Trip to Phoenix

Lake Mead from Highway

After filling the car with $185 worth of gas (the down side to having a HUGE van...lol) we left Vegas.  The first stop was driving by Lake Mead.  The sight of all the pretty blue water in the desert is beautiful!   Travelling down the road started out fine.  The children were in a good mood and I was making pretty good time.  I took the GPS and had ti map me out a course to the extended-stay hotel my parents got us.  It at least allowed us to have a place when I got into town so we would not literally be homeless.

The car was full of gas, the kids were full of food, everyone that had to have a diaper was dry, and I was caffeinated.  Promising start!  When I saw the sign for the Hoover Dam I was SO tempted to take a trip over the new Hoover Dam Bypass.  Since it has opened I have not had a chance to travel that way.  I managed to avoid temptation....lol.  It was HARD!  Knowing my luck lately I was worried something would happen to the car and I would find myself stuck on the bypass....lol

I think I made it another 20 miles down the road when James said he needed to go to the bathroom. Of course there is NO bathroom available.  I see a scenic rest stop.  The scenic rest stop is near Willow Beach.  I let James out of the car for a potty break.  Thank goodness he is a boy!  LOL   I got Margaret out too and I took a quick shot of them at the rest stop.




Besides me yelling at the kids at about the three hour mark we were doing pretty well.  Margaret does really well in the car for about three of four hours and then she has a meltdown.  There is just no other way to describe her behavior.  SHe starts to scream and whine.  Then she lashes out against James and Joseph.  She was hitting them but she has also punched  scratched and bitten whatever she can get a hold of.  I had to stop the car and let her out.  We made it to Seligman, AZ.  We stopped at a gas station there.  I was down half a tank so I was going to fill the tank, take James and myself to the bathroom and pick up some snacks for the children.  By the time I left the gas station I had spent $85...lol.  That at least included gas!  While I was pumping my car a woman came out and asked if we might have left a Hello Kitty doll in the bathroom.  I said yes.  There were only a few other people at the gas station and I did not see any children.  So I waited about five minutes before I went back in because I was settling the kids into the car with their snack and I finished pumping my gas.  I went inside to look for her Hello Kitty doll and it was all ready gone!  Can you believe that?  Someone,it had to be an adult, TOOK Margaret's Hello Kitty doll.  My poor baby cried and was upset.  :(

The rest of the trip was uneventful except having to hear Margaret cry and whine about her doll and anything else she could think of.  We made it to our hotel.  The In Town Suites in Gilbert are not too bad.  They are a bit weird because there are no dishes or towels supplied.  We do have a fridge and a microwave.  I brought my toaster oven.  We will be able to go grocery shopping and pick up some things. Yea!