We got there on our son Chase's "angel day." 11 years ago, he was born and died 2 1/2 hours later. It's become much easier over the years, but I was glad to see my family on his birthday. We unloaded our bags at the motel then took a short drive to Negro Bill Canyon for a hike. It was a warm day, so hiking part of the way in the river felt like heaven. Claire wanted to walk in the water any chance she got, and all of my kids ended up pretty wet.
Near the top of the trail there was a small pond that was full of tadpoles and all the kids enjoyed catching them. This is my beautiful niece Anna with her catch! Ashlyn caught a wooly bear caterpillar and Dan took this silly picture of her...
Cute Brooke and some of the girls got the full body washdown in the river! Most of the little kids even walked in the river and did most of the hike on their own!
On Sunday we went to church, which was nice. We did think it was hilarious that on the back of the sacrament meeting program, there was a whole list of Mormon knock-knock jokes. I had never seen that before! We went back to change, then headed to Rotary Park and had a picnic lunch and played. Next, we headed to Canyonlands National Park. We did a small hike and stopped at a few amazing overlooks for some photo opps...
On Saturday, we headed to Arches National Park and hiked to Utah's iconic Delicate Arch! I had forgotten how massive it is! I guess a lot of other people had the same idea because it was a bit crowded at the top, but it was definitely worth the hike...
This is Ashlyn, Dan & Corey under Delicate Arch...
After Delicate Arch, we tailgated at Fiery Furnace and had lunch, then we drove to Sand Dune Arch. I think Sand Dune Arch looks like a Momma bear kissing her baby bear. We all took our shoes off and enjoyed the cool sand and my Dad took a nap. Ashlyn climbed to the top of the arch, which made my heart race! The kids buried Andrea, which looked hilarious, because only her pregnant tummy and her head weren't covered with sand. Claire screamed all the way back to the car because she didn't want to leave!
On Sunday we went to church, which was nice. We did think it was hilarious that on the back of the sacrament meeting program, there was a whole list of Mormon knock-knock jokes. I had never seen that before! We went back to change, then headed to Rotary Park and had a picnic lunch and played. Next, we headed to Canyonlands National Park. We did a small hike and stopped at a few amazing overlooks for some photo opps...
(Bottom right picture): My siblings & me... Funny that the brunettes and the blondes are on opposite sides!
(Above): Tyler and Corey goof off at the Upheaval Dome overlook.
(Above): Dan's not taking a bathroom break... He's trying to scare me to death!
It was a LONG way down!
On Memorial Day, most of the boys got up early and took a long bike ride so the girls and kids headed to Arches National to do the Windows Walk. This is such a concentration of amazing arches! We were back to the motel before lunch to pack up and get ready to drive home. Our last stop was The Moab Rock Shop, where each of the kids picked out a rock treasure. It was so great to see my family again and I hope we can make this trip a Memorial Day tradition!
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