Ryan, Janelle, Kayson & Cora: Mommy/Cora trip to Arizona

First and foremost - Cora and I survived our first trip on our own and we had a GREAT time.
Our trip to Arizona was successful, and I'm very thankful we got to celebrate my cousin, Cale's marriage to Katie. So fun!!
Friday:
We headed out Friday around noon. I was going to take Cora to daycare that morning - just to keep her on a schedule and kinda 'out of my hairs'... but with a push from Ryan, I kept her home. And I regretted it. She was SUPER bored and asked about every 3 minutes if we were leaving yet!!! So next time, she'll go to daycare! ha.

We headed out - met up with Tricia and Greg, and that's where we started our waiting. She was pretty antsy the first 'wait', but overall did pretty well. Our first flight was to Dallas/Ft. Worth - Cora did well, seemed to be a quick 1.5 hour flight. I was thrilled she did well. Then we had a super long layover there... we walked, we talked, we ate, and she snoozed on my lap (for the first time in YEARS). Not going to lie - it was pretty damn sweet. Our gate got changed kind of last minute, so we then had to take the tram to a different location - funny story here: Cora freaked out! I kind of did too - there was SOOOOO many people on that thing, so claustrophobic and SO FAST! I wasn't prepared, and we had Cora just standing. I totally should have held her, but I didn't know what to expect.   However, it was a quick, fast trip - so it only lasted about 3 minutes!!! But that'll be a good story to tell for a long time!

Flight to Tucson was good as well... we got our rental car, and made our way to the hotel. It was fairly late - 7:30 AZ time (9:30 for us), so we were tired and dirty (airport and airplane germs!!!), so we just called it a night, got settled and got to bed.

Saturday:
We both slept well, just maybe not long enough!! But we got up, met up with our other cousins, Monette, her hubby Gary, and their daughter Shanna (and boyfriend Spencer) had breakfast, then hit the pool! That's what Cora had been asking for since Friday morning! The weather in Arizona was perfect --- a little chilly in the morning, until about 9:30, then by 10:30, it was warm!! We really enjoyed the pool and just seeing some of our cousins. Cora took a little rest Saturday afternoon, then we got dolled up for the wedding.

It was a short drive to the wedding location... short, sweet, beautiful ceremony. We are super happy for Cale and Katie. They have been together about 8 years... raised their children (from different parents) and have made a family of their own - they are truly blessed; then the remainder of the night was eating and dancing. I'll add right here - Cora didn't eat well this entire trip. I totally expected that, I'm not dumb, but it had already caught up with her by Saturday night!!   But we fought through it. Cora was very tired by about 6:30 Saturday night, and I knew we had a LONG night ahead of us... soon enough the music started, and that perked her up. She was on that dance floor for about an hour - dancing SOOO hard and it was adorable. She was kind of the center of attention for a little bit!

Cora hit a wall about 9:00 (so technically 11:00 Iowa time)... poor kid. Trish and Greg were fine with leaving, so we headed back... another good nights sleep.

Sunday:
Sunday morning we got up and headed back to the ceremony location - Cale and Katie were providing a breakfast for us. Super yummy, and gave us more time to talk with the Arizona cousins, etc. Another beautiful morning - on a golf course, with a view of the mountains. (I didn't do a very good job at taking pictures), but I'll never forget what it looked like.

Back to the pool for more fun. Cora literally had the pool to herself, and she loved it! We hung out at the pool nearly all day. Cora took a rest in between the fun... but it was a super day. Then that evening, we just hung out again with Monette, Gary, Shanna and Spencer... more pool/hot tub time. We ordered pizza in, ate at the pool. It was soooo relaxing. Cora did great - she played the iPad and colored a little... it was a super nice night. Kind of what we needed - just relaxing.

Monday:
Cora slept awesome, so that was nice... we had breakfast, then just hung out getting packed up. There was a lot of waiting Monday morning - but overall, Cora did well. I could tell she was tired by the time we were heading back to Tucson, but she fought through it. And stayed pretty happy. We got settled at the airport, and more waiting happened... this was where I was ready to get home. That point where we are all tired, kind of crabby and feeling dirty. ha. Those damn germs at airports!!! I can only hope that we did a decent job of wiping things off and we don't get sick in 3 days. (Yes, I took Lysol wipes with us, and we wiped shit off!!!! -- Cora did too, it was hilarious and cute at the same time!!) :)

We finally got to Dallas/Ft. Worth after a delay in Tucson. We were actually getting pretty antsy thinking we may not make our connection... but it worked out, close call - but we made it.   Now this is where my patience was done, and Cora was completely checked out. She did well for about 30 minutes (which was nearly the time we taxied and then finally got in the air)... She was super antsy/uncomfortable, would not sit still... from my eyes - she was only trying to stay awake. Poor kid. After lots of talking and the start of whining and crying ... she FINALLY put her head down on my lap and fell asleep - 10 minutes before we landed!!! LONGEST FLIGHT EVER! ha!! She just couldn't get comfortable, and I don't blame her. She did SOOO well, and I'm so proud of her.

We landed in DSM at 10:50... pulled into the drive way at 11:40. LATE.

But we are home... safe... and have some great memories for me and Cora. I'll always treasure that. I'm also super thankful for Tricia and Greg. They hauled us... and helped with Cora (when she would let them!). Trish totally needed this vacation, and I know she had a great time.

Now... here are my phone pictures! :)
Friday flights/pictures: