{"id":220,"date":"2017-12-19T08:04:46","date_gmt":"2017-12-19T08:04:46","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hayleysmom.com\/?p=220"},"modified":"2017-12-19T08:20:43","modified_gmt":"2017-12-19T08:20:43","slug":"arizona-mccutcheon-vacation-day-2-and-3","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hayleysmom.com\/index.php\/2017\/12\/19\/arizona-mccutcheon-vacation-day-2-and-3\/","title":{"rendered":"Arizona McCutcheon Vacation Day 2 and 3"},"content":{"rendered":"

The McCutcheon Lampoon Vacation continues. \u00a0Sunday morning we were still in Phoenix. \u00a0I had forgotten Henry’s swimsuit and my hiking shoes. \u00a0So how did I spend a Sunday on Vacation? \u00a0I took the rental car that we are calling the McCutcheon Assault Vehicle and left the boys in bed to go to the Nordstrom Rack in Tempe. \u00a0It was a terrific one and resisting purchases that I have no place to pack for the trip home was torture. \u00a0I went into a huge Barnes and Noble to purchase a couple of books. \u00a0Mr. Negative Husband says, “you brought your kindle can’t you use that?” \u00a0He clearly does not understand that you have to touch and smell a real book after about 10 Kindle books. \u00a0You can then start the pattern over. \u00a0After my little spree I picked up In-n-Out for everyone. \u00a0When I got back to the hotel around noon, they were still in BED! \u00a0The older one had showered, so that was something. \u00a0I thought In-n-Out sucked. \u00a0I spent the next hour and a half re-packing. \u00a0Got them in the car and on our way to Sedona finally by 2:00! \u00a0All we heard from the teen in the back seat was whining about having to go. \u00a0All he wants to do now is go to Top Golf.<\/p>\n

Does this not sound like the most boring vacation day ever? \u00a0In a way it was. \u00a0But I had time alone and was able to let some of my grief show. \u00a0Scott has not wanted me to show it at all, to ruin vacation. \u00a0I can’t control when it is triggered. \u00a0I have gotten better at shutting it down quickly. \u00a0“Get in, Get out” is what my counselor says. \u00a0There were many triggers on my little outing. \u00a0The boys went swimming the night before. \u00a0Unfortunately for them no Christie Brinkley was in the pool. \u00a0What I realize more than ever on this trip was that I am missing my partner and my other half more than ever. \u00a0That person is not my spouse it was Hayley.<\/p>\n

She should be here.<\/p>\n

The Hilton resort here in Sedona at Bell Rock is stunning. \u00a0Everyone including the teen boy was thrilled with our room. \u00a0It is more like a small apartment. \u00a0The staff is terrific but also casual. \u00a0It was fun that Henry could join us at the bar. \u00a0They have tons of sports on TVs, a full wall Scrabble game, foosball, ping pong and many fire pits outside with beautiful stringed lights. \u00a0\"\"I listened to the bartender talk about a guy that got out of hand the night before and landed one of the servers in jail. \u00a0Sedona is not the quiet place I thought. \u00a0Henry actually hung out with us for hours. \u00a0Food was outstanding. \u00a0We ate dessert first, why not, it’s vacation. \u00a0I had the most amazing chili in this big kettle pot. \u00a0Had pizza delivered for and while the boys were in the pool. \u00a0Henry was still complaining from back pain. \u00a0We still shook our head that our 15 year old pulled a muscle golfing. \u00a0Seriously that is usually Scott. \u00a0Evidently this week is one of their slowest here at the resort. \u00a0At times we feel like we have the place to ourselves. \u00a0That evening Henry didn’t think gaming. \u00a0He chose to hang out with his dorky parents. \u00a0But everything seem to be in fours. \u00a0Four chairs at the tables. \u00a0Four scrabble letter holders. \u00a0If we rented an off road vehicle to explore, four seats.<\/p>\n

She should be here.<\/p>\n

Having Henry on his own Queen size bed on the pull out sofa, gave all of us our own beds. \u00a0I have determined that having the three of us all in our own beds is crucial to any successful vacation. \u00a0Henry always was so upset when he would get stuck on the pull out while Hayley would get a bed. \u00a0It sucked being the youngest. \u00a0No arguing this time. \u00a0Henry didn’t even question where he would sleep. \u00a0I would give anything to hear them fight over vacation beds.<\/p>\n

She should be here.<\/p>\n

Today, Monday, Scott and I walked to a local restaurant to eat breakfast. \u00a0Here is where we saw on the news above the cafe bar the horrible news of the train derailment back home. \u00a0Horrible. \u00a0We were both quiet. \u00a0Because of Hayley our empathy levels are at an all time high. \u00a0When they said multiple casualties we thought about what those families would go through. \u00a0Our empathy was not just from being kind people, it was now from experience. \u00a0It was hard to pull myself out of the rabbit hole thinking about those families. \u00a0We brought Henry breakfast in bed and headed out to explore some more. \u00a0I have hiked the red rocks in Las Vegas. \u00a0But the rock formations and scenery here in Sedona is breathtaking. \u00a0The day started off at 38 degrees and sunny. \u00a0The temperature quickly rose to 58 and we were in weather heaven. \u00a0As Washington natives, this weather is ideal. \u00a0My kids love the gray rainy weather of home. \u00a0Give me a cold and sunny day! \u00a0We picked up a hiking book and some snacks for the room. \u00a0We returned around noon to find the teen boy still in bed asleep. \u00a0He had crawled out to eat and then back to bed. \u00a0We poked the teen beast and told him to get ready for our Pink Jeep tour. \u00a0When I signed us up he complained. \u00a0All he wants to do is golf. \u00a0When I decided we should stay an extra day here so he has time to golf, he still complained. \u00a0So frustrating. \u00a0Scott has admonished Henry and I for fighting. \u00a0It is almost like we are picking fights with each other on purpose. His fights were always with Hayley. \u00a0So were mine. We were too much alike and butted heads often. \u00a0So I think we are not used to having such a quiet vacation with no sibling drama. We stopped by the golf club house to talk to them about Henry’s first trip onto a course. \u00a0When he finds something new to love he is seriously ALL in. \u00a0It is both annoying as hell and satisfying as a parent when he tries something new. \u00a0The Pink Jeep tour was a hit. \u00a0Henry had the coveted shot gun seat while Scott and I were wedged in the back with three women from Boston. \u00a0\"\"I enjoyed being squished up against him with his arm around the back of me, my hand on his knee. \u00a0It almost felt like we were a normal couple. \u00a0The ride was rough and exciting, the final destination was breathtaking. \u00a0I knew that in my current physical condition hiking that far into the protected land and getting that close to those gorgeous rocks is not going to happen. \u00a0There was an extra seat in the jeep that held dusty blankets. \u00a0That would have been her seat.\"\"<\/p>\n

She should be here.<\/p>\n

We returned to the resort and Henry practically begged Scott for another round of wall scrabble. \u00a0I sat at the bar and watched them. \u00a0I ate the entire family size kettle of chili. \u00a0This was the worst decision of the day. \u00a0No heartburn but let’s just say I am making some noises. \u00a0Get this. \u00a0Scott sleeps like a log. \u00a0He barely moves, was snoring his post beer snore and had ear buds in listening probably to a podcast about aliens in the deserts of Arizona. \u00a0But if I even let out the tiniest, quietest of poofs, he hears it, wakes up, wakes me up and voices his disgust. \u00a0All I do is apologize and hope the “sounds” get worse. \u00a0Because seriously in 27 years of sleeping in the same room I can tell you whose ass is the most musical and it is not mine. \u00a0Hayley would also be telling me what an idiot I was for eating all that chili. \u00a0She would be right. \u00a0She would mock me and it would feel so good.<\/p>\n

She should be here.<\/p>\n

Tuesday will be the Grand Canyon day. \u00a0The last time I visited was a drive from Vegas with the kids and my cousin and her daughter. \u00a0When I found out that Sandy had not been to the Grand Canyon I was appalled. \u00a0It would be like me not visiting Mount Rainier or Pike Place Market. \u00a0Of course Henry is complaining about going. \u00a0“Mom, I saw it when I was like 10”, we don’t need to go. \u00a0I do feel I am fighting him on this vacation, yet I have seen more smiles from him in the last three days than in three months. \u00a0I am excited to show Scott the Grand Canyon, he has never been. \u00a0I will continue to try to ignore the complaints and suppress my grief. \u00a0She is on my mind constantly. \u00a0The drive to the Canyon will truly be reminiscent of the Griswolds drive across the desert; just hopefully minus the launching of the wagon and tying a dog to the back bumper.<\/p>\n

On Day 3, I am glad we are away from home. \u00a0Away from the Christmas tree. \u00a0I keep forgetting that it is next Monday and realize I have not done all my shopping. \u00a0I kind of don’t care. \u00a0Hayley is with me on this vacation. \u00a0I realize now that it is not the house or her room or her stuff that is surrounding me, making me so very sad and lonely. Her absence here is just as glaring. \u00a0I want to reach over and pet her hair while she sleeps. \u00a0I want to play foosball with her and go explore all the tacky gift shops we can find. \u00a0I have been finding myself asking, where is Hayley, in my head. \u00a0I always have to pause what I am doing and concur images from the hospital to make myself believe she is gone. \u00a0This is always followed by a flash of anger, guilt and tears.<\/p>\n

She should be here.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\" \"\" \"\"\"\"<\/p>\n

After the crash in Arizona…\"\"<\/em>
\nEllen: I think I broke my nose<\/em>
\nRusty: I stabbed my brain.<\/em>
\nAudrey: I just got my period.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The McCutcheon Lampoon Vacation continues. \u00a0Sunday morning we were still in Phoenix. \u00a0I had forgotten Henry’s swimsuit and my hiking shoes. \u00a0So how did I spend a Sunday on Vacation? \u00a0I took the rental car that we are calling the McCutcheon Assault Vehicle and left the boys in bed to go to the Nordstrom Rack … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Arizona McCutcheon Vacation Day 2 and 3”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hayleysmom.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hayleysmom.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hayleysmom.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hayleysmom.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hayleysmom.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=220"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/hayleysmom.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":242,"href":"https:\/\/hayleysmom.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/220\/revisions\/242"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hayleysmom.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=220"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hayleysmom.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=220"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hayleysmom.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=220"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}