Isaiah's World: Speech Therapy and Beyond

Vacationing in Arizona

September 25, 2005

We recently went on vacation to the Kierland Resort in Scottsdale, Arizona. With every trip, we focus on making sure Isaiah has a good time. So we read through travel guides and searched online for things to do with kids in the Phoenix/Scottsdale area- after all Scottsdale is not exactly known to be destination for families with small children. (In fact, Harold, Isaiah and I were the only ones on our plane who were under 50!) We decided to take Isaiah to the Great Arizona Puppet Theater in Phoenix and the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park in Scottsdale.

When we headed to the Puppet Theater, Isaiah was not thrilled. He did not want to go to the puppet theater, but to the "puppy" theater. He insisted that we had to go see puppies. However, once we arrived at the theater and the show began, Isaiah enjoyed it. The production was called "Baby Bear Goes to School." It was perfect for the room full of preschoolers and kindergartners who had recently started school, some for the first time. Isaiah was able to answer the questions that the teacher, Miss Herron, posed to the three students: Baby Bear, Trina Skunk and Oscar Otter.

A few days later we went to the McCormick-Stillman Railroad Park. It was over 100 degrees out, causing us to be less than excited about wandering around through an outdoor park. We only stayed a few minutes.

Isaiah had the most fun right at the Kierland Resort. He loved playing in the pool and going to the Kids Club where he made crafts, had lunch, played games and went out to the pool. I wanted Isaiah to go to the Kids Club one afternoon. Isaiah had so much fun that he was upset when we returned to pick him up. He wanted to go to the Kids Club everyday.

Despite the great time that he had at the pool and at the Kids Club, I think what Isaiah most enjoyed was observing the surroundings that were very different from what he is used to in Illinois. He was fascinated by the cactus and the palm trees. He enjoyed looking at the southwestern, ranch style homes. He constantly pointed out things that were "funny-looking."

When we returned home, one of the first things Isaiah did was to draw pictures of what he observed in Arizona. He drew pictures of houses surrounded by different types of cactus and palm trees.

Turns out that we did not need to spend a lot of time searching for fun things for Isaiah to do. We was content jumping in the swimming pool and looking at cactus!

By the way, Harold and I also enjoyed ourselves. I had fun at the spa and Harold enjoyed relaxing by the pool

Stacey
editor@celebratingchildren.com