next time i'm going to the grand canyon....

TONS of pictures... 

last weekend, we went on a road trip with my parents to Arizona. We went to Mesa, Holbrook, Flagstaff, and the Grand Canyon. 

First, we visited family in Mesa (Aunt Christine, Uncle Steve, Gramma Lowe, Cousin Stephanie and Stephanie's former fiance, Tim Abbott). I feel like such an idiot, because I didn't take a single picture! 

We left Mesa and headed for Holbrook and the Petrified Forest. (side note - Holbrook is the town where my mother grew up and the Petrified Forest is where my parents met.)

the Medina's at the Petrified Forest

thunderstorms in the distance

Mr. J knows a lot about the Petrified Forest!

storms getting bigger... coming together

Petrified Forest... so romantic.

after fine dining at El Rancho (hello Navajo Tacos!) we did a quick tour of the town and headed for the Meteor Crater. 

the wigwam hotel in Holbrook. the car in front says "Doc Hudson"

Meteor Crater

baby girl, happy to be out of the car!

it was at the Meteor Crater that we had our first encounter with the many foreigners who shared our interest in Northern Arizona. 

Then, we headed to the thriving metropolis of Flagstaff, AZ. (fun side-note, Flagstaff is the name of Gabe's cat) Flagstaff is a cute town with a nice university and is home to the Lowell Observatory - discoverers of Pluto. 

happy girl - ready for bed. 

at the observatory

beautiful views.

my cuties.

happy girl!

old telescope.

We headed from Flagstaff, through the Navajo Reservation, to the Grand Canyon...  but this isn't it! this is just the Little Colorado Canyon...

Little Colorado Canyon

hey - i know him.

woof. 

 after our long travels, we finally made it to the Grand Canyon! it was unbelievable. it has been a long time since i've been there. i forgot how amazing it is. 

Grand Canyon, from Desert View

this amazing picture was taken with my phone!

when we made it to the hotel, we ventured to the pool... where we were the only Americans. it was fun to hear people speaking french. baby girl looked so sweet in her bumble bee swimsuit and hat...

 at the hotel, 80% of the patrons were Europeans. people came from all over the world to see this: 

three amigos?

wazzup!

daddy and his bumble bee.

Sunday, we did some more exploring at the Grand Canyon.

so cute, i can hardly stand it. 

our little park ranger.

view from bright angel trail head - you can see the trail i hiked a long time ago!

tourist family.

:)

wish you were here. 

another view of Bright Angel Trail

ava - world traveler!

grand canyon's best view.

gabe and ava's first time at the Grand Canyon

if you look very closely, you can see my parents on that ridge. 

another view of the trail.

Ava did great! i was worried about her being in the car for such long periods at a time, but she was a good girl. we had so much fun and we can't wait to go back!

thank you, mom and dad, for an awesome trip!