Arches National Park I

OH MY GOSH!!! 

We recently went to Moab, Ut to conquer thee amazing Arches National Park with my parents.

We had such a great time!

It was so hot.

SO HOT.

But, oh.so.worth.it.

  

Before our trip we bought Miles some hiking boots to get him excited about a weeks worth of walking.

He LOVED them and did not complain once about our adventures!

 Our first priority was the Delicate Arch.

We knew we wanted to be there for a sunrise.

We drove all night and pulled into the park around 2:30am where Romney and my Dad grabbed their cameras, headlamps, water, and snacks and out the door they went.

They hiked in the dark to be able to photograph the arch with the milky way and the millions of stars.

There was no way I could stay awake all night.  

I'm sure seeing all the stars in person was quite an experience, but I just couldn't do it.

I set my alarm for 4:40am and left the kids asleep with my mom in the motorhome.

I was a little nervous to hike alone, I thought for sure there would be other hikers by 5:00 on the trail, but no.

BUT...

Low and behold 3 ladies from Taiwan who spoke very little English came out of the bathroom and I asked if I could walk with them.  

So, me, Janet, Sally and Cindy hiked together for a bit until it wasn't so dark anymore.

Despite the tiny trail markers, I made it to the arch at the most beautiful time of day.

She was glorious!!

 

I found Romney and my dad who had a blast shooting all night.

I was super proud of my dad (who is in his 70s) for staying up all night and hiking a straight up hill hike!

Go dad!!!

It really was so cool.

The colors were so vibrant as the sun hit the rocks.

I am so happy we were able to do this.

I cannot wait for our kids to get bigger so we can take them back.

(although I think Miles could have done this one)

 After the sunrise we headed to the double arch.

(you can see a tiny Romney and Miles in the blue)

 

Once we got under the arches, Miles just wanted to climb!

He loves bouldering.

And he loved how "sticky" his boots were.

Everywhere you looked there were more Arches. 

It was so amazing.

Andie and I sat next to a shady rock while the boys went off to explore.

This girl literally just wanted her shoes off and wanted to eat a granola bar.

Hiking wasn't on her agenda that afternoon.

preschool graduate

In a blink this boy is done with Preschool.

I cannot believe how fast time goes.

His class did the cutest program and showed off all that they learned in the year.

We are so proud of Miles.

He has learned to count and doesn't skip 16 anymore.

He can recognize all his letters and make their sounds.

He is totally into rhyming words and is starting to blend sounds to make words.

He loved singing "tooty tah tah" and loved taking things to share on his share day every Thursday.

His teacher, Miss Cara truly has been a dream.

She made learning fun!!

She knew his favorite color, favorite animal, his favorite things to do etc...

She knows her students and

I love that.

 Miles and Troy were buddies all year. 

They met the first week and have had several play dates since.

I am bummed they will be going to different schools for kindergarten.

But it is what it is.

 

Miles is such a cautious, nervous kid and he was completely out of his comfort zone.

But he did it!
And everyday when I picked him up he was laughing with his little friends and had a great day.

We love you Miles.

You are moving mountains kid.

 And now we will enjoy summer and start prepping for Kindergarten.

Last Disney day of the season

I know, I know I blog a lot of Disneyland,

but, it is the phase of life we are in.

With Miles starting Kindergarten next year, our disney days are going to become less and less.

So we have to go and enjoy it as much as we can while we can.

We had a blast in Bugsland.

The rides are always short!

Miles taught Andie...

 ...NO HANDS!

This trip we decided to park our behinds down and watch the parade.

WE NEVER DO THAT!

Why didn't we do this sooner?

They were mesmerized by it! 

They absolutely loved it.

They waved to all the characters and yelled Hi everyone!

and this was Miles reaction when one smiled and pointed right back at him.

PURE JOY!

Tahquitz Canyon

Before Palm Springs gets terribly hot we wanted to get out there to do the Tahquitz Canyon hike with the Tangs. 

It's kind of becoming a annual thing with them.

Even though we were trying to beat the heat it was still so hot.

It was only 90 degrees, but it was still so hot!

Once we got to the waterfall, the kids splashed in the water, we picnicked, and caught our breath for a couple of hours.

Andie loved the mud!!

And her outfit will never be the same.

Miles and I hiked down together and enjoyed looking for snakes and tried not to fall.

Andie fell asleep on the hike down....

and stayed asleep when we transferred her in the car.... 

(everything about this picture makes me laugh. Her wild greasy sunblocked head of hair, her wearing Miles socks, her pink tennis shoes, the dirty face and filthy shirt. I love it all! It's a picture indicating a FUN day)

See ya again next year Tahquitz!

Easter Sunday

The Easter Bunny came!

The babes were adorable going through their baskets.

They each got an Easter book, a movie, tooth paste...

a little toy and new pajamas.

We didn't do an egg hunt before church because we just didn't have time.

9:00am church is brutal with young ones.

So we snapped a quick picture and off we went.

As soon as we got home Miles wanted to get his basket and get hunting!

Andie fell asleep on the drive home so we told him that he could hunt but he had to help Andie when she woke up.

He agreed and had a great time looking around.

When little sister woke up Miles fulfilled his promise.

She didn't understand what to do at first.

So Miles grabbed her hand and took her every where.

It was so sweet.

Once she got it-she didn't want to stop.

After the hunt was over...

the two sat together and went through their loot.

 Oh I love them!

 

H A P P Y   E A S T E R ! ! !

Joshua Tree

Camping season has begun! 

We were so excited to dust off the winnie, air up the tires, pack up, and get out of town.

We made our way to Joshua Tree National Park to try out desert camping.

I am a fan!

However, the park was packed.

It was first come, first serve and there was not an empty site anywhere!

So that night we found a campsite outside the park with full hookups- so that was kinda nice.

The next morning we went into the park and found...

Skull Rock.

It is perfect for kids!

We bouldered all afternoon.

Andie didn't want to be in the backpack for very long, so we let her loose and she LOVED it.

I took Andie back to the winnie so she could nap...

(I learned from this two hour nap we need to have some books in the motorhome so I have something to do while she's asleep)

The boys stayed out longer and climbed   a l l    d a y !

As soon as Romney and Miles got back to the motorhome, we needed to leave so we could find a place to camp and this little boy crashed fast!

We ended up camping on some BLM territory.

It was fantastic!

We had foil dinners

and peach cobbler for dessert.

(andies camping hair is amazing!)

This selfie makes my heart smile.

I love that Miles put his froggy and monster truck in the dangling sheets like a hammock to keep Romney company.

On our last day we were billy goats once more.

Andie was out of the backpack more than in.

She just wants to be out and do her thing!!

Romney is really good at letting her be independent and lets her try things that I'm too nervous about.

(like letting her climb these huge rocks and crawl beneath them.

My mama heart panicked she'd fall and hurt her little body.  However she insisted she only wear one sock and I was fine with it....see, I'm not holding her back)

Miles loved LOVED LOVED climbing.

We loved seeing him push himself and love seeing his confidence grow.

 These kids were troopers!

Thank you Romney for working so hard so that we can go play!

I appreciate you.

As soon as we packed up and hit the road for home, BOTH kids were out!

....and I actually got to sit up front with Rom.