Spring Break 2016

Somehow it became a tradition to go to the zoo during spring break.  In fact, I think we have only skipped a year or two.  This year it was fun to go back to the zoo this year.  There were some new exhibits and new animals to see.  It is always fun going with our friends the Cooks.

 We always enjoy our ride on the train!

 

 This lion drinking fountain has been around since I was a little girl visiting the zoo.  Kayden was captured in it's jaws.  Josh loved watching the real lions.

 Josh with his buddy Kaden (top) and Kayden watching the elephants (bottom).  I have gotten a picture of the kids with this gorilla statue every time we have been to the zoo (right) and every time without fail someone has their fingers up the gorilla's nose!

 The traditional ride on the carousel.

 

 Some of the other fun pictures from the day.  I think I have a bunch of pictures of these statues in my archives as well!

So after my trip to Sedona, the family got the itch to do some hiking in the fantastic state and national parks near us.  So we planned a quick last minute trip to Goblin Valley and Arches National Park.  We went to Goblin Valley one day and Arches the next day.  We spent two days hiking and exploring.  We spent two nights in a hotel in Green River--a town right between the two parks.

Goblin Valley:

 When we first started hiking in Goblin Valley, McKay was shocked that he had no cell phone signal.  "What?!?  No cell phone signal?  Isn't this a state park?  There should be a signal!"  Jeremy and I had a good laugh.  Despite no cell coverage, we had a great time hiking around the park.
 

 Enjoying the rock formations.

 Jaxon exploring and jumping from rock to rock.  Josh resting and enjoying the scenery.

 Awesome kids.

 

 We have been to Goblin Valley as a family when Kayden was a baby.  While there, McKay found the rock formation that is over his shoulder to the right.  He thought it looked just like a gorilla's head.  He loved that rock and even drew the rock and formations around it after we got home from memory.  He was determined to find "his rock" again this trip.  It didn't take us long.  We hiked all the way to the base of it.  McKay posed his hand so it looked like it was in the gorilla formation's mouth.

Kayden gave us a good laugh when he tried to go through some rocks instead of on top of them or around them.  He got stuck!

 

 We found a really cool cave that we climbed through.  It was fun to explore new places and see the amazing formations.

 Josh loved every minute of our trip!

 More exploring all the way to the edge of the park and also the entrance of the cave we explored.  Jeremy was inside looking out towards the entrance.

 

We hiked trough some narrows and then to the top of a small mountain.  Josh and Jeremy were the only ones to make it to the top.  For some reason, the air being thin made the rest of us a little light headed so we took it easy in some shade (it was a hot day!) while Josh and Jeremy finished exploring.  They loved the views from the top.

Arches National Park:

After a full day of hiking in Goblin Valley, we spent the next day hiking in Arches National Park.  We hadn't been here since Josh was a baby.
 

 We started our hiking early in the morning and decided to hike the most famous (and most difficult) hike first.  We hiked to Delicate Arch.  It was a tough hike but all the kids did great!

You can see just how huge this arch is by seeing how small our family looks at the base of the arch in the picture on the right.  It was an awesome sight.

 We drove around the park seeing many different arches and doing some small hikes to others that were just off the road.  One of our favorites was hiking to double arch.  It was two arches right next to each other and a view up to the sky between them (bottom left).  After that hike, McKay decided to see how daring he could be by leaping from rock to rock.  I was joking around with him and pretended like I was going to catch him.

His daring leap in slow motion.  It doesn't look like much, but it took a lot of guts.

 

 More pictures at the base of Double Arch.    There were some great views.

 

 More cool pictures with cool kids.

 

Mastering the art of the selfie at the Windows Arches.

We had a great time on our trip and we were definitely tired each night we returned to our hotel room.  It was fun making new memories by taking this last minute trip!