Arizona

As soon as school was over for the boys, we hopped on a train and went to Arizona to see my mom and brother!!! We decided to take AmTrak this year, because it was cheaper than airline tickets and it was easier than driving!!!
However, there are no "frills" on the train. We loaded right there at the cross stop!! And it was about 100 degrees outside!! Needless to say, it was kind of hectic loading!! Especially not knowing what to expect! We also met a true "hobo" while waiting in the train station! My stomach did a somersault when I realized he was homeless!! Riding the train was an ADVENTURE!!!

Once we got on the train, the adventure didn't stop. They didn't have seats for us right away....

so we went and sat in the viewing car.....which really was a blessing in disguise, because the boys loved it in there! And you can see why!

We got comfortable here for a while, had a snack and enjoyed the ride!!!

Eventually, we got our seats, but they were all separated, so I sat in my seat and the boys sat up in the viewing car. Then we went to dinner on the dining car! It was sooooo nice and the food was yummy!!
We were soooooo glad to finally get to Arizona (12 hours later!) and be with Grammy and Uncle Mike! We made a trip to Williams AZ for another train ride and a trip to the Grand Canyon!! Here we all are on the train riding to the canyon!
This trip wasn't quite as long as our first train ride!

It was exciting to see the views of the canyon!!!

Thank you soooo much Grammy for taking us on this special trip!! We love you! ♥

I had fun with my boys, but we sure missed having Dan with us this trip!!! He was back home working.

We stayed at a really nice place in Williams AZ. Williams, AZ is a quaint little town in the mountains. The temps were actually cool there! Drew rode on this carriage one night through town! It was so fun learning some history of the town! Poor Zach was sick much of this trip! He was having 102.9 fevers daily and nightly! So he didn't feel good enough to really enjoy anything. Bless his heart, he was a trooper though and kept up with us!!!

After a week of being in AZ shopping, watching movies, eating, talking, shopping, resting....it was time to come home. We loaded the train at 11pm and rode all night! The adventure didn't end either! We loaded the train with a drunk guy and about 5 miles down the tracks, they stopped and kicked him off. We watched him walk to a police car and get in. From what we saw of him, he was trouble, and we were thankful to God he was off the train and we were safe....
We settled in our seats (this time we had them together!!) and slept the ride away!!

We arrived alittle earlier than scheduled, so Dan wasn't there yet, so we had to wait at the train station again! Joy! ha ha!! At least our "hobo" friend wasn't there!
The whole trip was sooooo fun and we are so glad we were able to get away and visit our family!♥