Day 20 see you on the FLIPSIDE

Day 20

see you on the FLIPSIDE

June 27, 2015

Today we got to go see Parker play indoor soccer. I loved being able to watch one of his sporting events. That is something that is such a privilege for me to do with him. Carmen told me my inner soccer mom came out while I was watching him play. Having played soccer much of my young life, it's not easy to watch people play without being vocal. GO PARKER!!

Later in the afternoon when we were all hanging out, Josh decided we needed to get out and do something. Parker has been wanting to do all the things on our fun list but since our time there was coming to an end, I think he assumed we weren't going to do much else before we had so say our goodbyes. Josh told him we were going to take him to Flipside for his Birthday gift. Flipside is a family fun center with plenty of family friendly activities and food. They have bowling, mini bowling, laser tag, laser maze, arcade, toddler center, hover bumper cars and dining area. Baby Tyson needed to be looked after so I opted out of participating so Steph could enjoy spending time with her niece and nephews, my children. They had a blast. I loved taking their picture as they would come out of the doors after playing laser tag. Cosmic Bowling was a blast. My family seriously loves competition. We had pizza, salad, wings and burgers for dinner. Their food was so good! We planned on being there for about 2 hours....... but 4 hours and a crazy sand storm later, Steph put Tyson in his jammies and he ran around until the storm subsided and we could head to the RV to give them a tour before saying our goodbyes. MISS THEM ALREADY!

Family Photo 

Arcade

Hover Bumper Cars

Laser Tag

I BEAT YOU DAD

Carmen and Josh in Laser Maze 

(See tv screen)

Cosmic Bowling

Tyson with Uncle Josh

Tyson feels the need for speed!

Last Night in Arizona

6/27/15
Day 20

Today was going to be another lazy day, we swam and relaxed all morning, but a few hours after lunch Dad had other plans. He decided he wanted to treat everyone to Flipside. Flipside is a kind of mix between Chucky Cheese and Dave and Buster's. There was food, bowling, mini bowling, pool, an arcade, a spy laser maze, a ball pit/climbing center for kids, bumper car type things, and, my personal favorite, laser tag. All of us really enjoyed the different activities. Charlie beat everyone at bowling, even the adults! The bumper cars were fun because we got to slam into each other. Dad and I passed the laser maze on hard and ended with a really good time. I was a beast at laser tag, we played several times and I beat dad almost every time. The first round all of my family members were on the same team except for me, so I was on a team with strangers. The team I was on won and I got third place over all beating all of my family members. The second round I got eighth, then fourth, second, and first. I had the best time in there beating my family and all the other people in there. The funniest thing was coming out to see the scores and having all the guys look totally embarrassed to learn they were beaten by a girl. I had the best accuracy percentage for the majority of the rounds also. We ended up staying later than planned because of a sand storm that came through. Right before we left, I took Tyson in the laser maze, it was funny trying to crawl through the lasers holding a baby. He loved it at first, but he ended up not liking it much at the very end. We drove back to the RV where we gave Parker and Auntie Stephanie a tour and then said our goodbyes.

 Carmen and Tyson in the Laser Maze

(see little foot by her hip)

Family Movie Time

6/24/15
Day 17

Today was pretty chill, we dropped Tyson off at daycare, and decided that to go see Inside Out. It was a super cute movie! We went to the new theater by Aunt Steph's house, it was small, but very nice. I don't wanna give anything about the movie away, but I will say that it is a really cute family movie. I give it four stars, but don't take my word for it, go see it for yourself! After the movie, we picked up Tyson and then went to watch Parker's soccer practice, he is pretty good for being in fourth grade! I know his mommy and Auntie Kimmi are super proud of his soccer skills! His coach seemed like he meant some serious business! Aunt Stephanie said that he is a great coach and that he really knows what he is doing.  Fuimos al Rancho de Tia Rosa's para la cena. (We went to El Rancho de Tia Rosa's (a Mexican restaurant) for dinner. To be honest, I don't remember what happened after that, so I'll just leave it at that.

Day 17 INSIDE OUT

Day 17

INSIDE OUT

June 24, 2015


Number one thing one thing on the kids to-do-list was to go see the movie Inside Out. We planned out our day so we didn't have to run around too much. There was a new theater in town they wanted to go to, so what better time than now to check it out. When we arrived for the 2pm movie, the cashier told us it was 96% sold out. Steph's response was, "so we are sitting front row" and the girl simply responded "pretty much." Steph and Parker ran off to grab what seats were left and sure enough, front row we sat. These kids were SO EXCITED to be finally seeing this movie! The anticipation is over! EEEEKKKK! There were laughs and tears and sugar highs all around. It was a great movie. It wasn't over taken by adult humor. Smiles all around. GO SEE IT!

We then ran across town to watch Parker's soccer practice. He did a great job, I am so proud of him. I got to see him play goalie which was a flashback to my sisters career as Jr. High, Sr. High and College level player. I too have soccer in my blood so watching the kids play brings out my inner soccer player.

For dinner we went to a new place Stephanie had heard great things about called El Rancho de Tia Rosa's. We really enjoyed good authentic Mexican cuisine. We were fortunate that the 9 of us were seated in a back room where the kids could hang from the rafters and eat like cave men. WE OUT!

GO SPEED RACER

6/23/15
Day 16

We got up early again and went for a morning swim, everyone was in the pool, except for my dad. He was ready to go to K1 and was waiting for everyone else to get out and get ready. K1 is a super cool indoor go-cart track. The adult carts for over 45 mph! Uncle Jarod had some connections there, so he called before we all headed over there. The first time around I raced with the younger boys so that Aunt Stephanie could race with the adults and I could watch Tyson while she went. I decided right away that I did not like racing with the kids. I was so scared that I was going to run into them or hurt them, but fortunately, I still got first place! The next go-round I raced with the adults, I did not do that good at first because it was a lot different than the kids cart that I had ridden the first time. Dad did pretty great (as much as I hate to admit that). During the second round, my mom and auntie got in an accident! like 10 guys ran out onto the course to help them. My mom freaked and walked off the course, but Auntie was like lets go! After that round neither Mom nor Auntie raced again. We got Portillo's for lunch and then went back to the house to swim for the rest of the night.

Day 16 K1 SPEED RACING

Day 16

K1 Speed Indoor Kart Racing

June 23, 2015

Uncle Jarod DeAnda hooked us up today with our first time event at K1 Speed Indoor Kart Racing. We were all super pumped to achieve our NEED FOR SPEED! (If you know us at all, it's the competition that drives us) HA!

After we were registered and had a basic kart lesson, they announced the racers for the 1st round. The little ones went first in their age group. They did so well! We were so impressed at how well they handle their Kart at aprox 30 mph. The adult group was called and thats when the competition really began. It was our family and some other customers we didn't know. Everyone was competing for best lap and placing at least top 5, topping out at 45 mph.  There was a little wall rubbing and bumping going on but all in good fun. I enjoyed the race but after Round 1, I had that adrenaline anxious feeling. It was a RUSH! The kids had another round before adults took Round 2. We started off the second round great then starting second lap Steph and I went to pass a slower Kart and she hit the corner then BAM!!! I nailed the side of her and went up over the back of her Kart and slammed onto the ground. Pieces of our carts flew into the air. We couldn't see each other at that point because we were belted in and our helmets obstructed our view but we could see several employees running at us. It was crazy and felt like slow motion.  Steph was eager to continue the race and I was a little battered and bruised and took myself out of the race. I was a bit shook up. When the race was over we had a good laugh but Steph didn't realize she had some bumps and bruises herself. Everyone had a BLAST! We had some winners and sore losers (literally) but we all walked away with all of our body parts and an awesome story to tell! MAKIN MEMORIES!

After racing, we went to Portillo's for Lu-Dinner (might be lunch, might be dinner). It was nice to sit and enjoy a meal not feeling like we were in a hurry. The food was good and the company was great! Josh and Chandler went to a mid afternoon movie while the rest of us relaxed, swam and ummmm....reupholstered Stephanie's kitchen chairs and laughed till we cried.

Another Victory for Carmen

6/22/15
Day 15

We all got up pretty early so that we could fill the day with fun stuff. After dropping Tyson off at daycare, Stephanie recommended Top Golf, which is like a three level driving range. We all got signed up and ready to play, but we had to wait for Dad because he got lost and ended up in Scottsdale! Top Golf is AMAZING! There are different games that you can play, and since each ball has a tracker, you can see how far you hit it and what hole you get it in. Dad, Mom, Auntie Stephanie, and I played against each other and all of the boys played against each other. The first game, I really sucked, but ya know that first round is always a warm up, right? The second game we played you had to get 5 balls into each colored hole. It was tricky because you could only do the 5 of one color at a time, if you got the ball into the wrong colored hole, then the computer would subtract points. I rocked that game! Best part was that I beat my dad, bad! Beating Dad is always the best!! There were also servers that came to each group, which was great! It was kind of like being at an iPic theater where people are waiting on you while you enjoy yourself comfortably. Their food was pretty good, I got this avocado wrap that had quite the kick to it. After my victory, we went back to Aunt Steph's house, where my dad and the boys stayed and us girls went to Joann Fabrics to find some cute fabric to make chair covers and a valiance for Steph's house. (They turned out really cute).

Day 15 TopGolf

Day 15

Family Time at TopGolf

June 22, 2015


Anticipating our arrival, my sister and nephew made a funtastic activity list for us containing a variety of entertaining family fun. Right off the bat we all knew Josh would want to go to TopGolf first thing. We all really enjoy golf so we loaded up the troops and headed to TopGolf first thing in the morning to beat the heat. TopGolf is a 3 story driving range and golf activity center. They set you up in a lounge style designated spot with your group. Clubs are provided for you or you can bring your own clubs but personal drivers are not allowed at the range. You can either shoot best ball with your group or choose from a variety of games. The golf balls have sensors in them to track your ball for appropriate scoring. TopGolf is fun for all. Our youngest in the group was 7 and he did very well.  You don't have to be an avid golfer to enjoy TopGolf.  We decided to drag our game time out and enjoyed eating lunch while we were there. They have an amazing menu and all of our food choices were delicious.  We were all wanting to stay for the day but they charge by the hour so after a few rounds we decided to head out. I must confess... I'm not very good at playing a real game of golf. I'm a whack-at-it kind of girl.

Later in the afternoon, Josh watched the boys so we could make a trip to get groceries for dinner and made a pitstop at JoAnn Fabrics for a project Stephanie was eager to get done. Stephanie and I planned a delicious dinner for everyone after an evening swim at their beautiful home. We had a wonderful day, blessed to be in their company.

Bye Bye Vegas

6/19/15
Day 12

We left Las Vegas for our next stop, Arizona. We checked out the KOA campground before dinner, there was a pool, gift shop, arcade, park, and little restaurant. After dinner Chandler and I went to the arcade, we played three games of air hockey and one basketball game. Chandler beat me at the basketball game and at air hockey twice; we tied once at air hockey. When we got back we all watched Cheaper by the Dozen and Cheaper by the Dozen 2 it was good family bonding time before going to bed.