Arches National Park

Yesterday we decided to go on a quickie spring break trip to Arches. We didn’t want to deal with a hotel and little cranky tots so we left about 8:15 a.m. (hitting construction traffic starting at our I-15 exit) and arrived home about 11:15 p.m. Each way was about 4 hours. A 15-hour day with lots of ups and downs… but overall a really cool adventure for our family. This is a major photo overload, but I just have been so stinky at recording our life lately and I don’t want to forget all the funny things about this trip.

We made it to the park and had a picnic. Tru only wanted to dig in the sand. He was in heaven. The kids found prickly pear cactus and thought they were so cute and little. They were glad to escape the car and get to run around. The weather was about 60 degrees and great! We walked .3 miles around Balanced Rock. It’s so amazing to see all those stacked and barely perched rocks. I definitely wouldn’t want to be there in an earthquake, but it really is an incredible creation in nature. The rock on top is 8000 lbs and will fall someday because the rocks underneath are being eroded. Abe always cracks us up with his funny poses. He also has to wear sunglasses and a hat because his eyes are soooo sensitive to sunlight.

We drove to see some of the sites… double arch, delicate arch (from so far away), Garden of Eden, North and South Windows. Hannah had her own map and followed where we were going. Tru loved walking his own way and at his own pace (which was very fast). He doesn’t exactly watch where he is walking but it’s so funny to watch him swinging his right arm so swiftly. He was oh-so-tired since we arrived right at nap time. He hung in there and was glad to be outside and he loved the hikes.

Landscape Arch (In Devil’s Garden) was the longest hike we did at 1.6 miles. I felt pregnant and slow (see that big belly!). Luckily Max was going slow so we were pals. He would stop every few steps and say, “You see my footprints”. I think he said it a hundred times. He loved the sand. He also carried his “Camera”/binoculars on every single outing. The funny thing is that he looked in the wrong end so everything looked little. He was a great little hiker. Abe carried all our water and he and Hannah ran ahead and all around. They really enjoy hiking too. Truman quietly fell asleep at the end of this hike on Jimmy’s back.

This is the same hike to Landscape arch, but Hannah kept calling it the Hike of Love. She commented on a couple and said, “They must be on their honeymoon because they are holding hands and they are dressed alike.” Then she turned her licorice string into a heart. And she found a huge rock shadow that looked like a heart. We held hands to show her that married folks with kids can be in love too. And she told us to kiss for a photo. Funny girlie! Abe and Hannah drew hearts in the dirt in honor of the LOVE hike.

The end of our journey. I renamed the 3 gossips to be the 3 wisemen… a cool rock statue. Pizza Hut at Moab. Hannah said it was such a fancy restaurant. We obviously don’t get out much. This pregnant mama loved having a hot tasty meal. We saw the petroglyphs in Moab and some rock climbers going straight up a sheer rock. Amazing! The tots finally fell asleep watching a movie. I looked back and Max had his blankie over his head. I think he likes to sleep snuggled in his blankets in his bed so he must have felt at home that way.

I wish I had more patience as a pregnant mama. I was a bit feisty with the tots when things didn’t go too well in the car. But overall, I really enjoyed our trip. Jimmy was really patient and fun. The kids got a surprise dvd for the trip (TANGLED). They loved that! One part that wasn’t photographed, but should be included as part of this adventure: public restrooms. I really think we took 50+ trips washing hands, taking 3 tots and a pregnant mama to the potty, etc. Public restrooms make me 1,000 happy to arrive home. I rejoiced in a nice warm shower to wash the grit and sand out.

Hopefully the kids will have a fun memory of our Arches trip. Hannah said, “Thanks so much for taking us on this most amazing awesome trip.” A good day with the fam.

{As for Tuesday: I knew we’d be cranky. I didn’t anticipate everyone waking at 8 a.m. after going to sleep at 11:30 p.m. I’m afraid my tears showed themselves this morning. We took Tru to his dr appointment and I was so grouchy that it was the longest wait we’d ever had at that doctor. Luckily, I just let the kids watch movies until lunch and quiet time. Then we rested. We enjoyed a nice supper of chef’s salad, baked potatoes, and yummy slush. Hannah gave an FHE lesson on honesty (a needful lesson after her day)… and we rejoiced when all the tots finally went to sleep at 8 p.m. We are one tired family. Hopefully the trip was worth it.}