Guard Shaving?

Guard is quite fascinated with his Dad's electric razor.  He always wants to try it out when Greg is shaving.  He loves the sound and laughs when Greg puts is against his check (with the cover on, of course).  Tonight he got it out and brought it to Greg.  Such cute expressions - I couldn't resist posting about an everyday thing.

Enoch's End of School

I think Enoch was ready for summer this year.  He had a good school year with a great teacher, but he was ready for a break and was relieved that school was almost ending.

Enoch has never really been into the dance festival, but this year he was surprising excited about it.  He really liked the song they were dancing to and he loves red, white and blue.  He did a great job and knew the dance well.  It was a cloudy, cool day, but all the kids did great.

 

 After the dance festival, I picked him up in his classroom and was able to see the class quilt that the students drew.  Each child drew something that they really like.  As you can see, Enoch colored test tubes for his love of chemistry.

 It has been a great growing year for Enoch.  He loved his teacher, Mrs. Humphries, and did great in the 2nd grade.

Onto third grade!

Arches over Memorial Day (Part 3)

Our last day of our trip.  We had already had so much fun.  Enoch and Kate declared this their favorite vacation so far and asked when we were coming back (already?  we haven't even left yet!).
Since we were driving home today we only had a half a day of fun.  Another early morning to fit everything in.  Before we left the KOA, I snapped a picture to remind us of the condo camping.

We drove straight through the park up to Devil's Garden.  Our destination was Landscape Arch.  Again, we were able to find a parking spot for our long motor home.  When we came back from our hike, people were parking 2 miles up the road.  There were a few very happy cars ready to take our spot when we pulled out.
The kids weren't thrilled about another hike, but we told them it would be worth it (and shorter than Delicate Arch).  They were troopers and kept going.

We can see it!  We're almost there!  Walking through the sand toward the end was tough, but the kids were so excited to see Landscape Arch up close.

Landscape Arch is amazing.  Enoch was particularly interested in the story of when the chunk broke off a few years ago.  He just couldn't believe it was still together.
On our way back, we took a short detour to see Pine Tree Arch.  What a fun arch.  You can walk all the way through it.  It was a great spot to relax in the shade and grab a snack.

There was one last arch on our list - Sand Dune Arch.  Neither Greg nor I had been to this arch, but it was mentioned as a must-do on many Arches lists.  It did not disappoint - it was so much fun.  A short, easy hike to a sandy spot covered in shade.  It wasn't too crowded and the kids were able to run.

 Guard was finally set free of his baby back pack and he made the most of it.  He had a great time in the sand - digging in it, eating it, throwing it.  He had a great time.

There was a sign clearly posted that said, "Do Not Climb on Arch".  So, of course, Greg, Jarom and Gavin climbed up to the top of the arch.  It was pretty high up but they were determined.

After the big boys came down, Enoch was determined to go up too.  I was shocked that he wanted to, but he didn't want to be left out.  He was so nervous, but Greg helped him up and he did great.  I was so proud of him!  He came running down and gave me a big hug.  What a kid!  Kate didn't want to go up, she was having too much fun playing in the sand.

We ended our trip with the kids being sworn in as Junior Rangers.  They worked hard to get their badges and we excited to get them.
We had such a wonderful trip!  The kids loved it and we will always remember it as one of our favorites.

Arches over Memorial Day (Part 2)

Amazingly, we were able to make it to 9am Sacrament Meeting in Moab this morning.  Not an easy feat trying to get everyone ready for church in a motor home, but we did it.
After church, we drove to Newspaper Rock.  It was a bit out of the way, but when else are you going to do it?  And, it's such a fun thing to see.

The kids liked this one.  Enoch thought it looked liked Santa's sleigh being pulled by reindeer.  They had a great time looking at the pictures and trying to figure out what they were.

Guard was just happy to be able to crawl around and be out of the motor home.

 Our amazing motor home!  We are completely in love with it!

After piling back into our motor home (we really need to come up with a name for it), we drove a short distance to Canyonlands National Park.  Canyonlands is not nearly as developed as Arches and most of the hikes are way beyond our abilities, but we did find a short one that we though we could all handle.
We slowly drove on a dirt road to reach the trail head of Cave Springs Trail.  This was the most amazing hike!  It was Greg's and my favorite.  The kids had a great time exploring the natural springs, the plateau, going up ladders and everything else.  We all loved it.  Warning - lots of pictures!

Old Cowboy Camp.

This was a big accomplishment for Enoch!  It was still traumatized from the heights at Delicate Arch so he really had to dig deep to make it up the ladder.  He had a great time once he got to the top.

As you can see, this hike had a little bit of everything and a whole lot of fun.  We had a fabulous time!
We were determined not to overdo it, so after the Cave Springs Trail hike we drove back to the KOA.  We relaxed, played some games and let the kids wander.  Guard found a rock and a stick.  What more could he ever want?  Guard had a miserable runny nose and sinus infection, so we didn't see his cute smile too often on this trip.  It was great to see a little grin.

Such a fun day!