Grand Canyon!

So....we like to escape every summer. And this summer we decided to go to San Diego and the beach. And then a bunch of political stuff started happening in Phoenix, and San Diego decided to boycott my beloved Arizona. Ummm...EXCUSE ME? So Nate and I immediately canceled our San Diego plans. And somehow managed to get Nate's entire family to agree to come to AZ and spend their vacation dollars here. Take that California. And our Grand Canyon trip was born. And seriously, what if I moved away from Arizona and we had never been to the Grand Canyon? That would be ridiculous. People come from allll over the world to see it and we are three hours away. (It was fun to hear all the different languages being spoken.)

So we were all set to leave on Wednesday. Nate and I both had to work, so we hurried home, and got everything packed up and I needed to go to Wal-Mart to pick up a few things. And I happened to hear the traffic report. Here's the thing. Phoenix is the 5th largest city in the country. But if you want to head north, there is ONE way out of town. O-N-E. And this particular afternoon, a semi-truck rolled over and caught on fire on our one way out of town. Grrr. So we postponed until the next morning and left at 4.

Getting all set up. Sammy is making sure she can't feel any rocks or bumps under all those mattresses. Her favorite book is Princess and the Pea :)

Megan and her cousin Abby had their own tent. Big girls, for sure.

Grandma Kris brought the biggest marshmallows we have ever seen. We had to roast each one three times.
As you can see, the kids really enjoyed them.

And finally the Grand Canyon! Which was by far scarier than I could have EVER imagined. It just drops off. No safety measures at all. And every time I turned around (or so it seemed) my kids were scrambling on all the outcroppings. It was enough to make me shake in my boots. And make my palms sweat. Megan wanted to get a picture of the two of us on an outcropping. I started heading out to stand next to her and I got vertigo! Had to turn around. Sorry Megan. This place truly is amazing. Athiests need not apply. How you could come here and not believe in God....well, I don't think that would be possible.
It is so big, it almost looks fake even when you are right there. It was impossible for me to even gauge how big it is.

Such a cute idea, Grandma brought duct tape and wrapped it backwards on all the kids wrists. As they hiked around, they could stick pretty flowers and stuff on the nature bracelets.

Don't worry about this guy. He made it out okay.
The first day we had hiked around the top of the rim, the second day we headed down into the canyon. We were hiking on the trail that you take if you are riding a burro down. I couldn't even imagine how awful and scary that would be! I had to keep harping on the kids to stay on the mountain side of the trail, seriously, NO SAFETY MEASURES ANYWHERE!!! Just thousands of feet drop-offs!

We had some pretty serious rain storms back at the camp site while we were enjoying the Grand Canyon. In addition to EVERYTHING being soaked, our fire wood was soggy too. Luckily I'm married to a handy dandy guy. He fashioned this gas fire pit before we left home. We could still stay warm even though we had no fire wood.
On our last day we went horseback riding! I rode Mississippi, Nate rode Guinness, Sammy had Lucky 7 and Megan had Cocoa.





And as far as I know, no one wee wee'd on the saddle. And yes, I would rather have kissed the horse than our guide, Badger.


Since it was just a couple days before Grandma's birthday, we were able to surprise her with a party. Well, I think we may have surprised her:)
Hiding from Grandma.
It was a great trip, so wonderful to spend it with family. I am so happy they were all able to make the long drive down here. I'm even happier that we all survived the Grand Canyon and that I can say that I've been there. And happier that I don't anticipate EVER going back, and I hope my kids don't take their kids there. It's going to take a good long time to recover.

Please please please, don't let my fear make it seem like we didn't have a wonderful time. We had a GREAT time! So much fun. Great company, food, entertainment. And if there wasn't anything going on, it was nice to just sit around and enjoy each other. Wonder where we'll go next????

Petco

I was reading the newspaper yesterday and noticed a tiny little blurb that mentioned Reptile something something, Saturday 11-1. FREE! WooHoo! Anything we can find different to stay sane in the heat is wonderful. So we headed over there. And not only was it reptiles, but it was dog and cat adoptions as well! And they let you play with and hold the puppies and kittys! It was pure heaven for my kids. Sammy realllly liked all the reptiles. I like animals with fur, so I was a little surprised that she loved them so much. But of course, you have to be careful with reptiles, they can be carriers of salmonella. So after every animal that she handled we would load up on hand sanitizer. However...and this is the best part of the afternoon, Sammy is so freaked out about the salmonella, that she didn't suck her thumb all day! (I guess the violent diarrhea and puking your guts out talk worked.) So we were entertained for the afternoon, and I learned how to break this horrible habit! I just may need to invest in a turtle.....can't you just see me rubbing her thumb all over a turtle every morning?

Anyways, if your kids love animals, I strongly suggest Petco on a Saturday afternoon :)

Piestewa Peak

Last night as we were lying around being lazy, Nate came up with the great idea that we should get up early and do a hike. (We are going to the Grand Canyon at the end of the month, he thought we should get some practice hikes in.) As I sat staring at him, he then mentioned that I could take a nap after we got home. Sold. I can be talked into doing pretty much anything if you use a nap as a bargaining tool. He then mentioned that the website mentioned that this particular hike is "difficult and strenuous". I always figure that those guidelines over-exaggerate, so I didn't think too much of it.

The plan was to leave at 4:45 to avoid the heat. So we were up plenty early and headed out. By the time we got there the parking lots were chock full. (It was 94 degrees) And so we started. And you know what? Piestewa Peak is, in fact, difficult and strenuous. IF you are in your mid 30's and you never exercise. Wow.

Taking a break, what a view! Proof that I got up at 4:30. It's windy up there!

We were lucky enough to enjoy this view, and we were only half way!

So, after laboring mightily, we got to the very end. Holy (insert your favorite four letter word)! It was hot and humid, luckily the wind was blowing. But we summited! (As I make it sound like we conquered Everest) I wanted Nate to take our picture at the top, and here I am trying to fight the wind and my hair and I'm telling Nate to wait a second until I can see. As you can see, he didn't wait. Funny guy.

And here is the picture that I wanted.

Megan is wondering what the crap she is doing up there. I tried to turn it into a spiritual and teaching moment, but she was having none of it. Strange.
My beloved Pa hone ix

Now, not only was the hike fun, but the people watching this morning was fantastic. And get this, some people actually JOG this trail. It was all I could do to lumber up the hill. Coming down we encountered a woman with a transistor radio blasting smooth jazz. Ugh. I would rather listen to my kids fight and your kids fight than listen to smooth jazz. I couldn't escape the guitar/flute combo. Gross. If I had had the energy...I would've tossed that radio off the side of the mountain.
And a summit self portrait. Too close.

There we go. I'm glad we did it. And I was really glad to get my nap in when I got home!

Champ!

We've got another blue ribbon in the house! Way to go Megan for slaughtering everyone in the Butterfly event! I've always thought that looked like the hardest stroke, and as she was swimming it, you literally could see the moment she pooped out, right at the end. And then you saw her give that last push and take it to the end. It was amazing! Congratulations kiddo! Love you!