Monday, May 28, 2012

Mom's, rocks and lots of dirt

Okay, So to say I've had a busy few weeks is an understatement.  I know that totally contradicts my post a few weeks ago, but oh well. I'm going to first start out with mother's day. Best day of the year.  It's so nice to just have one day where everything that I do, work for, breathe for and live for is appreciated.  Why does that day have to be so short?  Here's my life and joys......even if they're a little naughty doing bunny ears....

I can't get this one to rotate which is a total bummer because it really is cute.  I saw this idea on pinterest and decided to do it for the grandma's gift.  They turned out so stinkin cute I did some for me too.  These are bookmark of the kids holding on to the tassels....
Then, last weekend we decided to go camping for Josh's birthday.  He's a 5 year old now. I know.  Yikes!  How the heck did that happen?  We went to Dead Horse Point (by Moab).  We got there pretty late on Thursday night and when we woke up Friday morning this is how we found Kate.  She is supposed to be sleeping on the other side of Rachel next to me but she somehow wiggled her way across the tent, out of her sleeping bag over to share Josh's pillow.  I like the whole bum-in-the-air affect.
First we went to Dead Horse Point.....No we didn't see any dead horses.  It was gorgeous. I haven't been to Southern Utah/Red Rock country in years.  I forgot how breathtaking it is.  But this was not a camp for relaxation.  I was a nervous wreck the entire time.  On the other side of that teeny tiny wall was a drop off of thousands of feet.  Yes, I was one paranoid mommy!
The kids absolutely LOVED it and would climb on every single rock they saw. 
Or, under every rock they saw...

Next we went on a hike to Mesa Arch.  Kate even walked the whole way, and yes...under the arch is  another terrifying drop-off with no teeny tiny wall to keep you in.
This was the kids favorite hike.....Whale Rock.  It really does look like a giant whale.
This is when we made it to the whale's head...
This was the 3rd hike for the day...I can't remember what it's called but Josh eventually got exhausted.
Once he picked himself up, the view was spectacular....
Some little munchkin remained perky.  She refused to ride in the backpack and everyone that we passed would clap or cheer for the kids because they were such good hikers.  These were even "moderate" trails, not "easy"  When everyone was huffing and puffing they would jump from rock to rock and pass them all by.
We finally convinced her to ride in the backpack on the ride down.  Another steep and scary trail.
That night it got sooooo windy. Tents were blowing over everywhere, and sand was blowing all over the place too.  The kids were hiding in the car and wouldn't come out so we decided to go back to dead horse point and play until bedtime. There's at least less sand to blow around on the top of a cliff.  The kids insisted that we say a prayer that the wind would stop.  Kate really wanted her picture by this rock....
Here's the girls in our red-hooded sweatshirt (dip dip dip).  When we finally got back to camp it was still windy but had calmed down a ton.  We shook the dust off of our sleeping bags and it remained calm enough to get ready for bed, read a couple chapters of Charlotte's Web and fall fast asleep.  Our prayers were answered! 
The next morning was Josh's birthday!  First thing in the morning he wanted to open his presents.  That's right folks....this is a  double-sided Darth Maul lightsaber.  Just what this boy wanted.  Rachel keeps claiming that it's from her but she didn't even know what it was until he opened it.  The rest of the trip we weren't bothered by any Sith Lord's at all.
We made our first stop for this day on a giant sand hill right outside of Moab.  It was like a vertical beach and way fun to play in.

And jump down.....
 Then we made our longest and toughest hike...to delicate arch.  Even though the hike was tough and Josh just about gave up, once you come around that last bend, the view in indescribable.  It is the most amazing sight.  Just making it to the top completely renewed Josh's spirits and he ran the whole way back down the mountain (jumping off of every rock of course)  But first we had to take some pictures.

Our last hike of the day was to double arch.  This too was just incredible.  If Josh wasn't humming a Star Wars song he was humming Indiana Jones because double arch is in one of the Indiana Jones movies and he thought that was so cool.
After double arch we went to a restaurant for dinner and started the long ride home.  About halfway home we stopped at a rest stop. I went to grab Kate's shoes to put them on so she could get out of the car and this is what I found. Completely full of sand!  And this was hours later...after dinner and driving for over 2 hours.  I can't believe she didn't say anything!  She's usually very complainy.  We were laughing so hard!
Here's one last one of the coolest light saber ever.  Don't worry, I still have more to come....