Easter

Easter was great.  Saturday we had an egg hunt at Peter's parents' house.  All the cousins enjoyed hunting for eggs and more importantly eating all the candies in the eggs.  I think Connor was the only one that went home with candy.  The big kids searched for eggs beyond the arbor, while the little kids didn't have to look too hard to find an egg.   Chloe even found an egg and enjoyed snacking on it.

dying eggs

Sunday the Easter bunny left us some pretty cool treats.  Connor got a side loader garbage truck to go along with his rear and front loader ones.  He was so excited, he wouldn't let anyone else touch it for awhile.  It even has a musher handle that you twist and the garbage gets pushed to the back of the hopper.  We have been having a great time making garbage out of junk mail for him to pick up.  Chloe got a bubble blower, which we've had a great time using lately.

This weekend we went out and picked strawberries from the garden.

Peter suggested we give Chloe a fresh strawberry in a mesh feeder...it was quite the mess to clean up, but I think she enjoyed it.  The sides of her chair and the floor looked like part of a crime scene.

Spring Break Road Trip

This week Connor and I had spring break, so we decided to take a road trip and visit some national parks.  We set off on our adventure on Tuesday and drove through Zion after dark, arriving in Panguitch, Utah really late.  Wednesday morning we went to Bryce Canyon, drove down scenic route 12, visited Capitol Reef and stopped for the night in Moab.  Thursday we went to Arches and Canyonlands and stayed the night again in Moab.  We have learned that Moab is a touristy town and next time we need to rent a jeep and do some off-roading.  Friday morning we went to Goblin Valley state park and then headed toward St. George, we drove through Zion again (this time during daylight).  We thought our hotel was in St. George...it wasn't, it was in Huricane, so we doubled back after we picked up some frozen custard in St. George.  Then Saturday-today, we drove the rest of the way home.  We had a great time!  The kids were great in the car.  Chloe napped most of the drive, and Connor had crazy late naps and then was up late.  We also bought a portable DVD player, which kept Connor entertained quite well.

Bryce Canyon National Park

 Connor at the overlook

 Panorama view

 Connor and daddy in a little tunnel

 I love the rocks

Sitting at a lookout point on scenic route 12

Panorama of Capitol Reef

When we arrived at Capitol Reef-the kids were asleep.  I just love this picture-2 kids sleeping and the reflection of Peter and I in the window-we could call it a family portrait.

Peter and I enjoyed Capitol Reef

We stopped at a little old fashioned house that sold fresh pies and pioneer stuff.  We picked up a small pie and some ice cream and had a little picnic outside.

 Connor enjoyed his raspberry ice cream.

 Scenic highway 24

 Arches National Park

Connor and daddy pose in front of Balanced Rock

 Connor and Daddy under an arch-North Window

 Connor enjoyed hiking and climbing up on the rocks

Connor and Mommy hiked out to Turret Arch....we're the little tiny specks in the shady part of the picture.

 Double Arch

 Playing in the sand at the Sand Dune Arch-best place for kids!

 On top of a really big rock

 Connor and Daddy hiked out to Landscape Arch (Connor is on Daddy's back)

 Natural Bridge in Canyonlands-crazy scary drop behind them

 On the way to Goblin Valley State Park we had to maneuver around cows crossing the road.  The cow in front of us was stopping traffic so two others could cross.

 Goblin Valley

 Connor sitting on top of a hoodoo

 Connor and Mommy playing in the dirt

 Chloe and Mommy went back to the car early for some lunch...Chloe finished and then took a rather awkward nap.

 We stopped here for a potty break and Connor posed with some of the locals.

 Then we drove through Zion during daylight

Whew....now I need a vacation from the vacation.

Camping Fun!

On Thursday we packed up and drove to Sequoia National Park to go camping with Sean, Amy, Kirk, Heidi, and Amy's mom, Joy.  We had a great time and the kids were quite well behaved.  Thursday night shortly after arriving at the campsite, Connor started to act really miserable.  Of course this is out in the middle of nowhere with no cell reception.  We crushed up part of a tylenol and managed to get him to eat it with some applesauce.  By the morning he was back to his perky self.  Friday morning we ventured to the Giant Forest, visited General Sherman tree, played in the snow, went to a small museum, and hiked to Beetle Rock(shortest hike ever-perfect for two, three year olds).

 Friday morning before breakfast

It was quite cold in the morning and very cold at night....Heidi insisted on going around without a jacket and shoes most of the time.

Chloe getting breakfast

Kirk and Connor playing on a rock

Heidi joins the group.  At one point Connor says, "Are you all buckled up?"  When asked where they were going, Connor replied, "Costco."

Okay so we ventured up to 6000 feet and all of us left our heavy jackets back at the campsite.  So we all froze in the snow.  The kids though, managed to have a snowball fight and got very wet.

Connor liked the big trees

Connor and Daddy trying out Daddy's new hiking contraption...the piggy back rider.

Studly men

Chloe and Mommy

Here's the top and bottom portion of General Sherman

 This is on top of Beetle Rock...Sean is photo bombing our picture

 Connor climbs up the rock like a spider

 On the top at last

 While we were out and about we picked up wood from downed trees to take back to the campsite.  Amy read in one of the pamphlets that they handed us, that we're not allowed to take in our own firewood to the campsites and instead we're supposed to break off wood from downed trees.  Of course this is after Sean and Amy already bought a $10 box of 4 pieces of wood, that we burnt the night before. 

 So Saturday night we had a great fire going...and then Joy and Heidi fell asleep while we were telling spooky stories.

 Kirk fell asleep shortly after this picture was taken.

 Chloe was just as happy as could be.

 Connor was exhausted!

 Saturday morning Kirk and Heidi played with Chloe

 Kirk and Heidi helped roll all of the air out of the tent.

 When the cars were all packed up, we went for a little hike down to this river.  There was poison oak all over the place, so I didn't go terribly close to the water.

 We walked over this canal and thought it would be a great place to go tubing.  We ran into a guy that works in the area and he said he has seen people tube in it before. 

 Then we headed back to the car and drove down toward the visitor center.  On the way Connor requested that we stop at Tunnel Rock, so we did.

 After Tunnel Rock, we went to the visitor center and then headed home.

We stopped for lunch/dinner around 4ish at Wendy's near Magic Mountain.  Connor refused to eat anything, so we bribed him with a frosty.  He ate about 3 or 4 bites in the car and then started having a coughing fit and threw it up.  Peter pulled him out of the car and cleaned him up as he was spitting up more stuff on the street.  Mind you we parked right by the drive thru...people got dinner and a show.  Peter took Connor to urgent care today...Connor has a double ear infection, which he's likely had for some time now.