Montana and Katie Visit

Montana and Katie came to visit us during their break between semesters. We were so excited to have them here. It was Katie's first time here and it had been 16 months since Montana had been home! It was definitely time for a visit. 

They came late on Saturday night, after spending most of the weekend with Katie's family. (Her brother got married) We enjoyed a nice, peaceful Sunday together, with a little Strawberry shortcake to sweeten the day.

I LOVED this! The boys wanted me to get out all the family pictures so their wives could see how cute they were as kids. I loved that we all sat around and looked at pictures and reminisced. Perfect activity for my little T2 heart!

Everyone chowing down on strawberry shortcake...

It's a favorite springtime treat :)

On Monday we decided to play tourist and go to the Needles Overlook and then to Moab to the Rock Shop and lunch. The last time I was at the Needles I was incredibly nervous that one of my little guys would be running and slip and then slide right under the fence and off the edge. It was very nerve-wracking. This day we only had one little guy with us and he is now big enough to allow me to be a little less overwhelmed when we're out in nature. It was a beautiful day weather-wise and it was fun to show Katie some of the amazing places near our home. I think I need visitors more often so I can get out and enjoy them too.

Montana and Katie taking a selfie

James loved all the rocks and lizards and 'hiking' I had a hard time keeping up with him and Curtis 

         It's a long way off the edge….Here you can see the Abajo mountains in the background

We just circled around the point following the fence line and looking at the immensity of the desert below us

 Looking over the edge. It makes me dizzy, as its hard to tell where the ground is, 

since everything is the same color

We went on to Moab and ate lunch at the Branding Iron. It's become our favorite place to eat there. Then we went to the Moab Rock Shop and meandered around. It was my first time there and there is SO much to look at. I found a few beautiful rocks but didn't buy them because I had no idea what I'd do with them if I bought them. Montana bought a couple and James bought a crystal arrowhead. It's a great place for those who are enamored with rocks. 

My mom and Hugh were just coming back to Bluff from Price, so we stayed at the Rock Shop and met them there so they could say hi to Montana and Katie. We had had a plan to go to Bluff that morning, but then found out they weren't even there, so we headed north instead. And I'm glad we did. It was a great day.

Montana and Katie left to go back to Rexburg the next day. I am so thankful that they took the time and made the long drive to visit us. It was wonderful to have them here! Thanks for the visit!

Spring Break Fun 2016 - Hiking

We did not have any big plans for Spring Break this year and it turned out that we scheduled a lot of dr and dental appointments during the week since no one would have to miss school for it. To balance out the practical part of our week, we decided that we better try to do a couple of fun things as well. 

The weather was perfect for doing some hiking so on Thursday, the 17th, we headed to Bluff to see Grandma and Hugh and hike the old Pioneer Dugway in Butler Wash. It's been a few years since we hiked that trail and now that the kids are bigger (boys especially) it would be a good day's hike. 

We bumped our way to the wash and parked on the top. Then we piled out and making sure we had our water, we headed to the trail. The weather could not have been better. It was a bit warmish in the sunshine and a bit nippy in the shadow of the canyon walls. You could get whatever you needed by moving a few feet. 

We ended up going further than we have gone before, down into the bottom along the creek. We hiked to a big cottonwood tree, rested a bit and then turned around. Some day I'd like to hike to the end where it meets the San Juan River. 

I was happy that Mom and Hugh could come with us. They are fun! 

I love where we live, there are so many amazing places to see. Like my dad used to say, "Why would I want to travel the world? I still haven't seen all of San Juan County!" 

The crew heading to the trail. 

I think I need some walking sticks like Hugh's

Hiking/playing on sandstone is so fun. 

This is an old wagon road the Bluff pioneers made to use rather than having to go up and down San Juan hill. Along the way you can see the cribbing they put in to create the road on the slopes of the hills. Hard to believe it's still there after all these years. 

Two of my favorite people!

There was a lot of water in the bottom of the wash.
Soren found a spot to sit and ponder

maybe he was just being a boy and throwing stuff in the water...

Some of them decided to try to find a way up different than the trail we came down on.
The boys were pretty determined to follow their dad up this sandy wash bank. Trying to make any headway climbing in sand is hard work!

Nice photobomb, Nina! (wearing the hat of Grandpa Karl's that she ended up with after he passed away.)

When we got back to the vehicles we spent some time rehydrating and visiting while the boys and girls picked up and threw rocks. Sadie was practicing her shot-put and discus techniques…

I managed to coerce some mom-child selfies...

Mom and Soren…


Mom and Charlie

Oh, and a selfie with my sweetie….

who are those old people??

Finding special rocks, (my boys LOVE rocks) Some of them had quite a collection but I told them they could not bring all of them home, so they chucked them.

Monument Valley Sunset

We drove down to Bluff on Sunday to have FHE with Mom and Hugh. We got there in the late afternoon and caught them as they were leaving on a little trip out to see the sun set behind Monument Valley, so we followed them. We turned south on 191 and drove toward "Toda" and then went up on a hill on the east side of the road. We got out and looked west and there it was. I had no idea you could see Monument Valley from here. It's a different angle for sure and very distant but it's still a dramatic skyline! 

After the light faded we headed back to Bluff and had a nice FHE and then headed home. We need to do this more often, like we used to do with Grandma and Grandpa Yorgason.

Sun just going down...

drops behind the horizon

now you can really see the monuments