Strawberry?....Yes please!!

This past week we took a little trip up north to Strawberry, AZ. My father-in-law is building a cabin up there and we decided to have a little mini vacation up there before I had to go back to work and my maternity leave ends. The cabin is not done yet. It has walls, a little electricity, and a toilet and a shower. Its basically my kind of camping. I love being in the outdoors and escaping that AZ heat but it was lovely to have running water, a toilet, and a shower that was not a bucket of water. Phil, Bennett and I went up Tuesday and spent the rest of the week there till Sunday.

Tuesday- Day 1

We left our apartment at 6am with my mother-in-law Joanna, father-in-law Grant, and sister-in-law Maerin. They came up with us for one day just to get a way. One of the first things we did was add a rope swing to the oak tree. No camping trip is complete without a rope swing. Phil of course was the first to volunteer to climb the tree to help set it up. Maerin helped from the ground.

And then, of course we all took a turn...

Maerin

Phil -A bit of a show off ;)

Me

Btw...Standing up on this swing was much harder than it looked but of course I mastered it.

And Grant...

Next, Grant introduced us to his neighbor and showed us his land. Without exaggeration, I felt like I was in a botanical garden. So many different plants, wild flowers, mini ponds, gardens, etc. And when I thought I had seen everything on his land, I would follow a path that I had taken before and end up in a whole different part of the greenery that I had not seen yet. He had been working at it for years and years and it definately showed. It looked so beautiful. The squirrels nearby all knew of this yard. They were everywhere! The neighbor would feed  them peanuts in little bird house things he had built for them. It was a tad scary when you would walk under a tree and they would just be sitting there staring at you from the branch over head. But I felt like Snow White with all the animals running around.. It was fun.

This is about how close Phil and I would get to the squirrel to get a picture because they were just always staring us down like they were going to jump on us. Cute and unpredictable creatures.

Some of the flowers in the neighbors backyard. The colors were just so sharp and very, very pretty.

We really enjoyed walking around in the beautiful weather and looking at all the different plants and flowers that are blooming right now.

After the "botanical garden" tour we had lounged and relaxed for a while and then went on a hike up Strawberry Mountain. I had not done anything athletic since months before I found out I was pregnant with Bennett so unfortunately the hike about killed me but I made it and now realized I need to get my rear in gear and get back into shape. All the same, it was a beautiful hike and I enjoyed it.

We finished the day with some dinner and a movie on the projector screen and called it a night. It was a wonderfully exhausting day.

Wednesday- Day 2

Day 2 was basically a bust. Phil's parents and sister went home and Phil and I planned out our day. We planned to go to West Clear Creek. We followed the map that Phil's dad drew for us on how to get there. We left at 10am, and to make a long story short, we got lost and didn't get to the creek till about 12 and it was only supposed to take about 20 min. Needless to say we were both happy to be at the start of the hike but tensions were high because we got lost. So, we started the hike and within minutes Bennett started to cry. Now, when I say that Bennett cried it is an understatement...he was screaming. We tried to feed him and to help him in any way but he was just set on being angry and so even though we were halfway to the creek we turned around and went back. I'm sure I don't have to tell you that this made tensions that much worse. We got back to the cabin and gave Bennett some Tylenol because he was upset about the shots he had been given the day before. Poor thing. The Tylenol did wonders and he was a completely changed boy later that evening. So, Day 2 was basically not my favorite. I am hoping to look back and laugh about it later but it probably wont be any time soon.

Thursday- Day 3

Day 3 turned out to be better. Since the day before had been a bit trying, we slept in and then relaxed around the cabin, reading books, etc. The mornings are cold and we learned from the first night that the more layers we put on Bennett the longer he would sleep in. This was the result. He just looks so cute and peaceful when he was all bundled up like this. 

 Later, we decided to go to the East Verde River that was right down the road in hopes that it would go better than the hike yesterday. Luckily it had turned out better. It was pretty but we didn't stay too long because there were more people there than we had hoped but we did stay long enough to take a few pictures.

We decided since we didn't stay very long at the East Verde that we would try Fossil Creek. I was excited to go because I had heard how beautiful it was, but no one had warned me about the road down to Fossil Creek. It basically was a straight cliff drop off on one side at all times. It was horrible! I truly couldn't watch. I was stressed and uneasy the whole drive down. Luckily it was worth it because at the bottom it really was gorgeous.

The water was wonderful so Phil got in and played around in the water for a while. It looked like fun, but I was stuck on the sidelines with Bennett so I decided since it was a hot day that I would see if Bennett would like the water so I sent him in with Phil.

I told Phil to just put Bennett's feet in the water to see how he would like it. I caught this picture just as he was putting Bennett's feet in. It must have been a split second after this picture was taken that Bennett started screaming. He HATED the water! I know it was too early to try him in anything but warm water but it was just too tempting. I had to test it out.

About 20 min later we all headed back to the car. We made some chili for dinner that night which hit just the right spot and watched Tangled on the projector and went to bed. It was a pretty good third day.

Friday- 4th Day

On Friday we didn't really do a whole lot but it was still one of my favorite days. It was constant relaxing and lounging. My parents and sisters were due to come up around 1pm so I spend the whole first half of the day relaxing in the cool weather and reading my book which I have not been able to do in a long time. The rest of the day consisted of helping my family unpack the car and browsing different antique shops in Pine, AZ just down the road. It was a fun day.



Saturday- Day 5

Saturday was very fun.  This was our last day to actually have adventures because we were going home on Sunday. So we got up early and headed back to Fossil Creek with my family. I refused to watch the road this time so I brought a book to distract me. It worked so I was a happy camper. We spent several hours at the creek and ate lunch there. It was beautiful weather which means the creek was not freezing cold. We all had a really good time and the creek was beautiful. (I cant take credit for all these pictures. I stole a handful of them from my sisters because my camera died this day.)

We made a rope swing. :)

Tadpoles!

My sister and my temporary sister for the week Krista! :)

The rest of the day was relaxing and going on walks in the wonderful weather.

Sunday- Day 6

Reluctantly, we went back home on Sunday, but not without taking another walk around the neighborhood in the wonderful cool weather. It was a great get away and we have such a fun time.