no matter win or lose. That part is kind of lame.
The boys LOVE it but it is way too expensive for 60 second turns!

We had lunch in the aquarium after petting sting rays for an hour.

For the fourth, we just had a swimming party/BBQ at a friends house.

Another fun Hopekids opportunity came up for us today. We all met up at the new “Swingin’ Safari Mini Golf” place. We got there kind of early and were the first ones on the course. The boys loved the black light and it was their first mini golf game too!