Scottsdale - McCormick-Stillman Train Park

    I have blogged many, many times about the train park in Scottsdale.  As I have mentioned, I went to this park as a child.  It is so neat to be able to take my kids to the same park.  The park is only minutes from our house.  It honestly couldn't be closer.  Joey and I have decided it is really the neatest park in the world.  There is so much for kids to see and do there.  We knew with Dawson's love of trains he was really going to like it this time.  He instantly fell in love!  He loved riding the train and exploring the park.
    They have recently added a new train museum where you can actually walk through actual train cars.  One of the cars was actually used by presidents.  It was really neat because you got to see what the different train rooms looked like.  They also have added a huge building that is full of model train cars.  They are interactive, which means that you can put your palm on certain buttons and different parts would light up or move.  We really liked the new additions.
    The kids had so much fun at the park, that we made several trips to the park.  It was so close and a great way for the kids to have fun and soak up the wonderful Arizona sun. 

Arizona sunset

http://www.therailroadpark.com/

One of the trains they have.  Dawson decided it was Gordon.  It  was still decorated for Christmas. 

Loving the train park

The train station

Ready to go on a train ride.

On the train

A picture of the front of the train.

They also have a carousel which the kids loved riding as well. 

Having a great time!

Part of the train museum

I love history and looking at things like old menus.  Its really interesting to see how prices and food has changed. 

The Pullman car used by presidents. 

This is the new model train area.  It is so cool!

The decor was really, really neat too. 

One of the models. 

They had a little train car kids could sit in. 

They have this part of the park that is made to look like an old adobe jail.  Dawson and Ashlyn really liked it. 

The Children's Museum of Phoenix

    Last time we were in Phoenix, we went to the Children's Museum.  It is in an old school and it is full really cool things for kids to do.  The kids had such a good time last time, we knew we had to go back.  Once again it didn't disappoint.  From the second we walked in the doors until the moment we left, the kids were had so much fun playing and exploring.  We got there right when it opened at 9:00.  We stayed until lunch time and took a break.  There is a very famous pizza place, Pizza Bianco that is right across the street.  Joey loves there pizza, so we stopped there for lunch.  We ate lunch, and walked back to the museum for  more fun.  We ended up staying until about 1:30.  I think the kids would have stayed until it closed if we would've let them.  The Children's Museum of Phoenix is a definite can't miss if you have young kids. 

http://childrensmuseumofphoenix.org/

Here is the giant climbing structure that greets you when you walk in.  Ashlyn and Dawson loved climbing on this thing.  It is so unusual, yet so much fun. 

Ashlyn in the flying bath tub.  The structure itself is huge.  It's three stories tall. 

Another view

They have a really neat tube system that is kind of like a vacuum cleaner.  You put scarves in and they go flying out.  Dawson really enjoyed it. 

Chasing scarves. 

Ashlyn catching scarves. 

It's the simple things that are so much fun!

What the tubes look like. 

He is still such a little monkey!

This is a smaller version of the tubes. 

The old staircase that is original to the school.  What I would give to teach in a school with so much history and character. 

One of the kids favorite things to do at the museum is go shopping at the grocery store.  They have real food packages, carts, cash registers, etc. 

Ashlyn ringing Dawson up.

Dawson doing some shopping.

Next to the grocery store, there is a huge kitchen and cooking area.  They even have an actual booth to sit at.  Ashlyn really liked this area and made friends with a girl that she spent quite a bit of time playing with. 

Dawson washing up.

This area is hard to describe.  There is all sorts of tubes and balls to play with.  Kids can connect the tubes for the balls to go through. 

So much fun!

We went to the museum on New Year's Eve.  They had a room to make noise makers for New Year's.  Ashlyn and Dawson enjoyed making noise makers. 

Dawson drawing

Ashlyn did a great job decorating hers. 

Another room was full of art activities.  Of course, Ashlyn gravitated towards this room.  They had all sorts of different art activities to do.  They had this gigantic castle that kids could paint. 

She loves to paint.

This is the pizza place where we ate lunch.

The bread they serve is out of this world good. 

They make all the pizzas in this brick oven.  Joey lived in Italy for several years as a kid and he said their pizza is the most authentic he has tasted. 

The outside of the museum. 

Making ice cream. 

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Dawson found this pickle car.  He immediately named it the "Back to the Future" car.  He spent a good portion of his time in this car. 

Joey got such a good shot of Dawson.  He is getting so darn big!!!

Arizona Trip

     The Friday after Christmas, we drove down to Scottsdale for a week long vacation.  With our trip to Disney World last year, we didn't get a chance to make it down for Spring Break like we always do.  With the baby due March 26th, Spring Break will be a no go again this year.  We haven't been down there since September of 2012.  We were definitely long overdue for a trip to sunny Arizona!  It had been way too long since I had seen my Grandma.
     It ended up being Joey, the kids, my mom, and me that went.  We went back and forth about flying and driving and decided to just drive.  The twelve hour car ride is pretty brutal, but it is doable.  We decided to be really brave and drive straight through.  Ashlyn is seriously the best car trip kid in the universe.  She didn't complain one time.  She played with her Ipad, drew, watched movies, and just looked out the window.  I was very impressed.  Dawson did okay.  He really didn't like being in his car seat that long and I can't say that I didn't blame him.  Twelve hours straight is a very long time to be in a car!  We managed though and we were so excited to be in Scottsdale. 
    As usual, we really didn't have any concrete plans when we went out there.  We had some ideas of what we wanted to do.  Our main goal was to spend as much time with my Grandma as possible.  Unfortunately, she was dealing with a medical issue when we were down there and couldn't really get out too much.  We wished we could've spent more time with her, but we were happy to get to see her and thoroughly enjoyed the time we did spend together. 
    We still found lots to do and we had such a great trip.  One of the best things is that there are so many good restaurants down there.  We did a lot of eating.  The kids totally had a blast and we did some pretty cool things with them.  The weather was really nice.  It wasn't as warm as it is when we are down there in March, but it was much nicer than back in Colorado.  The mornings were pretty chilly, but it warmed up nicely everyday.  It was fun being down there for New Year's too.  We got a bunch of appetizers from Trader Joe's and played games with the kids.  Ashlyn got Jenga for Christmas and it's her new favorite and we played many rounds.  We rang in the New Year with New York at 10:00 and we all promptly all went to bed. 
    Sadly, before we knew our vacation was came to an end.  It's always hard to say goodbye to my Grandma because we don't see one another often enough.  I'm sure we will be back soon!  I have a bunch of blog posts highlighting some of the things we did.