Friday, August 16, 2013

Zion

Trip to Zion

We moved out of the house on the 24th, and then headed to Utah for a fun adventure in Zion!

Day 1 
July 27th


We drove through the Park to get to the house we were renting for the week.  
It was gorgeous!

And so was the house!  14 Bar stool seats and all!




Saturday night there was a rodeo at the Ponderosa Resort just down the road from us.
Too bad it got rained out!



And when I say rained out....I mean FLASH FLOODED OUT!

I have NEVER seen rain like that!


The rainbow was worth it though, and the kids didn't seam to mind playing in their huge room during the storm. 

Day 2
Sunday

Poor Vince, he was exhausted from all the driving and didn't survive church.

We spent Sunday taking pics, playing and taking naps.  

I have so many pictures of Vince sleeping in the Princess bed!

The boys caught lots of lizards, and scorpions!


We finished the night off with a rousing game of hide and seek!



Day 3
Monday

We went into Zions during the afternoon for a light hike.

Little did we know, it was INTENSE!  Waaaay harder than we thought!

But the Emerald Pools were worth it. 

 So many men commented on our men who were carrying babies on those hard hikes.  
Apparently we Mormons breed tough daddys!

Poor poor Brooke. She cried and whined the entire day. She HATES walking and hiking. 
We went to weeping rock and she cried the hole time. 
We have appropriately changed it's name to "Weeping Brooke". 



Day 4
 Tuesday

GRAND CANYON

We were stuck in a traffic jam so Grandpa Alan decided to entertain our fleet of white SUVs. 
I also had to change Ivy's diaper about 5 times en route!


Grand Canyon- AKA  A Mother's Worst Nightmare!!!!




Take a good look at us, cause we will never go back!

See those cliffs behind us? See those drop offs on the tiny trails?  See me sweating, yelling, freaking out, making sure each kid was holding someones hand????

I am holding on to Brooke for this photo!!!!

Beautiful, gorgeous, intense, stressful Grand Canyon trip.  
No one will ever forget it!

We stopped at Big Al's for some scary burgers and some cheap entertainment!

And finished our day with the HIGHLIGHT of my trip....

The Pink Coral Sand Dunes
 
 The weather was perfect, so were the children.



My favorite moment from the trip!


Day 5
Wednesday
 Up bright and early at 5:30..... the adults headed out to hike the Narrows!





I even bought $20 socks just for this hike!

Slippery rocks were no fun. 

But the views were spectacular

And leave it up to John to take the road less traveled and show off



By far one of the coolest things we have ever done!


Mom spent the entire day alone with 9 kids!  So when we got home we relieved her of her duties and took the kids on a scavenger hunt!


Day 6
Thursday
The kids got up and some of the adults took them on a kid version of the Narrows!
And of course I wasn't there to take any pictures! Someone forward me your pics!

Then afternoon we took the kids back to Ponderosa for some good old country fun!

The girls all wanted to go on Horse Rides

While Jack and Josh did some 4 wheel'n 
and zip lining!

Believe it or not, but this was Jack's idea.
And he walked off that platform by himself. 
We are still shocked.


Best buddies.
I will be so sad the day they realize the 5 yr age difference. 


Besides running around doing all sorts of fun things, we also did a bit of relaxing at the house. 
And Brooke patiently awaited her balloon hat. 


Day 7
Friday

Family Pictures
Why do these have to be so hard.
I do believe every single person in this photo shed a tear about these at some point. 

Sadly this was the best one of our family. Not my fave. 


 When the photographer was done, we did a few of our own. 








 I kid you not, THIS was the best one we could get of the kids.

Frame it Grandma!

After a very stressful morning and many breakdowns, we headed to Bryce Canyon for a fabulous afternoon!



Coolest place ever!  Not quite as scary as the Grand Canyon, but still a little dangerous!




 Next morning we packed up and headed home!

We were still homeless, so we stayed at Grandma Wheatleys before heading back up to Idaho.

Ivy was so happy to be home and out of the car!