Mini Vacay

Chad has been wanting to do some yard-sale shopping for a while, in the hopes of finding a great deal on some old baseball cards.  Since our friend Joanna now lives in Thatcher, and since she goes yard-saleing with her mom and grandma every week, we thought we'd drive over there for a visit.  And then I decided to book a motel room so we could make a true mini-vacation of it.

After we checked into the Marriott, we met Joanna and her kids at the brand new "Frozen Treat Caboose" for some self-serve frozen yogurt.  We spent some time visiting, and the kids had a blast being together again, and wasted no time having fun.  Then when Tyler got home from work, we had a delicious dinner at Tony's.

The Marriott Springhill Suites was extremely nice.  Our room was a good size, with a separate sitting area, and a big bathroom.  This was actually the first time our entire family has stayed at a hotel!  The kids got a kick out of it, and Mason especially enjoyed the view of the pool from our third-floor window (being in a building that tall was a first for him too).

The next day we woke early to get a good start on the yard sales.  We ate our yummy free breakfast and headed out with Joanna's GPS and local paper clipping with yard sale addresses.  There were sales going everywhere, but not many baseball cards.  And several times, despite having a GPS, we'd end up driving into this:

And Chad and I would say to each other: "Do you think we've gone too far?"  Of course, cotton fields are everywhere you look around here, so you don't have to stray too far to be driving through one.  But they sure are pretty at harvest time.

Eventually, Chad found a lady who dug a large box of baseball cards out of her son's stuff to sell to him.  So it was a successful trip.  And we headed back to the hotel for some more swimming.  Yes, swimming in October.  It was genuinely hot out.  I'm not a fan of the endless summers here, but the kids sure appreciate them.

Not many would consider a short drive and stay in Thatcher to be a "vacation."  But we sure thought it was great.