Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Hannah walking
Hannah started walking on the 16th, and she seemed to master it right away. I finally took a video of her walking for those who haven't seen her yet. I like how she uses her baby gut to keep her balance.
Matthew and the pinwheel
I bought Matthew and Hannah pinwheels yesterday, and they are having a blast with them. Mark taught Matthew how to spin around to make the pinwheel spin. Then Matthew decided to spin and jump at the same time, with fun results.
Monday, April 21, 2014
Bryce Canyon
Our last stop on our trip was Bryce Canyon National Park. Originally, we were planning to camp the night and then hike Sunday morning before returning home. After our camping experience at the Grand Canyon, we amended our plans to just a short visit at Bryce. Matthew had a blast at Bryce and the view was as pretty as ever. We only spent about 40 minutes at the park, but the kids enjoyed being out of the car. Bryce Canyon and the Grand Canyon were both great hiking spots with a toddler because we could just do an easy hike along the rim trails and have spectacular views down into the canyon. We ate dinner at a nearby restaurant and then arrived home around 2 a.m., just in time for Easter. I'm so glad we didn't try to camp a second time.
Sunset Point
Mark and Hannah
Matthew, Mark and Hannah
Hiking the Rim Trail
Hannah Boo
View from the Rim Trail
Me
View from the Rim Trail
Matthew
Matthew
Glen Canyon Dam
To break up our drive, we stopped at the Glen Canyon Dam in Page, Arizona, to walk across the bridge. Mark and I have driven over the bridge several times, but we had always wanted to walk across it. The view was lovely. You couldn't see Lake Powell from the bridge, but it's just beyond it. The kids enjoyed getting out of the car a bit.
Matthew peeking at the road
Matthew on the bridge
River view
Mark and Hannah
Glen Canyon Dam
Matthew and I
Grand Canyon
Since we were in Arizona anyways, we decided to skip Sheredith's wedding reception and drive up to the Grand Canyon after the luncheon on Friday. It had started to sprinkle when we were in Mesa - the first rain in 2 months - and as we drove to we passed through scattered showers. About 30 miles after we turned off toward the Grand Canyon, it hit us that we ought to have checked the weather. We called up my sister-in-law and the forecast was scattered showers for the next full day. That put us in a bit of a pickle since we were expecting to camp with the kids that night. We decided to tough it out and hope for a break in the weather.
We arrived shortly before sunset and accidentally missed the turnoff for our campsite. Instead we drove straight to the Visitor's Center and walked out to view the canyon from Mather Point. Luckily, there was a break in the weather. It was pretty chilly out, so we decided to bundle Hannah up in her pajamas. Matthew was excited to finally be at the Grand Canyon - he had been talking about it for weeks. With our remaining daylight, we found our campsite and set up our tent. Then we headed into to Market Plaza to purchase some souvenirs and buy some dinner at the cafeteria.
Our night of camping started out well. We laid Hannah down in the pack-n-play, and she fell asleep without much trouble. I always figured that if we could get Hannah to sleep during our trip, things would be great. Well, it turns out Matthew was the difficult one. He ended up just screaming that he wanted to go home, and, of course, he woke up Hannah. So then we had two screaming children in the tent. Finally we decided to give up and go home, so we put both kids in the car where their screams were muffled and packed everything up but the tent. Luckily, Mark and I deliberated and decided to try again. We set up our sleeping arrangements again. We transferred a sleeping Matthew from the car to the tent, and with a bit of work got him to sleep again. Then we transferred the sleeping Hannah who didn't wake at all. Matthew woke up once more screaming, so we finally had to have him cuddle with me, which left me in a rather uncomfortable sleeping arrangement. Nevertheless, we survived the night.
On Saturday we drove over to the Grand Canyon Village and hiked out the rim trail. Matthew was a little trooper and did really well on our hike. We didn't want to wait for the shuttle bus, so we hiked from the Village out about a mile. We really enjoyed the view and the hike. By the time we got out to Maricopa Point, Matthew was about finished. From Maricopa Point, the view was astonishing. We took a shuttle up to Hopi Point and did the 5 minute walk back toward Powell Point. All those points had just spectacular views. Unfortunately, we wore Matthew out hiking the portion of the trail with okay views so he was too tired to hike the portions with the amazing views. We had a fantastic time. We left around noon and drove out along Desert View Drive and stopped at a few of the overlooks on our drive out. Lipan Point right near the east entrance was probably the best view in the whole park. The kids were sleeping, so Mark and I took turns getting out. It was so beautiful it made you dizzy. If you ever visit the South Rim, you have to visit Lipan Point. You'll never forget it.
We arrived shortly before sunset and accidentally missed the turnoff for our campsite. Instead we drove straight to the Visitor's Center and walked out to view the canyon from Mather Point. Luckily, there was a break in the weather. It was pretty chilly out, so we decided to bundle Hannah up in her pajamas. Matthew was excited to finally be at the Grand Canyon - he had been talking about it for weeks. With our remaining daylight, we found our campsite and set up our tent. Then we headed into to Market Plaza to purchase some souvenirs and buy some dinner at the cafeteria.
Our night of camping started out well. We laid Hannah down in the pack-n-play, and she fell asleep without much trouble. I always figured that if we could get Hannah to sleep during our trip, things would be great. Well, it turns out Matthew was the difficult one. He ended up just screaming that he wanted to go home, and, of course, he woke up Hannah. So then we had two screaming children in the tent. Finally we decided to give up and go home, so we put both kids in the car where their screams were muffled and packed everything up but the tent. Luckily, Mark and I deliberated and decided to try again. We set up our sleeping arrangements again. We transferred a sleeping Matthew from the car to the tent, and with a bit of work got him to sleep again. Then we transferred the sleeping Hannah who didn't wake at all. Matthew woke up once more screaming, so we finally had to have him cuddle with me, which left me in a rather uncomfortable sleeping arrangement. Nevertheless, we survived the night.
On Saturday we drove over to the Grand Canyon Village and hiked out the rim trail. Matthew was a little trooper and did really well on our hike. We didn't want to wait for the shuttle bus, so we hiked from the Village out about a mile. We really enjoyed the view and the hike. By the time we got out to Maricopa Point, Matthew was about finished. From Maricopa Point, the view was astonishing. We took a shuttle up to Hopi Point and did the 5 minute walk back toward Powell Point. All those points had just spectacular views. Unfortunately, we wore Matthew out hiking the portion of the trail with okay views so he was too tired to hike the portions with the amazing views. We had a fantastic time. We left around noon and drove out along Desert View Drive and stopped at a few of the overlooks on our drive out. Lipan Point right near the east entrance was probably the best view in the whole park. The kids were sleeping, so Mark and I took turns getting out. It was so beautiful it made you dizzy. If you ever visit the South Rim, you have to visit Lipan Point. You'll never forget it.
Mark and Hannah - Mather Point
Matthew, Hannah and I - Mather Point
Hannah and I - Mather Point
Mather Point
Hannah - Mather Point
Bright Angel Trailhead
Mark - near Bright Angel trailhead
Matthew as usual ruins all group photos
Hannah hanging out in the shade
Trail Overlook
Trail Overlook
Me at the Trail Overlook
Matthew at the Trail Overlook
Matthew and I taking a break
Maricopa Point
Maricopa Point
Mark and Hannah at Hopi Point
Lipan Point
Lipan Point
Sunday, April 20, 2014
Sheredith's Wedding
On Friday, my best friend and longtime college roommate, Sheredith Haws, got married in the Gilbert Arizona Temple. We packed the kids up and drove down to Mesa, Arizona on Thursday. The kids did pretty well in the car. Poor Hannah threw up about an hour from the hotel. However, she was a remarkably happy baby for the rest of the trip. It was nice to be able to see Sheredith so happily married.
Sheredith and Devin
Matthew and I
Mark and Hannah
Sheredith, Devin and I
All packed and ready to go to the Grand Canyon
Friday, April 4, 2014
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