Phoenix and Dallas fun - beginning of February

Hyrum's Christmas gift from me was a trip to visit his sister, Edna, in Phoenix (along with Mila and Siena.)  We thought we'd be able to find pretty cheap tickets, and it worked out perfectly to have those 3 go and to have me stay behind with Tiago.  He didn't have to miss school, and although he was sad initially, I told him we'd have fun-- and I think I delivered!

They had a pretty early flight, but they'd been counting down days until they got to visit their cousins so I don't think they minded.  

I wasn't there, so I don't know exactly what they did, but I heard about a visit to a kids museum, a playground, and a hike to the temple.  They had plenty of playtime with Emma and Sofia at home, and yummy food cooked by Tia Edna.  I think they were there 3 whole days.  And they came home with a giant pink tent present. 

Tiago made a bucket list of things he wanted to do, which included ice skating and Legoland.  He actually found me a free kid admission in his Lego magazine, so that ended up being quite affordable (cheaper than skating!)  He was in heaven looking at all the Lego creations, particularly the city of Dallas (that's the view from Hyrum's office window) and the space command center.  After Legoland we went to Red Robin and Tiago inhaled all of his cheeseburger and half of mine.  It's fun to watch him eat, after so many years of nothing but goldfish crackers. 

Ice skating the next day was a whole other adventure.  I think we stayed about 45 minutes, and I was done after only 10-15.  That's hard on your body!  Everything in my back, hips, and legs felt kind of messed up after.  Tiago started out very wobbly with these buckets, but by the end felt pretty confident (still with the buckets to balance with).  I don't think this will become any more frequent than an annual activity.  

Tiago was going to school every day and reporting to his teacher on all his fun activities.  I'm sure she thought we were pretty extravagant parents--I had to explain to her that his sisters were on a vacation, and this was about as spoiled as Tiago would ever be for 3 days!