Destination 1: Phoenix, Arizona

On Sunday at 7 a.m., three kids (precisely ages 10, 9 and 7), two parents, 7 suitcases, a 20+ pound bag of snacks and myself crammed into a white Honda Odyssey to embark on probably one of the craziest, most epic, worst yet most beautiful journeys anyone would ever think to attempt: a 6-week road trip across the United States. That's 45 days more or less of whining and crying and laughing and hitting and pinching and smiling and hugging and kissing and...well, you get the picture.

The moment we backed out of the driveway, Mom said, "Uh oh, now I'm getting nervous." I thought (silently), "Mom, it's a little too late to be thinking that, isn't it?" But nerves aside, the first 1/20 of the trip has been smooth-sailing. I immediately put my headphones in and fell into a deep sleep for about three hours. The kids put Alvin & the Chipmunks into the DVD player and little noise came out of them. We crossed into Arizona around 11:30 a.m. and ate lunch near a rest stop for some good 'ol buffet-style food. Then, we hopped back into the van, made another bathroom stop for Robert and finally made our way to the Sheraton Crescent Hotel in Phoenix, AZ around 1 p.m.

The moment we got into the hotel, we tore our clothes off, squeezed into our bathing suits and practically flew to the pool and 3-story water slide. I wish I had photos from the pool (I'll have to get them from Mom's camera). The kids were going backwards, forwards, sideways, any position you can think of down that water slide. Meanwhile, Mom and I, who are much heavier than the twig-resembling kids, FLEW down the slide. Seriously, I didn't even have time to breath by the time I hit the pool at the end of the slide. Each turn was met with a flop and a bruised elbow...yet I kept going down it. Mom went down a couple of times, squealing the whole way down. It was hilarious...definitely a sight to see!

We let Mary choose a restaurant to go to for dinner. She chose Denny's and Coldstone for dessert. It wasn't much of a celebration for her 9th birthday, but I keep telling her this entire trip is her birthday present...that'll hold her over until Mom and Dad figure something out ;)

[Just a little tired]

[The Birthday Girl]

[The boys foolin' around]

[Daddy love <3]

Today (Monday), Dad took us around Phoenix to show us his house he grew up in, the elementary school he attended, the neighbor he asked to the dance but was stood up by, etc. It was a lot of fun to go back in time during his childhood, especially since he was around the age of Mary and Daniel at the time.

[Dad's childhood home]

[Dad peaking over the wall...luckily, no one was sunbathing naked or anything]

Later, Dad and the kids went back to the pool while Mom and I ran errands (like buying tools to make grad announcements on the road). We had dinner with Dad's cousins at a Chinese buffet in Scottsdale, called Oriental Garden Super Buffet...haha.

[Pooped]

[The crew]

[Someone once told me that Arizona sunsets are the best...]

I have to say, Phoenix was fun to visit to get a glimpse of my dad's childhood, but the city doesn't do much for me. First of all, it's HOT. Like really, really hot. And second of all, other than the gorgeous sunsets and endless amount of visible stars, it doesn't seem that different from Southern California. Perhaps it's only because we've spent two days here, but I'm not sad that we're leaving tomorrow...I'm excited for the next stop on our itinerary.

We have a long day of driving tomorrow. I'm thinking I won't sleep tonight so that I can just crash the entire time in the car...you think it'll work? It never does.

Until next time in New Mexico, ciao <3