Homeward Bound

July 18, 2013: we spent two great nights in St Louis visiting with julie and Sid. We revisited Grants Farm again. The kids loved playing with the goats. The goats get pretty aggressive when the milk bottles are out and Molly was nervous so she asked to be put outside of the fence. They could have stayed there brushing and petting them for an hour. They loved the snow cones and we liked the free beer. I forget if I have mentioned that molly has basically learned to swim in the past week. It is amazing. After St Louis we went to Columbus, Indiana to see our friends from Taft, the Orbens. They showed us a great time. We went swimming in another fun pool with fountains and slides and had pizza dinner the first afternoon. The next day we explored Columbus playgrounds and saw some of the famous architecture in the city. We spent the afternoon at their lake house which was great to beat the heat. The next day we headed to Granville Ohio to stay with the Parsleys. I met some of my cousins for the first time!  It was great to see Tara and her kids. She took us for a ride in Bobs 66 mustang convertible to get ice cream. The kids loved that. 

Fun on the Way Home

July 13, 2013: Since leaving Vegas we have been putting in longer hours in the car in order to get home but not without fun stops and places to stay with friends. So far we have stayed in Boulder where we caught e up with old friends from high school and college. It was great to see Heather Frantz and her family. Our girls hit it off right away and had fun swimming and exploring in Boulder. We have visited two very old wooden carousels made in the early 1900s. The detail, wood carving and artwork is incredible. We stopped in Gage Park in Topeka, KS again for a carousel ride, train ride and a few hours at the fun water park. Casey overcame her fear and doubt and tried the water slide that has a high drop off. She was very proud of doing it. Of course Julia was dying to do it but was not tall enough. Now we are off to St Louis for a fun visit with the Holthaus's.  

Vegas Baby

.July 10, 2013: we have spent the last three nights at The Mandalay Bay in Vegas. What a treat after camping for a month. The kids absolutely freaked when they saw the hotel and our room. Their eyes were bulging, they jumped up and down with excitement and they were in awe of every detail. We spent our days in the pool. There is a regular pool, hot tubs, wave pool and a lazy river. James and I enjoyed a few bud light limes poolside and it was a lot of fun. We ate In And Out burger every night. On the last night James felt compelled to match Kevin Walsh's record 5 double doubles. We took the kids to see the Bellagio's fountain show on the last night too which they loved. We had a blast in Vegas and now begins the drive home. 

Zion

July 7, 2013: we got up early after sleeping in the town of Kanab and drove into Zion. This kids loved the mile long tunnel dug through the mountain. We were lucky enough to see a group of big horned sheep by the road which is apparently pretty rare. Our first order of business was to get a camp,site as they fill very quickly in summer time. We got a spot and set up our tent. You cannot drive in Zion in the summer time, so we walked from the campground to the shuttle bus and drove up into the canyon. We set out to do the Riverside Walk, which is the most popular walk in the park. It was so crowded, unlike anything we have seen so far this summer. We were all exhausted and a bit hiked-out so we just found a nice sandy spot near the river and stopped to play. The kids went fully swimming in their undies and we relaxed. Afterwards we rode the bus back to camp for naps. Julia passed out on the shuttle and finished her nap in the shade t our campsite. We took the kids to the park's nature center for a ranger led program about Zion's animals. These programs are so great and the kids loved the nature center. They made headbands with animal ears on them, we read books, they dressed up as rangers, and saw the exhibits about animals and life at Zion. After that we went swimming in the river again but right near our campsite. Julia got bitten by a fire ant and we had to run into town to get her some medicine because it hurt her so much. We had dinner and all went for another swim right before bed to cool down. Temps were just over 100 but it did not ever feel that hot so we were lucky. During dinner a family of deer came right next to our campsite. There were some large groups camping and as it was a holiday weekend we did not eat much sleep with a lot of noise at the campground. We woke up, broke camp, and got back on the hustle. We did a short hike to the Emerald Pools. Afterwards we stopped where a ranger had a telescope set up to see peregrine falcons nesting. We did not see any but heard them and saw the nest. The kids showed the ranger their Zion workbooks and were sworn in a junior park rangers once again. Then we took off for a few days out of the tent in Vegas!

Cedar Breaks

July 5, 2013: We all had a great sleep at 10,300 feet last night. James brought Julia and Casey over to the ranger program where they caught and identified bugs while Molly and I packed up camp. Afterwards we joined them. The kids literally spent 4 hours doing this. The volunteer ranger Ken was amazing with kids and filled with energy and enthusiasm for this task. The wild flowers are absolutely amazing at Cedar Breaks. After a day with the rangers we drove down to Kanab to be close to the entrance to Zion where we plan to go tomorrow. We are having a little swim and going to camp out.