Summer Staycation

A few weeks ago, we were gifted with an unexpected weekend getaway from Mike's parents. One of the great things about living in a vacation town is that we have a gazillion amazing resorts scattered throughout the VAST area that is considered "Phoenix." Because no one seems to want to visit our ridiculously hot city in the summer, there are tons of incredible $75-100 nightly rates at 5-star resorts.
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We took the kids with us for the first night and the grandparents came and picked them up on Saturday so we could have an extra night alone.
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As soon as we got into our room, Kaylin crawled into the plush bed and wanted to take a nap...that's my girl! Down pillows and blankets are my thing too.

You'd think swimming wouldn't be a big deal because we have a pool in our backyard, but what else do you do when it's 112 degrees outside?

Both kids had a blast on the water slide. It was a fast, two-story, twisty slide, just like at the water parks. We found out later that Kaylin was actually too short to go alone, but she did great. Every time she finished, she shouted, "I want to go AGAIN!" just in case we planned on cutting her off.

I forgot to bring a sleeping bag, so we tried letting Kaylin sleep between us with Ryan on the roll-away bed. I do NOT know how co-sleeping parents do it!!! After getting slapped across the face, I turned over to stay out of harm's way and within 2 minutes, Kaylin kicked me in the back. I think we're all just too used to our space and she is a fairly deep sleeper. I have enough trouble sleeping at night being huge and pregnant, so we made her a make-shift bed by pushing the chair and ottoman together. She didn't seem to mind and it was just the right size!

After a huge breakfast and more swimming on Saturday, we took the kids to Rain Forest Cafe for lunch. Mike decided to share my quesadillas so we could indulge in the $13.99 "Volcano" dessert. Was it big? Yes. Was it delicious? Yes. Did we figure out that most of the white stuff was whipped cream covering a measly little one scoop of vanilla ice cream? Yes. Was it too big for us to finish eating? Surprisingly, yes. Was it worth around $7.50, not $13.99? YES. But that was our fault for being tempted to order it. What a waste of $14! But we had a coupon for $10 off, so it made the disappointment easier to swallow.

Once the kids were safely with their grandparents, Mike and I had a delicious, overpriced (also gifted by his parents) dinner atop a mountain overlooking the city. This is the picture of us at sunset that the hostess took. Clearly I don't know how to properly explain my new camera to strangers.

Going on vacation in your own hometown is so much cheaper and less stressful than traveling away! I brought us some snacks and drinks, we were pretty familiar with the area so we didn't get lost, packing was quick and easy...it was a great weekend away from reality! Now Mike's claiming he needs a diet, the kids are exhausted and off schedule and I have a full day's worth of work ahead of me to make up for not being home all weekend. But it was SOOOOOOOO worth it!