This is the picture I posted on Instagram for Field Trip Friday.
Check out that blue sky!
We had a great time. I drove down in Christopher's truck with Mom and the girls, Blythe, Makenna, and Ava. Guy drove Mom's car with all the boys: Blake, Luke, Brandt, Griffin, Crew, and Brick. Mikayla took her car, Cora, and Kila. The drive was long for the occupants of our vehicle; we were asked many times, "How much further?" Mom did read from My Friend Flicka which made the drive much shorter for me, but I'm not sure how much the girls were into it.
Clay's house is very nice. There are two bedrooms, a large living room/kitchen/dining area, and a huge rock in the backyard the kids really enjoyed scrambling around. We got everyone a snack, a drink, and had everyone go to the bathroom upon arrival, and then almost immediately Guy took all the boys off to the sand hill to climb around and sled. It was reported that the sled didn't work very well, but that didn't seem to dampen the fun. While the boys were off playing, Grandma Sue stayed with the girls and did puzzles and played games and Mikayla and I went grocery shopping. Apart from lunch on the way down and back, we made food at what I assume was a significant savings.
Friday evening, after a dinner of spaghetti, bread, salad, and the most delicious melons we purchased in Green River--truly the best cantaloupe and honey dew I have ever eaten--we went on a hike to Corona and Bow Tie Arches. Guy assured us the hike would take about 20 minutes, and so although we were starting around 7:00pm, he didn't seem to think the setting sun would be a problem. Guy apparently didn't take into account all the small people we were hiking with. We did not make it to the arches in 20 minutes; it was probably double that time. All the kids were good hikers, moving along without complaint or asking for lots of stops. But apart from Blake and Makenna, they are all small people, so they don't hike as fast as adults. It was definitely getting dark when we finally made it to the arch, and by the time we got back to the car, it was well after dark. It was a bit dicey, but we went cautiously so as not to fall and said a prayer of gratitude that we all made it back in one piece. We did enjoy the benefit of having no one else at the arch when we were, which I suppose is a perk to hiking late in the evening. And the arches were beautiful, the landscape stunning, and because the arch is outside Arches National Park, it didn't cost us anything to get there.
That's a long shadow cast by the late evening sun.
Brandt is doing America Ninja Warrior moves.
We saw lots and lots and lots and lots of lizards over the course of the weekend.
Brandt kept finding cool little niches in the rock and then saying,
"Mom! Take a picture of me!"
Happy to oblige you beautiful boy.
My mom won't like this picture.
Sorry Mom.
This is Corona Arch.
This is Bow Tie Arch
Looking straight up at Corona Arch.
The above picture is the view as we started back on our return hike. It was still light when we headed back to the cars, but was absolutely dark when we actually got there. I carried Brick most of the way back as we didn't want him wandering off and falling off a ledge. In the quiet as we hiked, Blythe began asking me lots of questions. Deep questions about love. She asked if there was a special place in my heart for Brick. Then she asked if there was a special place in my heart for her, and if that special place had always been there, even though she was adopted and wasn't my daughter at the start. She asked if there was a special place in Jesus' heart for her, and I cried as I assured her there was. We talked about love and our heart's capacity to grow in love for lots of people, especially those who are nearest and dearest to us. She wanted to hold my hand as we hiked and talked, and we shared a sweet moment as we made our way cautiously back to the cars. I was so grateful for the quiet time, in the dusky light, surrounded by God's creation, to talk about love with my precious daughter. It was a rare moment and I hope I was able to answer her questions satisfactorily.
We got back to the house late and everyone needed to get to sleep, but we had a hard time. All the children were sleeping in one room together. Brandt and Blythe were both in top bunks, Luke and Crew were sharing one lower bed, Makenna and Ava were sharing the other, and we brought in one of the roll-away beds for Griffin. After everyone had brushed their teeth and gone to the bathroom, I settled them down by reading several stories, including a book of short and funny poems. At 9:50 I said it was lights out and voices off and that everyone needed to go to sleep. Certainly that was really late for my kids, and I think it was pretty late for Ava, Crew, and Griffin too.
I went away but almost immediately heard talking. I went back in and asked everyone, especially Makenna, to be quiet and go to sleep. Then two minutes later I had to go back. Makenna was just talking and talking, so I sat down on the floor and began to sing Primary songs. I know really a lot of Primary songs, and I am certain my singing helped everyone but Makenna go to sleep. She, however, got out of bed and sat in the middle of the floor and was playing with something as I was singing. I brought her out into the hall and told her I did not want to hear her again. She had to get in bed and pretend like she was sleeping. She didn't have to sleep, but she had to be in bed, not making noise, not disturbing everyone else. It was well after ten before she was finally out.
I was awakened by Blythe calling out to me at 5:16am. 5:16AM!! Blythe said Makenna had woken everybody up, and sure enough I found Makenna, Brandt, Crew, and Luke, as well as Blythe, all awake. I told them it was too early to be up, that they all had to go back to sleep, and that I didn't want to hear a peep from any of them.
Like that worked. It didn't. They kept talking and I was so mad I told Makenna, Blythe, and Luke (who was coughing really a lot) to go sit in the garage. There was nowhere else for them to be and not disturb everyone else. Thing was, Brandt and Crew were awake too, and Crew said he wanted to go in the garage as well. Mom awoke about 5:30am, and as I was talking to her I said, "No one ever gets up this early except to go exercise." Aha! That was it. I had everyone put on their shoes and jackets, and we went out for a walk. If we were outside, we wouldn't be disturbing sleepers, and I wouldn't be frustrated trying to think of something for them to do. We looked at stars and houses and walked and talked. Brandt has his flashlight which he waved around making everyone sick. At 6:15 we loaded into the car and went for donuts which we ate at a picnic table by the grocery store. I felt silly going into the store in my pajamas, but Kent said I could just claim to be Japanese. By the time we got back, everyone else was awake, and we were able to get some additional breakfast and get ready for the day. I swore Saturday night would be different.
Guy wanted to take us on Powerhouse hike. It is a trail that goes along a stream--you cross it several times as you hike--and eventually goes to a waterfall. The hike was not strenuous, and we all enjoyed it. There was lots of vegetation, so we were hiking in the cool shade, and the waterfall was fantastic. The water flowing down through the red rock canyon was stunning, and the whole place was magical. Because we were hiking in the morning, we were the only ones there, and the kids played in the water. Guy and Blake jumped off the rock into the deep part of the pool under the falls. It really was just great. Ava asked at one point during the hike, "Why are we doing this?" I wasn't exactly sure how to answer except to say that hiking was fun and that's what you do when you go to Moab.
A Native American storage cavern.
I would have hiked over to check it out if I hadn't had lots of little children in tow.
Brick wanted to be in the family picture.
This is the family picture he should have been in.
Cora is an excellent hiker, inasmuch as she is happy to be hauled around.
She was very content looking at things all around her.
As soon as we arrived, the boys began throwing rocks into the pool
to see who could make the biggest splash.
Isn't this a beautiful spot?
Rock throwing
Brandt got stung by a wasp on the top of his hand.
He shrieked so loudly I thought he had broken a major bone.
We took this picture too soon after the incident because he doesn't look happy at all.
We hiked up above the falls.
Looks like a giant waterslide.
Having a short rest and a treat--
Granola bars and fruit snacks.
After we had been there a while and hiked up above the falls, Brick was ready for a nap. Mikayla and Mom took Brick, Cora, Ava, and Makenna back to the house, but the rest of us hiked further up the canyon to see petroglyphs and an additional waterfall. Again, the scenery was fantastic, we saw an arch along the face of a cliff, and the waterfall, though small, was very picturesque. There was more swimming in the very cold water, and more fun hiking. I thought the whole thing was great.
I'm pretty sure only the top two warriors are actual Indian carvings.
I think the ones below are more contemporary copies.
Small, thin arch, but an arch nevertheless.
A crayfish in the pool of water.
The second waterfall at the end of the trail we could hike on
without jumping into the water.
Kila was very nervous when her people got away from her.
Guy ended up on the other side of the water, and she didn't like that.
She leapt in and paddled over to him.
Griffin and Luke went next.
Then Brandt.
Luke jumped in.
Then Brandt
Then Blythe worked up enough courage to jump in the cold water and swim over too.
Swimming back.
Brandt and I ended up hiking alone on the way back. We had to stop to tie his shoes, and everyone else got ahead of us quite a ways. Like the night before, being one on one with Brandt gave us an opportunity to talk, and talk we did. About the birds and the bees. Brandt has been having some questions, he is at that age, and while Kent has talked to him a bit, he still did not have the full picture. He had asked me about it several weeks ago, and I've been putting him off, waiting for the right moment. As we began hiking back, I thought (was inspired), "This is the right moment." We had a great talk, with me offering explanation about God's plan for us on earth, how we get our physical bodies, and how the act of marriage is sacred and sweet and strengthening to a couple. I also talked about the need to only use those procreative powers within a marriage, and how society degrades sex in really awful ways. Brandt had some questions which I was able to answer, and I felt really good about the way the whole discussion went. There was no "Ew, gross!"-ness, and I could tell that this was the first time he'd gotten a complete explanation which made me happy. I didn't want him getting strange information from classmates or older kids at school. I hope that after the openness of the whole conversation, Brandt will feel comfortable coming to us to ask about things in the future. And I'm convinced that if I want my kids to open up with me, we need to go out into nature to do it.
Brandt is doing American Ninja Warrior moves up this hill.
Nice form!
I spy with my little eye a lizard.
Do you?
After our hike home, lots of water, and some lunch, we went four-wheeling. Clay has four quads at his house, but as we only had four helmets, we only took two with us. We drove outside town again, off the main road, onto a rutted track. There were moments when I wasn't sure we were going to make it. We went to some sand dunes in what seemed like the middle of nowhere, and we rode up and down the sand. It made me super nervous. I've heard horror stories of maimings, horrific burnings, and death, and I wanted all of us to leave in the same condition we arrived in. Guy drove one of the quads and Mik and I drove the other, riding smaller people around with us. It was hot and fun and exhilarating and just this side of terrifying, too. Fortunately, we all came away unscathed. While riders were riding, the watchers played in the sand, building tall hills and trails. We all came away with sand all over us, even those who weren't actually in the sand. I have hardly any pictures of this, mostly because I was driving and Mikayla was taking pictures. I'll post them when I can get them. In the meantime, here's what I've got.
String these next 14 pictures together and you'll get a panoramic view of where we went.
Did I say it was in the middle of nowhere?
It was.
The girls and Grandma Sue are huddled in the only shade available for miles around--
the shade created by the car.
Me quading with Brandt and Blythe
This is the start of the road back.
That's lots of sand.
Mikayla got a running start so we could go fast and not sink in it up to the axles (slight exaggeration).
Below is a very dicey part of the road where we were at a very sharp angle,
trying to keep the car on the right side of the road and not the in the huge and deep gully to the left.
We in the car all leaned to the right.
After four-wheeling in the afternoon and our morning hiking, everyone was fairly tired and extremely hungry. We had a delicious grilled chicken, corn on the cob, salad, and fruit dinner, then popped some popcorn and watch The Aristocats. The boys wanted to watch the BYU football game, but it didn't start until 8:30, and everyone was tired and willing to go to bed. They watched a bit of the game, then we read stories, including the book of poems they wanted to finish. I was very mean and didn't let Makenna sleep with the other kids. Everyone needed to actually sleep, and I did not want a repeat of the night before.
Sunday morning I planned on taking the kids to church with Grandma Sue. We got ready to go and found the church, only to discover that the regional conference we were having in Provo was also being broadcast in Moab. In fact, it was being broadcast everywhere south of the point of the mountain down to St. George. The conference didn't start until 10:00am, and we wanted to get on the road before noon, so we just didn't go. Oh well. We went back and loaded up, then took final pictures on the big rock in the backyard.
The drive home was uneventful. We stopped for melons and lunch in Green River, then for a bathroom and Cora feeding break in Wellington. We ran around a park there, giving us a much needed break. We were happy to be home, back with Kent, but we had a great time. I think we'll go again next year!
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