Our Tucson, AZ Getaway

Our Tucson getaway is in the books! Leading up to the trip, it felt like there was a 50/50 chance of the trip happening since we kept hearing about covid cases at daycare. But luckily everyone stayed healthy and w we were able to go!

We opted to fly into Phoenix, AZ so we could take a direct flight. That meant we had about a 2 hour drive from the airport to Tucson, but we figured 2 hours in the car was better than connections which are a total and complete pain and introduce the chance of further delays/stress. All in all, the travel went as smoothly as travel with 2 young kids can go. Here is a day-by-day breakdown of our trip!

Wednesday:

Wednesday was a travel day for us. Our flight was at 9:45 so we got up at our usual time. 

Paul did great on the flight. I bought internet for him so he could use ABC Mouse and the PBS Kids ap  on his iPad. They ate allll of the snacks I brought and Paul ate the border of the Delta cookie and then decided he didn't like it. Will napped for about an hour of the flight. I wasn't sure if he would nap in my arms since he hasn't done that for ages besides when he is sick. So I was pleasantly surprised when he napped! Paul did a great job of wearing a mask when he wasn't eating and drinking. I commented to Phil that his mask compliance was better than some of the adults we saw!

After landing and getting our rental care, we grabbed Chick Fil A on the way and arrived in Tucson around 4pm. Will screamed for about the last 40 minutes so we were all very happy to get out of the car! We stayed at my parent's Airbnb. They rented a 3 bedroom place so they would have plenty of room for us. My sister came over for the evening with my niece Maddy. Paul loved holding her! He can't really hold Will anymore since Will is pretty big!

It was really nice to spend so much time with family! Paul had fun being the big cousin/brother and played really well with the babies.

Reading bedtime books with Nana

Thursday:

Our first night of sleep was pretty awful. We shared a room with Will and he was up several times during the night and then up for the day at 5. Gaining an hour was really hard for him and he was up at 5 every day of the trip. After that first night, we shared a room with Paul for the remaining nights. Phil and I took turns getting up with Will. It helped to split the early mornings.

Working on a sticker book with Nana 

Since Maddy is just a few months younger than Will, she is on the same 2 nap/day schedule. It was nice to visit someone on the same schedule. On days when we ate out, we ate out at noon and would have dinner at the rental or my sister's. The babies napped in the afternoon and Paul got iPad time then. 

On Thursday, we went to a local Mexican restaurant. This was my first meal INSIDE a restaurant in nearly 2 years so that means it was Will's first restaurant meal ever. He did really well. Him and Maddy shared a quesadilla which came with fries. Will loved the fries which isn't surprising since he's all about carbs. 

After lunch we headed over to a place call Aguas Caliente which is a cool oasis in the dessert. There were lots of ducks and turtles to watch. It felt good to walk off our big lunch!

After the afternoon naps/quiet time, we hit up a park close to Abby's house. Will LOVED swinging!

Maddy turned 1 earlier that week so we checked out one of her gifts - a little scooter. We have the same little scooter at home so need to pull it out for Will when the weather warms up.

Friday:

On Friday, we had a quiet morning at home. Then Phil met up with his boss for a round of golf. His boss winters in Tucson so Phil decided to golf a round with him. While Phil golfed, the rest of us went to the Tucson zoo. It had been over 2 years since I took Paul to a zoo so he was VERY excited. He had THE BEST TIME! I only took this one picture since I was busy keeping track of him and pushing Will in the stroller. I received a membership to the Mn Zoo from my MIL for my birthday and seeing how much Paul loved this zoo makes me even more excited to take him to the zoo back home. I just need the weather to warm up!

That evening we ordered pizza at the rental. Will would not take an afternoon nap so needed an early bedtime so it was nice of my sister and her family to come to us.

Reading with auntie Abby

Saturday:

On Saturday morning, Phil and I got away for a walk/hike at Saguaro National Park. We headed out when Will went down for his morning nap and were gone for about 2 hours. It was really nice to get away for a bit and enjoy some time together. It was a gorgeous morning!

That evening we went over to my sister's house to celebrate Maddy's birthday. Will was not in the best mood that night. He took a short nap and was constipated for basically the whole trip so he was not as happy as he usually is. 

The birthday girl!

Sunday: 

Sunday was another full day of travel. The drive back to Phoenix went better than the drive to Tucson but when we arrived at the airport, we found out our flight had been delayed by about 80 minutes. That meant we landed at 6:30 instead of 5:10. Womp womp. Paul did great on the flight and Will napped for over 90 minutes. I soaked up the snuggles!

We got home around 7:15 I think, ate a quick dinner, got the boys to bed, and were in bed shortly thereafter. 

Final thoughts:

All in all, it was a great trip and so wonderful to feel the sun and be outside without a bunch of layers on. It was pretty tiring, though, but that is travel with young kids. I told Phil that it will only getting easier as they age. I hope. We had Monday off since it was Presidents' Day but daycare was open so we thoroughly enjoyed a day at home without kids. I napped for over 2 hours! That is not common for me so goes to show how tired I was from the early mornings and frequent wake-ups. 

Phil and I had a conversation yesterday morning about whether the getaway was worth the stress of travel... I think that it was still worth getting away but not by a huge margin. We did have a great time when we were in Tucson but gosh the travel aspect and time change is tough with little kids. But I still am glad we went, I just look forward to a time when it's a little more relaxing/enjoyable to travel with our kids? The good news is that Phil and I are hoping to go on a couples trip next December as my parents are willing to watch the boys! Hurray!!

Now it's back to reality, which means I'm back at work and we are in the midst of a snowstorm. I was hoping we'd come back to mild winter temps but it's going to be really cold later this week. But hopefully March will bring warmer temps? I'd be thrilled with temps in the 20-30s so I'm not asking for much!

Do you have any trips planned? This was our first post-pandemic trip. Aside from everyone wearing masks, the airport/plane felt "normal" in terms of the volume of people. But overall we felt very safe traveling.