Chateau de Riley

I really can't complain about the drive from Austin, Texas, to Phoenix, Arizona. It took us 15 hours, and we only had to make two official potty/food breaks (not including stopping for gas) the whole time. I had a heart to heart with Talmage before we left. I told him that since I would be driving, he'd be the man in charge. If Maidie wanted to watch a movie, he was the man. If Maidie needed help on her Leapster, he was the man. If Maidie needed help with her snacks, he was the man. If Maidie needed a potty break, well.... that's when it switched from "the man", to the "wo-man". And I tell you what, that nine year old kid of mine came through, WITHOUT complaining. I put my headphones on, cranked my itunes, and was in road trip heaven.

We arrived in Phoenix around 9:30 pm (that would be 11:30 pm Austin time). My little troopers and I were tuckered. So after a quick squish to Uncle Derall and our cousins, we headed off to bed. When I awoke, this is what I found.

Everyone had gathered in the game room where they were all posted up playing their electronic devices. It did make for a quiet morning.

Swimming has been a major part of our summer, so when the kids found out Uncle Derall had a pool, that was first on their list of "to do's".

Talmage perfecting his dive.

Eric, working on his cannonball.

Maidie, Paige, and Derall.

Back row: Talmage, Jared, Derall, and Eric

Front row: Whitney, Paige, and Maidie

Then our Riley cousins introduced us to a new form of cliff jumping. The "cliff" the kids would be jumping from was none other than.... Uncle Derall! Who needs platforms, or cascading rocks to jump off of when you have an Uncle who is 6.4'? We let the Riley cousin's show us how it was done, and before long, Talmage and Eric were ready to try.

Paige.

Jared.

Even little D, who isn't so little anymore.

Eric's first attempt was comical, as he couldn't figure out exactly how he was supposed to "jump" off. He kind of just perched on Derall's head for a few seconds as he processed the whole situation.

Here's the line to take the plunge. "Derall" jumping was a hit!

Talmage preparing for his jump.....

He had this look of terror the whole time!

Whitney.

For dinner, Derall introduced us to a restaurant called Pita Jungle. Really good food. Really different food for the palates of my kids and me. I ordered a Pesto Pizza, Maidie had some chicken, and Talmage ordered Pasta with butter as we wanted to be safe. Eric ordered some Lentil's (like his cousin, Paige) and was less than excited when he tried them. Ha!

And finally, here we are just before we made our way to church. What a cute bunch of little people!

Thank you Uncle Derall, little Derall, Whitney, Jared and Paige for letting us come and rendezvous with you for a few days! We love you, and wish we lived closer than 15 hours away!