4 days, 3 states (besides Utah), 2 kids and 1 tired Mom....1400 miles (23 hours) in the car but it was WORTH IT! Grand Canyon Trip 2014

If you take a look back at the Martushev Family Goals in the years past- starting when Artyom and I got married in 2005- you will see one ongoing trend...I have had "Visit the Grand Canyon" on each and every one of them!

I can't really pin down why...It has just been something I have wanted to do for SO long and I have actually been PULLED to that place. Well. This past weekend I was able to cross it off my bucket list! And I gotta tell ya- it did NOT disappoint!

Artyom was scheduled to be on "emergency call" the weekend of Memorial Day, so I figured that I would plan a few things for the girls and myself and if he could come, then great! Well Artyom gave me the best surprise when he called and said that someone at work wanted to switch with him and he now had Memorial Day Weekend off! And to top that-he asked if I wanted to go to the Grand Canyon!!

I went into FULL PLANNING MODE and found the best hotels and best travel deals with the ones that gave us the "biggest bang for our buck" and we were a go!

Our plan was to do a big LOOP from our house, South to Farmington, NM and visit the 4 corners Monument, then drive West to the Petrified Forest, and into Flagstaff. Visit the Grand Canyon and drive home through Zion's National Park.

And we pretty much stuck to it!

As with any well laid out plan, we had a few hiccups along the way and had to make a few minor adjustments, but they were not a bit deal. Some included:

• Not driving BACK to the 4 Corners Monument since the girls would have visited all 4 states anyway on our trip! DONE!
• We had to call the hotel in advance in Flagstaff as there was a Forest Fire in Sedona (a place we were going to go visit) and the hwy was closed. But good news, the hotel was fine and aside from some overcast skies with forest fire smoke, we were good!
• We had also wanted to go to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and see the skywalk, but unfortunately it was another 100 miles roundtrip out and we simply did not have the time to do so...NEXT TIME!

All in all, I could not be happier with the way it turned out. The girls had an AMAZING time, we were able to spend some much needed quality time with our family, swimming, hiking and taking pictures, and we captured some awesome memories.

NOW ON TO THE PICTURES!

Mother's Day 2014

This year I got myself a gift and bought a night at a hotel. Artyom and I have been SO busy and have literally seen one another only an hour or two a day. So I booked a night. We had always planned on taking the girls, but it was tempting to just have a quiet night with Artyom. We ended up going as a family and it was a blast!

 

I made sure the hotel had free breakfast and an indoor pool. It could not have worked out better! The weather was COLD and stormy and we just smiled as we looked outdoors form our hottub. AHHH!

 

The next morning the girls gave me a special gift from each of them. (Thank you Betsy!!). I love them! I cannot remember a time when I did not want to be a Mother. I am so grateful for these two who made that dream a reality. I have really struggled for quite some time about expanding our family and I need to remember more often how blessed I am with my girls. I would not trade them for the world. Its not about quantity when it comes to kids. Its about the quality you give them.

In case you can't read what it says: "My Mom is the Best Because...you take me out on my birthday and you spoil me. You are the Best mom ever."

And Miss Ella's reads: "My mom is the Best because she snuggles with me and she lets me pick my clothes. I love you Mama!"

 

The Tooth Fairy visits- May 2014

Sofia lost YET another baby tooth and although her front ones have not decided to make their grand appearance as of yet, she was pretty excited all the same.

This time around she decided to ask for something more than just the standard dollar bill that she has been given in the past, so she decided to write a note to the Tooth Fairy and see if that helped out her cause. She even set up a little desk with a piece of paper and pen for the Tooth Fairy to write her a note back.

Here is the note she left and what it said (just as she wrote it):

Dear tooth Faery,

what i want is a alorm clook. And plecse make it Hello kitty.

PS. write  letter back

From: Sofia

And you can GUESS how excited this little Miss was when she found that the Tooth Fairy had written a note back! I think that toothless grin pretty much says it all! Here is what the Tooth Fairy had to say:

Hello Sofia,

I heard you lost another tooth! That is so exciting! I have been so busy that my helpers are visiting children as well. Have a lot of your friends lost baby teeth? Good for them!

Thank you so much for the wonderful note. It was so nice of you to write it and although I didn’t have a Hello Kitty alarm clock when I read it, I will do my best to get you one. I hope you found the dollar I left.

Make sure to take extra good care of your teeth. Brush twice a day, floss and go see Dr. Tew. He is a wonderful dentist and will help you to take care of your teeth. I will see you next time!

Love,

The Tooth Fairy

 Man. That Tooth Fairy is quite the lady! ;)