Grand Canyon Trip: Sedona

After the Grand Canyon we headed south to Sedona, Arizona. Everything about this day was amazing and beautiful- including the drive! We drove right into that chasm, the temperature was low 80's- so with the windows down it was heaven on earth.

Going on a little hike: Cory and Devin looking chummy- Cory had forgiven Devin by this point for making him drive so far to get to the Grand Canyon.

Cactus Princesses and Prince

Myla was having a rough time in this wash- the ground was so uneven and she does not like help getting places.

I could eat this girl up. She is so delicious.

I can't remember why this rock is on my head...

It's hard to tell, but Will was the first one back to the car, and he thought it was a good idea to tap and "wax" the Rowe's car with sandstone. Oh dear- big dents and scratches. 

This Chapel of Holy Cross is built inside the cross. It's several stories high and "blends" right into the natural landscape. Pretty original.

Sliding Rock State Park: more gorgeous scenery.

Old water mill, Cambers was trying so hard to push it to roll...

Veena snagged the stroller seat while Myla was out sight seeing, and Veena was not willing to give her seat back.

Sliding rock has a natural rock water slide. We all got to play in the water for the afternoon.

Devin, Noelle and I all went down the water slide. The water was sooo cold, but it was a lot of fun. You only live once!!

We didn't bring swim suits, so we were "that family"

Doing a little sun bathing:

Cambry, Vienna, Will and Ava

These guys were so happy to be climbing up and down the red rock. These girls must've been lizards in a previous life! 

Here's me in the slide

And lastly Noelle- Devin got the best pics of her, so there are lots of them.

The Sliding Rock Swim team... We're all pretty special.

lastly, I loved this tree. It was growing right out of rocks!! Seems like a good metaphor... for something...

Grand Canyon Trip: South Rim

We all made it to the city of Williams late Tuesday night. Wednesday morning we started a little slow and sleepy- perfect for vacation. Cambry was happy to do her online pre-school with a cousin audience. 

Williams is a cute little town with lots of old school relics around like this little gem.

We were blown away with the majestic view of the Grand Canyon. It really is incredible.  

We ate lunch at this amphitheater. The kids were so excited to climb on red rock, it was hard to get food in them. 

Cambry and Vienna were so happy to hang out with Lily and Ava all week. Our girls are so similar, just a few years off in age.

All the Rowes and Rappleyes. People kept counting all the little people around us. Yes, 7 kids, 4 adults. 

Happy little goose

Veena living on the edge... ok, it looks worse than it is (it's not a drop off 5 feet away from her).

Myla is a little small for 13 months, and she's really fast. This whole week people were so fascinated with her ability to move. I'm so glad I was able to capture this crowd of Asians that surrounded her and took pics with her. 

Kids climbing the signs waiting for the shuttle

We went in a visitor center and we had our noses against the glass for so long. It really is amazing how deep and wide that canyon is.

We toured the little Native American dwellings. Pretty cool

my favorite person

love my people. love the Grand Canyon

Grand Canyon Trip: The Drive Down (Zions)

During my fall break, Joslyn and I decided to take the fall down to see the Grand Canyon. We have lived by it for so long, but none of us have ever seen it. Hello?!? It is one of the seven wonders of the world!

We passed the 100,000 mile mark on our car in Provo where this crazy family started.

Zion's was halfway between our house and the Grand Canyon. It made for a perfect break to get out and hike for a couple hours. We took the shuttle up to the emerald pools trailhead. The girls loved riding on the bus. (The buses may have been their highlight at Zions and the Grand Canyon).

The views are so stunning up there. Add a cute little munchkin (or two, or three) in there and the combination is just majestic.

At the trailhead.

One the way up, we passed a lady having a panic attack because the drop-offs we so high and there was no railing. Then this whole brigade came charging through. We may have almost caused a heart attack.

This girl is a trooper. She really loves walking and can do it forever. She hiked all the way to the pools (0.5 miles) twice, probably, with how much she back- and side-tracked.

The girls loved all the sand ever where. They thought that they were in a giant sandbox. 

A few of the beautiful scenery and happy moments that we caught.

Still going. Everyone would stop and just watch her go.... probably because she zig-zagged across the whole trail, but also because she is so stinkin' cute!

It was such a beautiful, warm fall day. Perfect for a hike. So glad that we got to spend it together as a family.

The trail went right under one of the falls (only a trickle in the fall) that emptied into the pools. Here we are making a dash for it through the little trickle.

We made it!

The girls were so brave and excited about using these chains to hike out from the pools.

Just the misses and I. So beautiful... oh the scenery is nice too. ;)

What a little gem!

Cambry and Vienna busy at work in their "home" that they found on the side of the trail. They are so creative and fun.