My Once Upon a Time...

The hospital I work for always has a free employee night for Zoolights at the Phoenix Zoo, and each employee can bring up to four family members or friends. We've been going for years, and I'm really happy I don't have to pay for it anymore haha. Finn was in a sour mood and did not want to take any pictures with us! After I got some food in the kid, he was much better! Finn's favorite part was the swag area, where certain team members could get a duffle bag, compression socks, popcorn, and hot cocoa. We all had a great time!

At the beginning of November, I went on a little trip to the Grand Canyon and it was such a great weekend. We rented this really cute AirBnB in Flagstaff. I literally loved everything about it, and would've bought it in a heartbeat if it was available haha. The first night we found a small town tavern close to the rental where we had dinner. The next day, we took the Grand Canyon Railroad bright and early for our trip to the Grand Canyon. They had food and drinks on the train, and several musicians that would come from cabin to cabin.  The train ride was about 2.5 hours and the weather was nice and sunny at the Canyon. I called my mom when we got there to show her the Grand Canyon, and then we walked around for the next three hours, had lunch, visited shops and art galleries. On the way back, the train offered more complimentary food, and "robbers" entered the train, it was cute watching the kids on board and their eyes growing wide when the train all of the sudden stoppe...

Katie took Fox on a dinner date, so Finn and I had our own special night out. He saw this light the last time we went to the aquarium, but didn't have enough money, so he saved for a few weeks and wanted to go back to get it.  It's so nice having one on one time with them! For dinner he chose Johnny Rockets. They were closing in 15 minutes and we were only able to get to go orders, but Finn loved that we were the only people in the restaurant. We ate our food on the patio, and the weather was perfect. I didn't take any pictures, but we also went to a little arcade after dinner and the nice lady who worked there gave him a free Icee. Finn kept telling me how much he loved the evening, and I couldn't agree more.

We have had a lifetime membership to the aquarium since Fox was a baby, and have definitely gotten our money worth in hundreds of visits, but we hadn't been in a year or so, and I was surprised when the boys agreed to go. They had this really cute carriage set up in front! A nice older gentleman saw me taking pictures of the boys, and insisted that I had to get into the picture. Such a sweet gesture. This is the big exhibit where Fox and I went scuba diving a few years ago. He was trying to convince Finn to do it with us one day, but Finn wasn't having any of it.  It made me happy to see them play together. They both wanted to do this virtual reality experience, I believe they went on a rollercoaster, and both enjoyed it. My favorite: the jellyfish! We ended the day with some frozen yogurt! Hopefully it won't be another year until we are back!

Wrapping up the month of October with these pictures! Finn decorated some Halloween cookies. Fox has still been reading whenever he had the chance! This boy loves his stuffed animals! My patient crocheted this little pumpkin for me, it is now hanging from my rearview mirror along with the little heart she made me many months ago.  Finn had to have two teeth pulled in order to make room for his permanent teeth, and it was so sad to watch, but he was such a trooper, and Fox was so sweet to encourage him the entire time and hold his hand. We went to a basketball game, which was so much fun! I love hearing them giggle in Fox's room together. He made some brownies for my co-workers. Our work book club met at my house for our fall meeting, and we all dressed up in different wigs. My favorite co-worker Sonia! She always makes every shitty shift I have better. No one really enjoyed the book we read for the fall season (All the colors of the dark), but our next pick is a book that I wanted ...