Welcome to Parents R Us. It's been a bit since we've been around, and vacation has been part of the reason, which happens to be my topic for today's post.

If you have kids of your own, you probably already know that a well planned vacation can turn into quite an experience. Of course the big thing that I learned on our past vacation was that even when things don't go as planned, incredible memories are often born through those trying times.

This past weekend we took off on a Friday for the mountains, hoping to escape the hot 100+ degree temperatures, as well as work, for a bit. We planned our trip up to Sedona and Flagstaff, Arizona. Our first mistake was booking a room in Flagstaff, which is about 25 miles away from Sedona. The reason we decided to make this choice is because we found a great deal on a great "sounding" suite. The prices were a bit cheaper than down in Sedona, our target goal, so we decided to make the reservation.

After a stressful work week trying to cram all of our work into a few days, we finally took off Friday afternoon. Of course we should have made that trip earlier, since we spend a good bit of time in traffic, which often occurs on the weekend with many hot people from the greater Phoenix area heading towards cooler temperatures for the weekend.

The drive was beautiful. There were mountains all around, beautiful vistas to behold, and we were all set for a weekend of relaxation and fun. That is until we reached Flagstaff. We pulled into the hotel about 5pm, ready to unload, relax, find dinner, and really start relaxing. Well, that wasn't to be…

When we first arrived, the hotel was definitely much different than the pictures on the website. (It was actually one of the Choice Hotels group, which I've always had good experience with in the past). I wasn't very impressed, but walked in, figuring that perhaps the outer appearance would be deceiving…and I've never been SO wrong.

After paying for the room (who knew I had to pay beforehand, when did they start that) we went to unload in our room. As we walked through the door we were greeted by a cold wind. There on the floor lay the window, shattered in a million pieces on the floor. Now it may have been 100+ in Phoenix, but up in Flagstaff it was supposed to be in the 30's that night, so the wind was really cold. I couldn't believe that the window was on the floor, and to make matters worse, our 2-bedroom suite with living room turned out to be a ratty living room with another room crammed with 2 beds.

Talk about a bad beginning to a vacation. I immediately called the front desk as we surveyed the room. The carpet had holes, the entire room smelled horrid, the microwave had a huge dent in it, and then there was the window shattered all over the floor. I quickly decided that maybe working sounded pretty good compared to this disaster.

So, by the time the manager arrived, we weren't so sure we wanted to stay, even after they fixed the window. All I could think about is one of the kids getting cut on some leftover sliver of glass, not to mention the room was still so cold I was sitting there shivering.

It was now 6pm and we had to start looking for other accommodations. There I am on my computer looking for some other option. Our whole plan had been around the suite, with a room to give my husband and me a bit of privacy for a weekend to enjoy some romantic time together. There was nothing available in Flagstaff, and so I looked in Sedona, but everything was horribly expensive and no suites were available. Finally my husband called an old favorite of ours in Sedona, and we were amazingly able to get a room if we could get there in 90 minutes. The room was a room with only 2 queen beds, but we didn't have many options, so we took it. We knew it was clean, warm, and had a balcony with a great view.

So, we all loaded all the luggage back in the car, went to get our money back (which still hasn't been put back on my credit card I may add) and all piled into the car to take off to try and make it to the hotel in time.

Frustrated, feeling horrible, and thinking that this may have been a disastrous start to our vacation, we went on our way. However, as we drove, we were treated to a lovely sunset and incredible scenery as we traveled through the canyon and down to Sedona. I was reminded that often it is those detours in life that provide us with the most amazing views and scenery.

Finally we arrived at our destination, once again unloaded all the luggage, and then we had to find food. The hour was late, and places were closing, so we drove around for about 40 minutes trying to find a good place to eat that wouldn't cost $50 per person. Lol. We finally found the Red Planet Diner, an alien themed restaurant, not our first choice, but when you are that hungry, the décor doesn't matter anymore. We then scarfed down food like we had never seen it before.

The rest of the weekend was incredible. Even in our cramped quarters we enjoyed a great time as a family. We explored the red rocks, took pictures, and even spend some time in the Chapel of the Holy Cross, a beautiful little Catholic chapel right on the red rocks. It was incredible. There were the moments we spent time sitting on our balcony in the moonlight, enjoying time together, and even though the vacation had a bad start, it was a special time as a family. It wasn't the romantic time we had planned, but we all definitely grew closer as we dealt with everything as a family.

Of course one more thing that we learned on our trip home was never listen to women at antique consignment shops when it comes to directions. We were trying to take a new and scenic way home. We were given directions by a lady at "Three Sisters" consignment shop, an antique shop along the road we found. It took us the wrong way, which we finally figured out, so we stopped and asked a cop.

The cops directions weren't that much better. We were looking for a bathroom and a place to eat. I'd already been frantic to use the bathroom for more than an hour, but he said there was everything we'd need just a few miles up the road. Now that was a joke. We went through a portion of this town, but there were not restaurants to stop in. We kept going, thinking there must be something ahead. Then we found ourselves in the mountains. Nothing to see but mountains all around. The road was crazy, with switchbacks every couple of minutes, and by this time three of us were desperate to find a bathroom.

We kept getting excited when we would see a sign for a town ahead. Then the town would consist only of 3-4 houses, a small church, and a biker bar. Not willing to brave the bar, we kept going. The mountains seemed like they would never end. In fact, there weren't even any houses around most of the time, much less a gas station where we could find relief for our aching bladders. Finally in Peeples Valley, we found a lonely gas station. We practically ran through the door, as locals sitting around watched with curiosity. Finally we all had our bathroom break - 40 miles after where we should have. I truthfully had begun to think that there was never an end to these mountains.

We all got a little crazy, but thankfully we didn't have to find a cactus to hide behind to relieve ourselves. Lol. We all will remember Peeples Valley as long as we live. The wonderful people with the little gas station that had bathrooms.

So, note to self for the future:

- Don't ever book in Flagstaff again
- If the rates sound too good to be true…there's probably a broken window
- Never listen to a lady that runs a consignment antique shop when you need directions
- Population 5 people doesn't equal a town
- The best memories often come from the most frustrating times.