Easter Sunday

The kids woke up Easter morning to their baskets, I debated giving them to them before we left for Blanding, but decided to just bring them along. Thankfully church was at 11 so our morning was not as rushed, although it was still a bit rushed trying to get pictures in.

After church we dyed eggs and got ready to head out for an Easter egg hunt.

We ended up at Dry Wash. The kids had fun hunting for eggs and then playing in the water. It was cold but they were not afraid to wade in the water and climb the rocks.

It was a fun day. We are excited to have Grandma and Grandpa closer, but we will miss spending time in Blanding.

Easter Weekend Day 1

Easter Weekend (which I know was over two weeks ago) was spent in Blanding helping Rob's parents get ready for their big move up north. Rob had found a trailer for them so we were hauling it down with us which made for a slow and interesting drive, but thankfully after 5 hours we made it safe and sound.

 We spent Saturday cleaning out the house, getting rid of furniture, and making a HUGE dump run. The entire trailer was full, and it is not a little trailer. The kids were huge helpers and  were rewarded at the end of the day with swimming in the hot tub.

It was a busy day but we were grateful to have so much done.

The Mattress Sled

Rob came to pick me up so we could go out for the night, we were going to meet up with our usual group of friends, but tonight he had something extra fun planned. He had somehow gotten his hands on an old mattress and we were going to go out to the desert and pull it behind the truck. Not going to lie I thought he was nuts, but it didn't really surprise me that he had come up with the idea.

Fast forward 12 years and we while we were cleaning out Rob's parents house we convinced them to not move an old mattress and instead get rid of it. Rob decided  before it was gone that we should let the kids ride it.

We hooked it up to the back of the 4 wheeler and Nase pulled the boys around the yard. The girls decided it looked like fun and decided to jump on.

The ride did not last long enough for their liking, but we had to make it to the dump before it closed and sadly the mattress was coming with us.

Morris Family Reunion

We headed down to Blanding for our last big trip of the summer, it was the Morris Family Reunion. We camped for two nights at the church ranch. Rob and his cousins set up the bungee and a zip line, we spent some time at the reservoir, and spent lots of time with family.

I only pulled my camera out  at the reservoir so there are not many pictures, but we all did have lots of fun.

Arches National Park

Since Rob was working the entire time we were in Blanding we wanted to stop and do something fun together on our drive home.  I was a bit worried about the weather because it was snowing like crazy between Blanding and Monticello but Rob kept trying to convince me it would be sunny in Moab, and sure enough he was right.

We debated stopping to do a free hike so we could stick to our January spending freeze but we justified the $10.00 park fee thinking it wasn't that much to spend on a family activity.  When we pulled up to the window to pay our fee the park ranger handed us our map and told us to enjoy the last day of free entry into a National Park weekend.  I think both of our jaws hit the floor and we immediately gave thanks for that blessing.

It was still a a little cold in Moab, but nothing horrible, so we started up the 1 1/2 mile trail.  I was so proud of Hannah, she made it the entire way without being carried.  I think her confidence has been boosted after I made her hike the entire way into the Indian Ruins.

The winds had picked up when we got to the arch and I thought we were going to be blown right off the edge, Rob kept trying to convince me to go a little further telling me the winds were not as bad up there but the ledge kept getting smaller so I was happy right where I was.

Hunter and Rob braved the wind and the rest of the way to the arch while I stayed behind to take pictures and the girls hid from the wind under a rock.

*Rob took all of these pictures except for the last 3, and this is only a few of the many he took*

The wind kept blowing as we hiked back down and it even started snowing at one point. There was also some thunder and lightening and after living in Kansas my kids tend to panic when they hear any kind of rumble in the sky.

But despite the less than ideal hike out we had a great time.  I would love to go back and explore more of Arches and I am happy to finally say I have been there after driving past it so many times in the last 10 years.