July 2021 Road Trip!

 My Dearest Avery, 

July 1-11, we went on a great big road trip, from Tucson to Bryce Canyon to West Yellowstone to Jackson/Grand Teton to Denver/Colorado Springs/Pueblo to Albuquerque and back! It was something like 40 hours of driving in 11 days but we fit a lot of things in along the way!

You were really great in the car pretty much the entire time. We enjoyed some movies on the iPads, singing Little Einsteins (remix…….yes, there’s a remix version) – and of course we replace Einsteins with Ev Stein or Bave Stein, playing I Spy With My Little Eye, playing Road Trip Bingo and playing with Pascal. You were pretty excited to see the animals and fill up the National Parks Passport with stamps. You enjoyed playing with Evan day and night and no matter who you were sleeping with, they got some heavy movement out of you – haha! You also enjoyed playing with Thomas, your stuffed animal that you got during your procedure, doing your makeup, and selling dad, Evan and me fake items.

Some highlights of note:

-          In Bryce Canyon, we went to the pool and raced back and forth while the pool was really busy so it was pretty tight for us.

-          Also in Bryce Canyon, you saw Thor’s Hammer which was cool because we’ve been watching the Avengers movies.

-          In Yellowstone, you loved Old Faithful and I think you got a kick out of eating lunch with the Bison. You also loved the Fourth of July parade in West Yellowstone.

-          In Grand Teton/Jackson, you made new friends at a local park and you spent some quality time with dad while Evan and I napped – you guys got to see some of the sites in Jackson!

-          In Denver, you made new friends at the children’s museum and you learned how to pet a sting ray at the aquarium.

-          On the way to Albuquerque, we stopped in Colorado Springs to say hi to Aunt Jessica and your new friend Lucas. We also stopped in Pueblo to say hi to Uncle Bob and Aunt Belinda (dad’s Aunt and Uncle on his mom’s side).

-          In Albuquerque, dad had some alumni board meetings but after that we met up with Grandma Gail and Grandpa John! We went to the New Mexico Natural History Museum and then while Evan took a nap, you went with Grandma, Grandpa and Dad to Explora, the science museum! You had a blast!

Here is the trip in pictures:

It was certainly a gamble taking a road trip this size with a seven-year-old, three-year-old and a puppy but we all had a grand time - I'm so glad we got to do it!

All My Love,

Mom