After mommy/sons snuggles in bed this morning, we all enjoyed a very good breakfast at the hotel. Comfort Inns and Comfort Suites don't have the usual hotel continental breakfast of just pastries/breads, cereal, maybe yogurt, and beverages. No sir-ee. They have those things plus fresh hot eggs, sausage, make-your-own waffles, etc. It's nice being able to actually get a decent breakfast at a hotel – and free besides! We always try and stay at Comfort Inns (like this trip) or Comfort Suites. And our hotel has probably one of the best outdoor pools/hot tubs that we've encountered during our travels as well. After we arrived yesterday, we all go changed and headed to the pool. Thomas did really well for his first time in the pool and the hot tub (which really isn't super hot – maybe nice bath temp). He laughed and giggled and kicked and splashed and had fun watching big brother play with his pool toys and jumping in and splashing.
This morning after breakfast, we headed north to Phoenix for our first surprise for Robert. We went to the Phoenix Zoo and spent the day there. I wore my Garmin and during the almost 4 hours we were there, we walked about 3.75 miles. Robert and I petted stingrays and rode a camel. I figured that since I was wearing Thomas, he'd be able to ride the camel, too, but they said no, he was too little. And then later when we were on the carousel, I had to sit on a bench instead of riding an animal because I was wearing Thomas. Basically when I'm wearing him, he's a part of me, but people don't get that. So Ryan held Thomas during the camel ride, and I sat on a bench during the carousel ride. You should have seen the look on his face when the carousel started up! But it soon turned to a big smile. Despite almost 4 hours of walking at the zoo, we still didn't see everything. The Phoenix Zoo is rated as one of the top 5 zoos in the country for kids, and we definitely could see why today. The exhibits were awesome – lots of space for the animals, and many had more than one kind of animal in them, all the zookeepers and other staff were very friendly and courteous. After spending the day walking around, we hit the gift shop for a few souvenirs (Robert Dr. and Thomas Dr. signs for the boys, a shot glass for me and Ryan's collection, and a stuffed lion for Robert and a stuffed monkey for Thomas (Robert picked it out for him).
We drove the 45 minutes back to the hotel and got changed and hit the pool again, despite the fact that the wind was really starting to pick up. It wasn't too bad as the hotel building sheltered the pool from most of the wind. We remembered the camera this time and got some pictures of Thomas in the pool. I'll share them (and pictures from the zoo) soon. After a half hour or so in the pool, we got changed and headed to dinner at Culver's and I ate way too much. Once back in our hotel room for the evening, Robert had a bath and now both boys are asleep and I'm about to head to bed myself. We have a 3+ hour drive tomorrow to get to our next destination. Stay tuned for surprise number 2. . .
armytbonegirl 