Day 3 in Arizona

Editor's note: Please remember that I am posting this on Wednesday, even though I am writing about Monday.... yes, I was stupid enough to STAY UP and do a second post tonight. This connection is like a dial up.... S-L-O-W... and it's giving me a huge headache!!)

Well.... today was interesting. Back home in Vermont, it was sunny and in the 80s. Here in the Grand Canyon, we woke up to SNOW! Lots of it! It was like being back home in VT!!!


Adam through the snowy windshield

Nick out in the canyon snow

But we decided to laugh about it, and had a fantastic day despite the hypothermia! Today was obviously not prime for canyon viewing (around noon, you couldn't even tell the canyon was THERE!!)

But it was perfect for attending the Grand Canyon: Hidden Secrets IMAX movie. WOW! It was really intense! A couple of times, I felt like I was falling over the edge!!

We also went to Yavapai point, and managed to see some spectacular scenery before the weather really settled in.

The boys also began the Jr. Ranger program today. As of this moment, they have only one activity left to do. Then they go to the park ranger at the Canyon View Visitor Center to be officially sworn in as Jr. Park Rangers. They get a badge, a patch, and a certificate. They had to attend one class with a ranger, and they chose the one about the California Condors. What a phenomenal presentation!! The ranger was very funny, knowledgeable, and passionate about his topic... we learned a lot.

The funnest part of the day, however, was meeting up with Jack and Julie!! We went to lunch together at the Yavapai Canyon Cafe, then travelled to Bright Angel Lodge with them on the shuttle.

Jack and Julie arriving at Visitor Center to meet us

On the shuttle bus to Bright Angel trail

In the evening, we met them for dinner at a place called Yippie-I-Oh steakhouse. The waiters are mostly all Mexican "cowboys".... yee haa! Here is a snapshot of our waiter.

The menu even had rattlesnake meat on it! Yuk!!

OK... now that I am totally comatose, I MUST go to bed! It is almost 1 AM (that is 4 AM for y'all on the eastern coast!). Will try to post Tue and Wed information tomorrow! Love ya!

Day 2 in Arizona

We woke up around 6am (confused internal clocks...). It was a bright, sunny day in Phoenix, and already getting warm. The forecast was for a high of 83 degrees... sweet! Since church didn't start until 10 am, we could relax and enjoy the morning in a leisurely way. We had some cereal, took baths/showers, found a great Christian radio station (KFLR 90.3) to get our minds focused on God, and even got packed up and checked out an hour before church! We stopped at Safeway to get a few things, then headed to church. Jayson Akers was the first person to greet us (he knew we were coming). He came up to me and said, "You're the blogger!" :-) LOL! He took us to the boys' Sunday School rooms and introduced us to the kids and teachers. Back in the sanctuary, the worship was AMAZING! The presence of the Lord was there in a powerful way. It is so fabulous that no matter how far from home you are (like 2,500 miles), the Holy Ghost is the same, and the people of God are the same. We felt right at home here! Here are a few pictures...

Main sanctuary

Nick's Sunday school class

Adam's Sunday school class (that is Alex with the big smile on his face!).

When church was over, we made PB&J sandwiches and hit the road! Off to the Grand Canyon! It was a 3 1/2 hour drive. The change in scenery as we headed north and into higher altitudes was astonishing! (2,000 ft to 7,000 in just 3 hours). Here are a few pictures showing the stark contrast...

Just outside Phoenix (note the suagaro cactuses... cacti???).

No more tall cactuses, just short brush, and mountains???

Wow! Look at the trees! Starting to almost resemble Vermont...

We went from 83 degrees and sunny, to cloudy/rainy/snowy and f-f-f-freezing at the Grand Canyon. But the drive was gorgeous. When we made a drink and snack stop in Flagstaff, we found ourselves inadvertently on the historic Route 66! Cool!!!!


Once we hit I-40 west, it was soooo cool to see street signs saying "Los Angeles - 485 miles". Wow! Los Angeles!! (Because I am not home where my photo editing program is... you take the pics as they are.... please pardon the nasty bug guts on the windshield in the below picture!).

When we arrived at the Park, of course we HAD to stop and have our picture taken at the Grand Canyon National Park sign!

Despite the bitter cold wind and snow flurries, the mood was festive. After entering the park, it was six miles to our lodge. On the way, there was a pull-off for a first view of the canyon. We pulled in. We got out of the car. We all kept our heads DOWN so we wouldn't see anything until we reached the rim. When we all looked up, this is what we saw....

The view took our breath away! WOW!!!! There are no words to describe it. A camera that takes flat, 2D pictures can't even HOPE to convey what the human mind can scarcely comprehend in 3D!!! We took a bunch of pictures, then put the cameras away and just looked.... took it in.... attempted to process what we were seeing....
The boys and I were FREEZING, so we headed back to the car to warm up. Jason wanted a couple more pictures.... guess what HE saw?? A mountain goat!!

We checked into our room and relaxed. We turned on the TV to watch the Red Sox/Yankees game.. it was EXCELLENT! The first time that Boston has swept the series against the Yankees at Fenway in 17 years! Wow!

We ate dinner at the Yavapai Canyon Cafe... a little pricey, but very yummy!! After dinner, we went to the gift shop to get some postcards to mail out. Then back to the room to relax and hit the sack. Tomorrow we will meet Julie and Jack here.... how cool it that??? It's supposed to be cloudy and rainy tomorrow, so it will be a great day to go to the IMAX theatre!!!

(If you will notice the date and time of this post... it is Wed evening at 11:35 pm. There was no internet service at the canyon, so had to post once I got to Tucson. And the connection here in Tucson is S-L-O-W... so I may not get to another post tonight. Stay tuned, though!!)

We made it!

Well... it's been a VEEEERRRRRYYYY long day for the Ziters! We checked into our CT hotel at around 10pm, and by the time the boys got to sleep it was near 11:00. Some of us slept very little... and we were all pretty much awake 30 minutes prior to our 3:30 am wake-up call. Yikes. Here is a picture of us at the Bradley International Airport at 5:15 am...


Now... we are using five different cameras on this trip... so there will be gaps galore in the pictures, as some are on *gasp* FILM cameras! Nick took pictures with his on the plane. The plane trip was awesome... we had gorgeous travelling weather. It is cool being 36,000 ft in the air, and being able to see clearly straight to the ground! The kids loved the ride! Nick was hilarious when we landed in Atlanta this morning! When we touched down, evidently the runway was s-h-o-r-t... because the pilot did an "ant crossing" brake job! When it was over, Nick, in true (loud and dramatic) Nick fashion said... "THAT WAS AWESOME!!!!!!!" Everyone on the plane just cracked up!
The 2nd leg of the journey, from Atlanta to Phoenix, was a 3 1/2 hour flight, with little TV monitors at each seat. The boys were in HEAVEN! They watched Cartoon Network, Animal Planet, History channel, and some WWII movie on Channel 13. I watched the GPS thingy that showed where we were at all times... our distance travelled, altitude, ground speed, etc. It was so cool! You could tell what you were seeing below you by watching the screen! We saw the Mississippi River, we waved to Britt as we flew over her at about 11:47 Eastern Time, and my neighbor Chris, who grew up in Texas, told me that if we flew over the panhandle, we would see NOTHING, and he was absolutely correct! Not a house, not a barn, not a road.... NOTHING! It was funny! We crossed into AZ airspace around 2:42 pm ET.... and we touched down at 2:47... which is 11:47 am in AZ time. It was so cool to see palm trees, cacti, and GREEN GRASS, and trees with LEAVES! By this time, we were pretty exhausted. Here are a couple pictures of my young, weary travellers at the car rental place....


Palm trees are a cool thing... Nick thinks they grow coconuts....LOL!

Adam is still trying to figure out... "How do you climb a palm tree? There aren't any branches..."

This particular palm tree is in front of our hotel in northern Phoenix. BTW, there was MAJOR traffic coming out of the airport onto I-10, and it was then that we remembered there is a NASCAR race in town this evening! AHHHHH! As soon as we got into our room, the three boys hit the pool. Mom stayed upstairs to rest. It is 69 degrees here with a slightly chilly breeze... too cold for me to be wet. Outdoor pools at a hotel... definitely not a Vermont thing! LOL! We are totally beat, and will be hitting the sack EARLY! Got to get up and go worship with the saints here in Phoenix tomorrow morning! I'll blog about that another day! LOL! Blessings to you all! Signing off for now.

First vacation post

This will be ever so brief... we are in CT, checked into our hotel, and ready to pass out. Gotta be up at 3:30 am! It is currently 10:00 pm. You do the math. We'll be snoozing on the plane, I bet! Will post again from Phoenix!

Arizona here we come!

It's waaaaaaaaaaaayyyyyyyyyyyy late, but couldn't go to bed without a short post stating that WE ARE PACKED AND READY! As soon as school is out, we are GONE! So stay tuned to the blog... I won't post every day, but will do my best!

Getting there...

Phew! I think we are just about ready to travel! The boys suitcases are packed. The laundry is just about done so Jason and I can pack OUR bags. We just got ahold of our last suitcase from our sweet Ben and Stacy this evening. I just got off the phone with Expedia and have booked our last two hotels for the trip (Tucson and our last night in Phoenix). I located Nick's MIA bathing suit from Grammie and Papa, and Adam's NY Yankees hat. I'm bushed.

In the morning, we are getting up early and taking Nick to a local diner for breakfast (a favorite place to eat for us!!) before school for his birthday... he turns 8 tomorrow! WOW! My baby! Usually, the kids take cupcakes to school to celebrate with their classmates... not Nick! We made 50 choc. chip cookies and made ice cream cookie sandwiches to share! It will be a neat treat for the kiddos!

Okay, I'm beat. Got to turn in! Tomorrow is mismatch day at school for spirit week. I plan on looking absolutely hideous!! LOL! Will be fun! If I can, I'll get a really bad picture to post here.....

You are Holy

Click here to see one of my favorite songs of all time by Michael W. Smith. Jesus LOVES it when His glory is declared back to Him!!! This song moves me powerfully, and I experience a closeness with God every time I sing it! I love you Jesus!