Summer Roadtrip Day 2 and 3-Carlsbad, NM to Flagstaff, AZ-The Grand Canyon

July 2- We left Carlsbad and got back on the road early to head to Flagstaff, AZ.  This would be our first long day in the car.  We came prepared with snacks, water, juice, coloring and activity books, portable dvd players and movies, Nintendo ds(s), and iPOd  iTouches, headphones, and cameras.   The kids have their fuzzy blankets, mini pillow pets, and a few stuffed animal friends as well along for the ride.  This was roughly a 12 hour drive with bathroom, gas, and stretching stops along the way.  Again the kids did really well and I am proud of both of them.  We watched the scenery out the window and talked about the changes and where we were going next.  We listened to giggles from the backseat as they laughed  while watching Scooby Doo!  We answered the repeated question, "How long until we get there?" and  heard the phrase, "It is going to take us forever to get there!"

Emma-"We're in the middle of nowhere!"-somewhere along the way when it looked like we were the only ones on the road.

Emma-"Black cows make black milk, brown cows make chocolate milk, red cows(brown) make strawberry milk, and white cows make plain milk."- passing dairy farms and seeing the different breeds of cattle and dairy.

Day 3- We headed to the Grand Canyon.  We bought a pass for all of the national parks and got to go through before other people in the other entrance lanes.
Emma-"Bye-bye, see you later!  Have fun in traffic." -as we passed the other cars waiting to enter the park.
Henry-"That was easy peezy!"-agreeing with his sister about getting in quickly.

On our way tot he visitor center, we were once again reminded of the run in with the dead dog in TX.  The car started to make even more noise and we only made it out to see the South Rim of the Grand Canyon.  we had planned to do and see more-the glass bridge and a few other spots.  We went out and took as many pictures as possible and then due to car worries and hot, hungry, and tired kiddos, we headed back to our home away from home.

We had our first swim also that evening and discovered that the pool was frigid.  The kids had a great time and didn't want to get out.  Daddy and Mommy became popsicles, but were able to talk the kids into going back to the room for the night.  Jason made a trip earlier to have the car checked out.  Whatever the mechanic did worked, no more noises, but we will have the car fully checked out once we get back home.