Grand Staircase-Escalante

We had a great time yesterday. Our first stop was Devil's Garden. It was beautiful. It really should be named "Angel's Garden" instead of Devil's Garden. My girls had a fun time climbing on the rocks and playing in the sand. I had a fun time taking pictures. I took over 120 pictures yesterday. Here are a few:





Grandma's hiking buddy...

This is a rock snowman in case you can't tell.
Grandpa's hiking buddy...


I love these pictures. They are definitely my favorite Devil's Garden pictures. The light shining through the hole was just perfect.

Our second hike of the day was to peek-a-boo and spooky slots. Not too far into the hike, we were faced with hiking across the side of a cliff. Grandpa and Erin Joy made it like regular mountain goats.
I was very scared, but made it followed by Rachel and Grandma.
Rachel made it...Grandma did not.
Grandpa to the rescue! I was very nervous for not only my mother, but for my father by this time. I was scared that both of my parents would slip and fall down the cliff. There was certainly no cell phone service and the road out was a 54 mile long horrible dirt road.

It took a long time (probably 10 minutes, but it seemed like an eternity) before my mother was able to stand up and make it across the cliff.
My poor mother was shaking. Even her voice was shaking. After hiking a little farther, we were faced with another rock slope. I'm not kidding. It didn't look as bad as the one we had just crossed. I knew my children and I could get down. I knew I would have a hard time getting back up. I knew my mother would have a hard time both ways. We decided to let Grandpa finish the hike without us. Grandpa got some really nice pictures of the slots, but I can't get pictures from his camera onto my computer (he has a Nikon, I have a Canon and I just brought a cord for the Canon). He said he had to take his backpack off and squeeze to get through some spots. I was grateful we went back to the top and played while he hiked.
Our third hike of the day was a 3 mile trek to a beautiful waterfall. 3 miles one way...6 miles total...that makes for a long hike especially after already hiking twice. It was a good thing it was beautiful!
The next picture is one of my favorite pictures of the trip so far. Notice the blue stuffed seal...Snouts. Snouts has enjoyed hiking with Erin Joy. She talks to him. Last night, she helped him say his prayers and he is currently sleeping on a pillow next to her. Snouts has been great entertainment along the trail.

Both Rachel and Erin Joy have been great hiking companions. They are surprisingly pleasant to hike with. I love when they trot down the trail like horses, play with rocks, sticks, and make up their own entertainment as we hike.

Erin Joy and Grandpa are quite the hiking buddies.
Rachel took these pictures. I thought they turned out great.
In the center of this picture you will see a Hannah Montana footprint. That is Erin Joy's footprint. On our way back from the waterfall, Erin Joy and Grandpa walked ahead of us (they were the speedy hikers while Grandma, Rachel, and I tagged along behind). At one point, the three of us wandered off the trail. We had been noticing Erin Joy's footprints and the trail of her dragging stick. When we no longer could see her footprints, we knew we were lost. We were off the trail for quite some time before we were able to find the trail again.

Prayer really works. We prayed before coming back from the waterfall because it was getting late and we needed to hike 3 miles before dark. We prayed again when we got lost. Phew! We were glad to make it back to the car before it was too dark.


Calf Creek Lower Falls....very beautiful.
I loved the desert flowers and all the cactus. We have seen a lot of purple cactus. I never knew cactus could be purple.

Spring Breaking in Southern Utah

After a LONG drive, we were so excited to see Utah. Yes, I did the silly tourist thing and made my children stand in front of the "Welcome to Utah" sign. Yes, Erin Joy is in her pajamas. Sometimes it is easier to travel this way:) Rachel is plugging her ears because the freeway noise bothered her.This is my Great-Grandpa's house. My parents lived here while they attended school. This was their first house and the house I lived in as a baby.
We played with our cousins in Northern Utah before making the journey to Southern Utah.
Our first hike in Bryce Canyon was to a beautiful waterfall and neat cave. Imagine a waterfall spilling over a cave filled with huge blue ice pillars. The battery in my camera died before we got to the waterfall and cave. My father has pictures and I will get them from him later.
Bryce Canyon is incredibly beautiful. My pictures don't even begin to show the beauty of the area.




Our easy hike turned out to be longer and more treacherous than we thought.

This was a very scary spot on the trail. It was worse than it looks. Trying to get around the rock formation without slipping down the side of a cliff was terrifying. We all made it.
This is a Bristlecone pine tree... small but beautiful. This tree can live to be over 5,000 years old. The trees in Bryce are young...only about 1,500 years old.

We enjoyed a beautiful sunset and moon rise, but my cheap little camera can't even begin to capture the beauty we saw. Amazingly beautiful.

We were exhausted and ready for bed by the end of the day.

Hoppy Easter!

Fun with Erin Joy

While Rachel was at dance class, Erin Joy and I enjoyed a beautiful day in the park. She was the teacher and I was one of her many students (the rest were invisible, but they were definitely there...Erin Joy kept talking to them). Erin Joy is so fun to be with. She has the cutest personality. (I'm probably just biased, but this is my blog so I can say whatever I want). I think this video captures her personality and her imagination pretty well. I love you, Erin Joy!

Why Is Erin Joy Lucky?

"I think I'm lucky because I like my sister."

Isn't that so sweet! I sure love my girls:)

Erin Go Bragh!

My sweet little Erin girl:) Rachel wants a holiday just for her too. Hmmmm....have to make something up for her. A nasty little leprechaun came to our house. He left little green footprints and turned over furniture. He came to my classroom and caused havoc too. He tipped over a few desks (the messy ones that needed cleaning anyway), scattered chairs everywhere, tipped over garbage cans and so forth.