Time to go home

It was time to go home and we were not ready to leave.  We could have lasted another week.  We had such a wonderful time.  Thanks so much to Cassie and Ben for planning such an amazing trip. 
The way home we decided to take a little detour.  We took highway 89 all the way to Nephi.  It was such beautiful drive home. 

Parker's is 7 and Bryce Canyon

Parker turned 7 today.  I can't believe how fast time goes.  I am so blessed to have Parker in my home.  He is such a sweet boy.  He is our peacemaker.  He tries so hard to be good.  He is so much fun to be with.  He loves soccer, the wii, legos, batman, star wars, avengers, coloring and being outside.  He is so good to his sisters and is a huge help to me and dan.  We love Parker so much and are so grateful he is in our family.  He opened his presents before we went to Bryce Canyon.  He got a bunch of Batman toys and some new lego sets.  We had his party with cousins before we left to make it a little more fun for Parker.
We set off for Bryce Canyon and the weather wasn't the best.  It was raining really hard.  Once we got into Bryce Canyon the fog was so thick that we couldn't see anything.  We were a little discouraged.  We decided to drive to the end of Bryce and work our way back up to the visitors center.  The first two points we couldn't see to much but by the third we were so excited.  The view was so wonderful.  I loved all the beautiful colors.  It is such an amazing site to behold.  The kids were excited to see the different points.  The rain started to slow down.  The day just improved little by little.  We set off to find Thor's hammer.  We explored at the top of the point and found the hammer and then we decided to get a closer look.  The way down wasn't to bad it was fun going down the switch backs.  Then once we reached the bottom it was really neat to see how narrow it got and the little caves and hide outs in the canyon.  But the way back up was really hard.  The kids did pretty good.  The boys didn't complain much but the girls were all so tired.  And they had good reason to be tired it was a hard hike.  Once we finished site seeing we went to a little rock store and each of the kids got to buy some little rocks.  The rocks were all different colors and sizes.  On our way back to the cabin we stopped off to get some ice cream for Parker's birthday.  The kids finished the night all cuddled up together and watched a movie and the adults played peanuts. 

Staying close

Today we decided to stay close to the cabin.  We set up a tour at the Best Friends Animal Rescue Facility.  We rode a bus through the facility and were able to visit the cat and dog houses.  The kids loved the animals.  They enjoyed the bus ride and were able to see some fun things.  Then we went back to the cabin and rode the side by side.  The kids tried to catch a few lizards and had a air soft war.  The girls rode the razor scooters all aorund the balcony.  Grandpa Mack and Abby fed the goat carrots.  We played a few games and had Mexican night for dinner.  We also tried out the sauna, wow what a way to relax.  Dan is trying to find a way to have one put in at home.  A perfect ending to a great day.

Zion National Park

The cabin is absolutely beautiful.  It has a wonderful view.  It is set back and quiet.  It is decorated so nice.  We have our own room, the boys have a room and the girls have their own room.  We have the entire basement to ourselves.  The cabin has a sauna, a huge jetted tub, a play room, a wrap around balcony(gated so the girls can't escape), a 6 seater side by side to ride on, a huge area for the kids to explore and a very friendly goat.  We packed our lunches and left at 7:30am for Zion National Park.  It is only 30 minutes away from the cabin.  The drive was beautiful.  We have never been to Zions before so were all so excited.  We parked the van and rode on the bus into the park.  We stopped at Weeping Rock, Grotto's trail, Riverside walk and the Temple of something I can't remember and a few others.  We took so many pictures.  We had such a fun time the kids were all so good.  We brought spray bottles to cool them down while we were hiking.  We had lots and lots of water and loads of snacks.  We stopped a few times to get out and explore off the trails.  One of the kids favorite things at Zion's was the tunnel.  When we went through the first tunnel we didn't realize that that wasn't the good one.  So when we went through the 2 mile tunnel the kids were screaming.  The windows inside made it a little light but it was so dark inside.  They could not believe that they were inside of a mountain.  They also loved the squirrels.  Brynlee even touched one.  The squirrels were too friendly and they were everywhere, we even had one get in the backpack.  The kids were able to play in the water at the last stop.  We thought that they would just put their feet in but no they all jumped in and were wet from head to toe.  What an amazing day!!

Cabin Trip

We have set off for a vacation with the Sandberg Family and my mom and dad.  Ben's dad has offered to let us stay at his cabin in Orderville.  We are so excited.  We have packed the car to maximum capacity, with everything we could think of.  We have a long drive ahead.  I have already made up all the meals so that once we get their we can just relax and have a peaceful time. 

A day at Temple Square

We took the kids to temple square.  We started at the Church History Museum.  We toured through the exhibits on the main floor and learned lots of new things.  The boys asked lots of questions.  They realized how hard things were before we had so many modern tools.  They also learned a lot about the Salt Lake Valley and the pioneers.  We didn't get to look at very many paintings because Brynlee was starting to lose it.  But once we got to the Book of Mormon exhibit for kids she was so happy.  It was so fun.  The had so many different activities for the kids to do.  Brynlee liked to fish the best.  Abby liked to dance with the spanish dancers and playing in the garden and make dinner for the missionaries.  The boys liked to build with the big blocks and play on the computers.  We stayed at the museum for quite a few hours.  Then we went to the Nauvoo Cafe for lunch.  We all liked our food.  After lunch we took pictures at temple square and walked around the grounds.  Then we went to the visitors center and looked at the Christus Statue.  After that we went to the Joseph Smith movie.  They have changed the movie in the past year so we were excited to see the changes.  It is such a wonderful movie.  This was such a wonderful day.  We are so blessed to have so many resources for our children to learn from and help them build their testimonies. 

Saying good bye

I always hate it when it is time to say good bye to Julie and Megan.  We have had such a fun time for the past two weeks.  The kids look forward to each day and the activities we have planned.  We love spending time together as a family.  We hope to get to go visit the Beck's soon at their house.  We love you and drive careful.