The Spicer Family Vacation

So, on Thursday, April 10, we set out on the great family vacation. We hopped a flight to Phoenix at 1:15pm. The plan is for us to head to Nikki's sister's house in Phoenix for Thursday, stay there till Friday and then head to Sedona, sans Annabelle. Don't worry, we're gonna get her again on Sunday, but Mommy and Daddy will have some time, alone. This will be the first time Nik and I have been without baby or dog, overnight, in 14 months. Yeah, it's gonna be.... quiet.

Back to the stories though. Annabelle was a champ at the airport and on the flight. We got to the airport pretty early, not knowing how long it'd take or what to expect. So, we were there, at the gate, through security, 3 hours before the flight. Ok, so we learned some things, but better safe than sorry. Luckily, Annie was thrilled to ride the moving walkways in the airport. Over, and over, and over, and over... We'd go down one stretch of them, then turn around and go back the other way. Nik and I would take 15 minute interval turns with it. Everyone thought she was pretty cute though. We armed her well for the days with Yoga pants, a comfy shirt and pig tails. She was comfortable and ridiculously cute, so people tended to cut her some slack if she was a bit of a stinker at times.

Anyway, the flight was about 30 minutes late, but flying Southwest, we were happy to get a row of 3 seats together. She slept for the first hour of the flight, which we had strategically timed around her nap so she'd be pooped. Once she woke up it was touch and go, but she weathered it pretty well. She watched some Finding Nemo on the DVD player, played with some coloring books, yada yada yada. The really funny part was that for takeoff and landing, Annie could have cared less. The engines roared, the turbulence was fierce, but Annie just colored in her books like there wasn't a care in the world. Nikki was white knuckled, even I was getting a little queasy from the turbulence, Annie could have cared less. Meh... Oh well...

After landing we were actually complimented by the surrounding rows of people. Most people thought she was adorable and had fared remarkably well for a 3.5 hour flight, and her first at that!

So, we wound our way to baggage claim, into the shuttle to the car rental, and down to the car and off to Shelley's.

Once we got there, Shelley fawned over Annie and presented her with beautiful gifts from her recent business trip to India. Bangles, dresses, and all sorts of gorgeous things, so thank you very much to Auntie Michie and Uncle Kevin for their very nice gifts.

So, here's the last part of our story for the day. Shelley and Kevin have a pool which Annabelle was fascinated with.Now, obviously, we all know that toddlers and pools are a dangerous combination. So, we took her out, and would never be further away than 2 feet from whoever was with her. So, I took her out, and we were laying on the ground next to the pool, running our fingers through the water. Annabelle went to stand up and promptly went HEAD FIRST into the pool! Now, I was right there, and I don't think her left arm really even went into the water because I grabbed it so quick, but the damage was done. As a looked down into the water, I could see her wide eyed horror at the COLD water and the fact that she was completely submerged. I promptly swept her out of the water. She was in the water for a total of 2 seconds, but she was drenched, head to toe. Once she was standing on the ground again, and had taken a moment to remember to breath, she let out a wail that would have raised the dead. So, I hoisted her up, yanked off her shirt, rang it out and wiped her down a bit before bolting for the house and the safety of a warm towel. A quick change into the comfy Dora the Explorer lounging PJs and her pacifier and all was right again with the world.

This morning she woke up and just wanted to keep going outside, so I think the memory has been buried for later retrieval by her therapist...

That's all for now, we'll post again with the many adventures of Annabelle "Button" Rose Spicer in the Wild West!!!!