Conquering the Canyon--the Grand One!

Yes, Jack and I are a bit crazy--we have actually already done this hike once a few years ago and we decided to go back for more torture--and we got some others to join us as well! (Thank you wonderful Heywood family for watching our kiddos for us!) Actually, this is even my third time doing this crazy hike--Will we ever learn? Probably not! The rush of feeling that you have beaten this awesome site of nature is AMAZING! This first pic is after we got out of the canyon--can you see the fire of adventure in out eyes? Well, we had one...

We started at 8:30 A.M. that morning at the top of South Kaibab trail with Brooke and Pat McBride and three of Jack's brothers--Trevor, Tyler and Jacob. See the smiles--yeah, we are a little clueless at this point.

Brothers bonding

The site of the Colorado river was so cool--we were almost at the bottom!

These studly men felt they had to touch the river to really reach the bottom of the canyon.

We reached the bottom a little before 12:00P.M. Afer some lunch and airing of our feeties, we were back up for the real hike out going up a different trail called The Bright Angel--There's no turning back now!

Gotta love the new skin for helping to prevent blisters--cute shot Brooke! Oh, and lovely sweaty back shot of you Pat! (It's okay--you earned it!)

Hey--the canyon is now getting smaller! The hike back up was sooooo pretty--tons of little streams and waterfalls--and by the way, the weather was really nice--however, we were still pretty tired I tell you! After this spot Jacob and Tyler basically left us in the dust--However, we all got out before 6:00P.M. and we were all out within half an hour of each other.

Even though this is a pretty cheesy, "Wow, look at nature" shot, it really was true that we all felt that way. I firmly believe that the only way to see this place is to at least hike some of it, and why not do it all the way? Well, now with our sore backs, knees, calves and whatnot, we just have to wait a few more years before we forget the pain and do it again! Any takers?????

Ya know...

We have our children in a school this year where they all get home before 1:00P.M. I wondered when I put them in if I would really like it or not, and now I have decided--I really do! Even though there are some times when I would like to have some more time to get things done before they come home, it is so worth it to see them together like this... They have so much more time now to just be kids and play, and I feel they have gotten closer because of it. I personally think that the public school system has our kids for too long and after all the homework and after school activities they just don't have enough down time. So, there is my little soap box and here are my funnies being creative because they have the time to do it!

A blanket, some juice and crackers--what else do you need?
Life is good.

Pumpkins and Parties

Aaagh...the most pleasant part of pumpkin carving--the lovely goopy scoopy part!

But it is worth it for the reward--Jacob and Logan had quite a bonding experience with their "pirate pumpkin."

Cuties!

Well, we had quite a busy, fun weekend. We went up to our ward campout on Friday night, which was actually at a ward member's cabin. Obviously we had too much fun there, because we realized as we left that we forgot to take any pictures! So, after "roughin it" in the woods, we got back into town and ran over to Corey and Kari's for a pumpkin carving party. We had a fabulous time eating and laughing and carving and whatnot. I have a few pics, but if you want to see more, check out Jenny and Trevor's site. Sunday was a very nice day as well with church of course and family and friends over for dinner. Now we are back to Monday at just counting down the days until Halloween!

Pet Drama

Here’s a little insider info on what happens every evening with Caspian (our little poodle) and Hermione (our rather large—dare I say fat?—cat)

Caspian: “Doo doo doo…let’s see…what can I do this evening? Oh, here’s a bone—cool! I think I’ll—chomp chomp—chew for a while.”




Hermione (on entering the scene) “What ARE you doing? Gosh—don’t you even bathe? And by the way, did you know that I was here first? I am the original owner of this family, so just don’t but in on my territory—got it?”

Caspian: “I’m sorry—chomp, chomp, what was that you said? I didn’t quite---chomp chomp—catch it. Did you, uh, want a bone or something. Just ask the big people with your eyes…they’re suckers!”

Hermione: “Oh forget it! I think I will have to get physical for you to understand…Okay, here goes…” (Then there is a slight swipe of Caspian’s nose while Hermione is safely sitting on a higher spot that he can’t get to)

Caspian: “OH! You want to play!! Yes!!! I love playing—let’s go!” (And the chasing, jumping, and rough housing begins)

We figure that sooner or later Hermione will have to loose some pride or Caspian will have to get a bit smarter, and the two will suddenly be the best of friends!

Blog of the Dog

Welp, we finally caved in and got a dog! It was actually Jack's idea--he was over at our nieghbor's house and met this little guy and fell in love. SO, he is home with us now. His name is Prince Caspian, after the character in the Chronicles of Narnia series--so both of our pets are names after characters in our two favorite series--kind of cool! We've had fun with him this week, but dogs are definitely more work than cats! However, they give back a lot more so I think it is worth it.

Here he is after his first bath and attempted haircut--yeah, that was an adventure!

Also, Angie and Sunny got cute new hair cuts from Aunt Mel this week--THANKS for the new looks Melanie!

Sunny, oh so lovely....
Not quite as lovely the next morning....
Here's more dog pics, I promise I won't post this many every week--we are just excited new parents you know?

Caspian and Hermione--you will be friends--whether you want to be or not!
Another after the bath pic--okay, that's all I'll post! But isn't he a cutie! Plus, poodles don't shed either!

Emerald Pools

This was our second day of hiking and we let the kids take off their shoes and we all hiked along the river.

Feeding Zion Elk

Here I am feeding the Elk--I thought that Jack was

taking a picture so I kept trying to smile at him.

I was really fine after this, it was just strange to get used to it!

Climbing Checkerboard Mesa in Zion National Park

Here are the adventurers!

ZION!

We had a SUPER vacation this last week! It was very hard to choose pictures because everything is so beautiful there that we took so many! For those who have never been to Zion National Park--YOU NEED TO GO! We loved it and we still could have stayed longer and done more.

We camped at a pretty nice spot. It was camping, but they also had washers and dryers, as well as showers--very nice! Also, my mom and step dad were there too and they got a cabin while we slept in a tent--except the last night where they surprized us by getting us a cabin! Thanks!

Here we are on the River Walk Hike--the weather was perfect! The views are breathtaking!

What a cutie!

The next day we hiked The Emerald Pools--three beautiful pools--a bit more challenging for the kids but they loved it--we even explored along the river a ways.

Check out the foot grip!!

Exploration....

We had to stop at this spot because it was getting pretty rough--but we loved finding a little "fairy cave."

Yeah--we made it to the spot!
This was our last and most challenging hike--The Hidden Canyon. We had to hike up a ways and then we even hiked along a cliff edge--pretty exciting!

Awesome feeling!

Oh--it is so beautiful!



On the last day we got these cheesy shirts and on our way out of the park had to get a picture at the famous "Checkerboard Mesa." The kids enjoyed hiking up a ways. Well, the opening song for genereal conference is almost over--I had better get going and listen to the words of the prophets now--just wanted to post these in case I lost the pics or something!