Fall Break Trip to Flagstaff: part 1

The schools here have a two-week fall break in October, so we took advantage of that and spent a few days in Flagstaff, which is two hours north of Phoenix. We got to spend the days relaxing in the woods, just enjoying our kids and having no TV or video games! It was a really wonderful time. I gave the girls a camera to use during the trip ...for the first hour they took a bunch of really fabulous pictures of each other! (I was thankful for digital cameras!) These I took later on... :)

Hannah had a great time learning to take pictures close up, like of this lady bug....I think she took almost as many photos as I did. I was actually impressed with many of her shots, I think we have a budding photographer!

Flagstaff is full of aspens, they were all turning and were gorgeous! I was hoping for some maples as well, but I guess there really aren't many in Flagstaff...but I will take fall color, however it comes. I find myself missing Spokane during this time of the year, the Fall colors there are amazing.

We took a chairlift up to the summit of Snowbowl (the ski area in Flagstaff) . It was about a half hour ride and it became sooooo cold as we got to the top....as you can see the snow! We had come from Phoenix being over 90 degrees and I think the summit was about 25! Abigail and I had on capris (all of us had ski jackets, but I really didn't think about needing to wear ski pants!)...fortunately an older couple saw us in the parking lot and recommended we take blankets!

We were going to take a short hike once we got to the top, but everyone was so cold, we just took a few pictures and boarded the chairlift back down!
Yes, just as it says....the girls had to use it too!Hannah is too thrilled.....she had the blanket over her head on the way down and I asked her to take it off so I could get a picture....this is what she thought of that idea!Coming down out of the snow

Here is the very cute cabin we stayed in! Abigail loved it so much that she kept asking if we could live in it!!! It is just "sooooo cozy", she said :) .....I don't think I could handle the 1 foot kitchen counter.....but other than that, sure....I think these toys are now outlawed on playgrounds, since you attempt to fling your friend off of it onto the ground....anyway, the girls enjoyed the small playground near the cabin.

Playing Rummikub...it is becoming really enjoyable to play games together as a family, as both girls are old enough to play and understand strategy. And Abigail doesn't cry every time she loses!The wood stove! The girls were very freaked out about it at first, we have never had a wood stove, or even a wood fireplace in our house. I realized that I took for granted that they would think it was cool, instead they were worried the cabin would burn down! Then after they calmed down and were given the lecture of "if you touch it your hand will burn off and you will certainly end up in the hospital" (that gave them great comfort!) they became fascinated with the fact that it produced smoke out the chimney and kept going outside to see it. There were two beds upstairs on either side of the A frame...at the top of really steep stairs....it was a very quaint cabin and we all had a great time. In the morning the girls got sugar cereal and pancakes....there was much rejoicing over the sugar cereal as they usually never get it at home. They were much more interested in that than the pancakes!! (Maybe that is why Abigail thought we should live there!)