After months of waiting, we hit the road for Arizona and Grandpa's wedding!
Right after Ryan got home from work we finished packing the car and started on our way.
We ended up stopping in Vegas and sleeping in a hotel.
We were so lucky and found a great place for super cheap.
The kids always love playing in a hotel!
Moments after taking this picture Ella and Ryan were playing Lila on the bed and she fell off!
She scratched her nose pretty bad. I was SO upset. She seemed OK..
We got some breakfast in the hotel. We were all so ready for a vacation!
Lilly kept asking "Mama, I pway the games!?"
The dive always seems like it takes forever when you're in a hurry to get there.
Ryan was just thrilled to not be a work!
Finally we got to come familiar territory, including traffic!
The kids always seem to have a meltdown right before we get to our destination..
We rolled into Gilbert just as the sun was setting.
The very first thing we did was meet up with some friends.
With such a crazy week we didn't want to miss seeing them!
These kids were all literally babies when we first met!
We've all had several more babies since too!
This is why I fall asleep the second I hit the pillow at night...
My best Arizona girl friends! I miss them so much!! They are some of the nicest, sweetest people I've ever known!
The new additions! Lilly loved everyone like she saw them everyday
That night we drove up to Rick's house. He was very busy getting ready for his big day!
So the next afternoon the Riggs drove up to visit with us for a little bit and we got some lunch.
Kendall and Lilly loved each other so much! It was so cute watching them play together
Later that night all of the Bailey siblings and families got together for a family dinner.
Sweet Cora!!
Of course the Bailey boys always get a little crazy when they are together!
It was fun to just be family and catch up. It's so hard with us being in Utah to keep up with everyone in Arizona
We got to celebrate Ashlee's birthday a few days early.
The kids were so worried that the Valentine Fairy wouldn't know where we were, but I reassured them she wouldn't disappoint!
And sure enough, she came!
After waking up and eating mostly candy and chocolate for breakfast we drove down for the Gilbert Temple open house!
I'm so glad that it worked out for us to go! We were there for the ground breaking, so that made it a little more special to me.
The kids had never been to an open house before, they thought it was pretty great to see inside the temple. I loved explaining things to them and showing them what a wonderful place it is. We had a great guide too ;)
I hope that this will be something they will always remember and want to come back.
Ella says she would love to!
Maybe if she marries an Arizona boy like me she will.
It was so big! Next time we are in town we will have to do a session!
What a wonderful blessing and reminder that we are an eternal family.
Again, these girls had so much fun together!
It was fun to drive around and see our old stomping grounds.
Valentines dinner at Culvers!
Not really ideal, but still fun since I love each and every one of those faces!
It was funny, there were so many elderly people there!
Old people really love Culvers!
Gunnar ended up having a soccer game that night so we all went to watch!
Ella and Dakota got some snacks and we all hung out on blankets in the cool night air.
It was so nice to just sit and relax with Katrina and catch up.
These are the things I miss most about Arizona.
Ryan took Jack over and played a little soccer with him, Ryan says he's really good.
Looks like it's about time we get our boy into soccer too
We needed to get back to Ricks before too late, the next day was the BIG day!
Lilly LOVES chocolate!
Lilly LOVES chocolate!
We all woke up early and drove to Mesa. We were all so happy and excited for Grandpa!
Justin and Katrina found someone to sit with our kids at the temple.
How fun is it that these girls happened to match!!? So pretty!!
It was so nice that Rick asked Justin and Katrina to be at the temple for his sealing.
They were around so much at the end of Sandy's life and through his journey to finding Alene.
It was also such a great support to Ryan to have his best bud there!
The sealing was so great! There weren't a lot of people, but everyone there was so happy and excited for Rick and Alene. I really felt like Sandy was there in spirit looking on in happiness.
We went and played with cousin's before heading over to the reception.
The kids had so much fun collecting rocks and things outside.
It was so hot!! Good thing they had a drink service!
Alene looked SO pretty! I loved her dress!! She almost wasn't going to wear an actual wedding dress, but I'm so glad she did. Rick looked so happy with his new bride!
Lila loves babies!
Grandpa and Nana with all of their grandchildren. I love Jack's pose.
All of the Bailey cousin's! These guys are so cute! I wish we could have spent more time with them.
The dinner was so good! Ella loved the fish of course.
Jack got to sit with all of his BOY cousin's. He was in heaven!
After the reception and Rick and Alene drove away, all of the siblings went over to Andre and Melissa's to play. I loved, loved, loved watching all of the cousin's play together!
It's sad that we don't get to see them as often as I would like.
We need to plan a big Bailey family vacation!
The last morning in Arizona we got up and cleaned and cleaned and cleaned... The kids loved playing at Grandpa's house, but it always stresses me out! It's not the most kid friendly place..
On our way out of town the kids all fell asleep and I realized that we were driving in silence.
I look over at Ryan and has huge tears streaming down his face.
For weeks Ry kept telling me that he was so happy for his Dad, that this was such a good thing for him, that this is what his Mom wanted.
Sometimes idea of something seems great, but when the reality of the situation hits you feel differently then you had thought. Ryan loves his Dad, he loves his Mom. He's so happy that Rick's found love again, but at the same time it's a reminder that his Mom isn't here anymore.
Ryan pulled over and we realized that we were on the exit for the cemetery where his Mom was buried. We couldn't have planned it better.
It was such a nice day and so peaceful.
We talked about Grandma Sandy for a little while. She never got to meet Lila, here on earth ;) But I'm sure that they know each other.
So our last stop in Arizona was dinner with the Riggs!
Katrina is such an amazing cook! I love everything she's ever made!
We are so blessed to have such wonderful family and friends.
I'm so glad we were able drive down and support Rick and Alene and spend some time with everyone.
And then it was the long lonely road back home.
Enjoying the Arizona sunset
Lila was such a good little traveler!
I wish I could say that we got another great deal on a hotel in Vegas, but we deffinatly did not.
I seriously thought we might get killed in our sleep or something!
We woke up early and drove over to my cousin's.
When we got there she opened the door, grabbed Lila and slammed the door!
She had warned me that she was going to kidnap her and she defiantly tried! Hahahahaha!!
Lilly LOVED playing with Isabel and Amanda! they painted her nails and did her make up! She was in heaven! Thank you girls!
It was so nice, Jeanie dropped everything and just sat and chatted and caught up with us.
She hadn't ever really spent any time with Ryan. Ry really felt like he found a kindred spirit in her. They have a lot of similar thoughts on life.
Thanks for having us Jeanie and Gary!
Then we hit the road for the last leg of our long journey!
I always smile when we pass through Beaver Dam ;)
It was such a whirlwind of a weekend. I'm so happy that we were able to be there for Rick and Alene, catch up with friends and spend time with family! Love you all! Thanks for having us!
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