Spring Break Part 2

I have been having some technical difficulty with this particular post and have had to try so many different things to make it work.  I guess doing it over and over again might be a good thing, or just make me crazy!  So now I will continue on with our story....

At this point we have made it to Wednesday on our journey, and that means that we are leaving Green River and going a little way down the road until we reach one of the greatest places on the planet, known as Goblin Valley.  Eli kept calling it Goblin Ballet, so you can imagine what fun we had with that while we were there!

Again, we could have spent a great deal more time exploring the valley, but we did find a substitute turtle for the one that we took pictures on during our growing up years- that particular one collapsed not too long ago.  We made it over to the cave which seems much smaller, now that I am much bigger!  

Anyway, we decided that since we were in the area we needed to go and hike up the Little Wild Horse canyon.  It is a really fun spot and the kids got to experience what a slot canyon is like; water really does amazing things to rocks!

From this point we head out, and make our way to Capitol Reef where we will camp for the night. We loved the campground there by the Visitor's Center; we woke up to find a herd of deer wandering through the campground, which Eli thought was just wonderful.  I think the herd is basically domestic as the grounds keepers were trimming the trees with chainsaws and the deer didn't even flinch!

After a yummy coconut pancake breakfast, we spent a few minutes at the Visitor's Center then on to check out the petroglyphs along the wall of the canyon. (OK petroglyph is where it is carved out of the rock, pictograph is painted on... right?) It was a most beautiful day, the weather could not have been more perfect through our Southern Utah portion of the trip, it was just delightful.

We followed up the petroglyph sighting with a hike up to Hickman Arch.  It was quite a little hike for Eli, but I had some fruit snacks and juice to bribe him with along the way.  Zach, Kaija and Bella seem to be little pack horses, they are naturals when it comes to the hiking- I was  just delighted to be able to take them, though I certainly wish Joe was there to enjoy all these amazing experiences with us- oh well, next time!

Now this part of Utah is some of my favorite territory, Capitol Reef, Escalante, Boulder Mountain and on into Bryce Canyon.  It is a perfect scenic drive and there is no place better to stop for a bite of lunch than at the lookout atop Boulder Mountain- which is what we did, ah heart be still.

Bryce Canyon was gorgeous with a little bit of snow remaining- we lucked out here because we didn't even have to pay the entrance fee- hooray, because $25 is a little steep for 45 min. in the park!  There were patches of snow all around and Eli had the most fantastic time throwing snowballs at Gram and Papa!  Bella liked it because it was orange, her favorite color!

I think what I love about all these places is obviously the beauty, but also the peace and quiet to be had.  You know the kind of quiet that makes your ears ring for lack of things to hear; so much the opposite from New York City life! 

The conclusion of this day was wonderful, as we ventured to my brother Paul's house in New Harmony, we had the most lovely sunset to enjoy, then the great delight of seeing Paul and DeAnn and Kenlynn. 

Spring Break Part 3

So we arrived in New Harmony at my brother Paul's house. Thanks a million Paul and DeAnn for the 5 star retreat! The kids want nothing more than to live with you forever, same goes for me! The kids had a great time making fairies out of flowers, playing with the cool toys from Aunt DeAnn's stash, and following Cricket the wonder dog around- it seems they are less scared of a dog that is the size of their foot, imagine that!

We said farewell to Gram and Papa on Thursday morning as we headed to the majestic Zions National Park with uncle Paul- we were so glad that he could be our official tour guide for the day, not to mention he drove so I didn't have to! By this time the kids have been on some pretty hefty hikes and were quite worn out. Luckily at Zions there are many short easily manuvered trails for our hiking pleasure. We started out hiking up to the base of the Narrows, it was very lovely; Eli enjoyed walking along the rock walls and we were amused by all of the foreigners captivated with the squirrels. Granted they were quite frisky and in search of anyone who would share food with them- don't do it though, it would not be wise!

We had a nice spot of lunch after this little walk, then on to Weeping Rock, which is always a good one- I don't remember it being so steep to get up there, but it was worth it, especially since the kids liked it so well-what could be better than a great view with cool water dripping like rain from the cliffs, who wouldn't like it?

We opted from here on out for a short stop at the visitor's center and a drive up through the tunnels, so we could look out the windows carved out of the cliff walls. A great time for sure! We were stopped for an oversized load and had a chance to watch some rock climbers scaling the cliffs up above us. I am just not that amazing- yes I am a wimp, it isn't likely that I could scale a cliff to save my life- who knows even repelling, which I like very much, might be a challenge anymore!

On Friday I went with Jaz and the kids into St George to meet up with Clint and Judi (Joe's sister) for a fun little visit in their new digs. We ate at Pirate Island Pizza to celebrate Lili's B-day and Clint and Judi's anniversary, then we had some good hang out time at their new house, checking out their in home quilting business and current projects. For all you quilters out there you should check them out at www.greenfairyquilts.com it is worth a visit!

So the good times just keep rolling, that night we had the most amusing time playing a little game called Curses. My niece Kenlynn made me laugh until I cried many many times, and Eli can't stop quoting Aunt DeAnn saying "Play that one on me, I pitty the fool" over and over again! Poor Kenlynn was the butt of all the jokes- hopefully she still likes us!

Saturday we had to head out so I could be to South Jordan in time for Abby's first temple experience.  Papa wanted to make sure that we stopped in Beaver for some ice cream-so of course we did, it was a must as Jasmine stops there with Papa on every trip they have ever been on through that neck of the woods!

Well now we get on to the reason that we came to Utah anyway, and that is for the wedding of Joe's sister Abby to a very fine fellow named Randy Tesch. What happiness ensued with all the family gathering, such good times and wonderful memories with the family(s).

We had to make a stopover at Ikea on Monday with Auntie JoAnne and Jasmine and had lunch there with Uncle Juan too!  What better place right?  We sure wish there was one closer, I mean really, the very heart of the U.S. should have one- I would be happy with a Kansas City location, or even St. Louis would work for me!

Well anyway, Tuesday finally came and Joe finally came as well.  It was torture for little Eli who was missing his dad severely.  Every reminder of him would make Eli burst into tears, poor guy.  Needless to say he has been attached to his father ever since.  

Joe and I completely lucked out and got to have lunch in Provo with our friends Tom and Suzan Nelson, whom we met in New York.  That was really fun- the kids would have liked to have seen them too, but it was hard to tear them away from their cousins!

The wedding was lovely and Abby was an amazingly beautiful bride!  All the decorations were very classy and the kids looked adorable all dressed up- especially all the nieces in their polka-dot dresses.  It was really priceless to have everyone all together!  Oh, almost forgot to mention that it snowed and snowed in the morning, gratefully it was clear for the ceremony and the reception.  So now they are living happily ever after; what a great beginning to their story!

There is just too much to tell and I am certain that this post is too long already!  But, with that said I'll add some more.....

We are fortunate to be very good friends with one of Joe's cousins, Owen and his wife, Amy and their daughters.  We have to take any advantage to pay a visit to them when we are in town- gladly we got to spend time with them at the wedding reception and then on Friday night at their place in SLC- only problem was that we had to have a time limit, we just feel that time should be unlimited in these situations.

Well we finally made it home, now we are just recovering from the journey.  We are exhausted, but life doesn't slow down one bit for you to catch up.  We have had another crazy week, closing on our house, Joe hurting his back and traveling to Virginia and Jefferson City, so we have decided to take another trip for the weekend, and go to Ozark for General Conference and some more visiting with family.  Then we might have to get serious about life again!

Spring Break Part 1

So the journey to Utah was a most pleasant one! I flew my niece, Jasmine, out to drive home with me, and this was a fantastic decision on my part- (may you be blessed through the eternities Jaz)! We had a joyous time and did plenty of laughing along the way. First night (Sunday) we stayed in Denver, hit the nearest Chipotle for dinner and then started off bright and early to meet up with Gram and Papa Carter. We enjoyed the scenery immensely, and made our first real stop in Thompson Springs just off the highway and headed into Sego Canyon to check out the Petroglyphs- I have to keep checking with Zach to make sure I say it right, for some reason I get all that writing on rocks mixed up. It was a great start and the introduction to all of the drafty outhouse type restrooms that we would become familiar with throughout our travels!
From there we met up with mom and dad at the junction to Arches, and continued on our merry way through the park. Admittedly it was a real perk to have dad with his "Golden Pass" which made it easy on the pocket book! Way to be golden dad!
Arches was just as wonderful as I remembered it to be, though I can't recall how many years ago those memories took place. The kids really liked getting to hike around and see these places they have only seen pictures of, certainly Delicate Arch and Landscape were highlights! We could have spent much more time there, but alas more to see and do.

We opted to spend the night just outside of Green River at a neat little place called Crystal Geyser. We had an amusing little ride over there on the bumpy road. Grandpa was going a little too fast on this untamed road, and ended up hitting the jack-pot...pot hole that is, which sent the trailer up into the air about 10 inches or more. Eli was riding with them and mimicked grandma saying "Slow down dear". He continued saying that at random times while he rode in Papa's truck! That and "Slow down Texas", silly boy!
It was dark by the time we got there, so in our secluded little spot we parked the trailer and got to bed-except Papa who was trying to be a hero by (not) sleeping in the cab.
At 6:10 in the morning I realized that the sound of the geyser had changed and was in fact errupting- too bad my camera has no flash and was out of batteries. So all I got were a few pics on my phone. It was really great though we had fun watching it for the next hour as we got ready and ate our breakfast. What a blast, literally! Next we shoved off to Green River for gas and a little charging of the camera battery.

My New Game

I have found my new favorite game. I really should be packing for our trip, but I just can't help myself. Kaija is my playmate in this game, which is, spelling our conversations. It is really quite fun, everyone should at least try it. Admittedly, Joe is my favorite person to play it with, because it stumps him every time. I told him it made me feel "real smart" that I could do it and he couldn't. He has too many useful talents to get involved with my silly games. The funny thing is, I seem to slip into a Southern Bell voice while spelling...make sense of that if you can. So I think that I will use this technique while on the long drive to Utah- hopefully it will help to keep me awake. H-A-V-E A G-R-E-A-T D-A-Y!

Weather

We have had some interesting weather here lately, the other day we had the greatest clouds. Eli thought they were just spectacular.

And last night we had quite a little storm rip through here. I should have know that the really loud boom in the night that woke Bella up was lightning hitting the tree outside the front door. A little too close for comfort. It stripped out a very interesting path along the whole trunk and blew off some branches. We are counting ourselves very lucky. We have had a few electrical things out of wack today- hopefully we can get that sorted out as well.

Please just let the weather be fantastic next week- for our journey back to the Mother Land, also known as Utah!

Homemade Ice Cream

Well for Family Home Evening on Monday night Joe thought it would be a fantastic time to make homemade ice cream.  We had the first good snow storm of the season on Saturday and still had snow left over.  You just can't pass up that kind of opportunity, especially when it makes really great ice cream! (Certainly it is not an ingredient, but the chiller there of!) The kids were pretty happy with that prospect, and will be even happier that in the next couple of days the temperature will be in the 60's and 70's, which to me is a much more pleasant time to be eating ice cream, and doing most everything else as well!

The Mind

On Sunday we had the opportunity to become reacquainted with a young lady that we have been fairly closely associated with over the last 7 years.  I say reacquainted because while we were in New York she had an accident and now suffers from amnesia.

This is one of those things that everyone knows about, and is added into movies to add extra drama, but not many people actually know someone who has it, or who perhaps had it.  At least that seems that way to me.  I have spoken with her mother on several occasions inquiring after her, learning that it has effected her sense of taste among all the other things, like not knowing people and not being able to remember places or events. 

I wondered what it would be like to see her for the first time; it turns out I was so pleased.  She was glowing and had a crystal clear disposition, with eyes twinkling and bright with enthusiasm.  She bore an amazing testimony in our Sacrament Meeting, and you could just see how she is being blessed through this challenging time.

Talking with her after church was wonderful for us, though I am certain it was weird and possibly frustrating for her.  She said that she tries not to be in such overwhelming situations very often with so many people who know her; I just can't imagine what that must be like. Everyone who knows you and has memories of all the times spent together and you just have to sort of smile and say sorry I don't really remember that.  We suggested that perhaps she would like us even better the second time around;)

It really makes you sit back and think, wonder and realize what a blessing it is to have memories, but can it also be a blessing to not have them for a time? What do you think?