LABOR DAY RIVERS

We had a pretty fun Labor Day weekend- full of adventure, rivers, camping, and lots of fun. First off, we headed down to the San Rafael Swell to camp the first night. We love this place. It is SO beautiful and very remote, so not very crowded. It was a little rainy (and thus, muddy) but that cleared up and then it was nice.

Princess P and the 'hair extension angels.' (That's what she and Sister S named this part of the Buckhorn petroglyphs.

After dinner Big C decided some of the crew needed to brush up on their rappelling skills for the adventure the next day, so they practiced off a cliff right by our campsite. It was dark by the time most of them got down, but hey, who needs light to back off a cliff, right? (Sarcasm). Our family is crazy sometimes...

Princess P, Sister S and Companion B rappelled in the dark! New sport!

We woke up the next day and went to hike the Black Box in the San Rafael. It is one of my favorite hikes, but also holds very intense memories for our family- Sister S almost died there about five years ago. We definitely respect that place! It's a beautiful gorge/slot canyon cut out of stone by the San Rafael River, so we hike in water pretty much the entire way, even swimming sometimes (that's why the kids have life jackets in the photo).

The Black Box crew at Mexican Mountain! Ready to go!

After an amazing hike and some much needed lunch we packed up and drove to Moab to meet more friends. Moab was PACKED with people. It is a madhouse down there and I will be happy to never go there again on a holiday. What a joke! We ended up camping in a parking lot. Not the worst place we've ever camped, but not the nicest by far. 

Extra large piggy back on C Man. What a tough guy!

The next day was Sunday, so we put skirts and ties on and went to Church in Moab, then hiked, explored and played the rest of the day. We finally found a campsite by the river that opened up and go to move to a prettier spot. 

Video of Christian doing a side flip off the rocks at the big sand hill just north of Moab.

Gemini Bridges.   

The last day (Labor Day) we ran the Colorado River with some friends. Sister S and her friends went home, so it was just Princess P and C Man with Big C and I. We had a good day even though the river was pretty mellow (boring, as the kids said). It was a great last summer trip. 

Princess P in the kayak with C Man on the paddle board.

One of my favorite pics from the trip: My friend, hauling up her 'gear' from the river. hahaha

Loading up the truck after our big weekend. We were pooped!

HAWAIIAN VACATION ORDEAL

Sister S got to go visit her good friend that is attending BYU Hawaii. She had a great time and loved Hawaii, but it ended up being a pricey trip...

Sister S in front of the house I grew up going to with my family every year.

She got to swim with sharks!

Sister S at the famous (to me) Hukilau Beach. I have such a great memories of that beach.

Sister S dropped her phone off a cliff on the last day there. It was not good for more than one reason, because when she got back to Las Vegas she went to drive home and found that the car had been stolen. She kept having to borrow people's phones on the street to call us and tell us what she was doing. She ended up catching a bus to Cedar City just to get her out of creepy Vegas and we met her there at 2 am. It was quite a night. I am not sure why they wanted to steal a '94 Honda Civic, but I guess it happens all the time. The car had over 300,000 miles on it and lots of great memories for our kids, so it meant way more to us than to whoever took it. There has been a week of mourning at our house for the Hot Tamale, may it rest in peace.

MOAB SPRING BREAK

We finally got around to taking our kids on a Spring Break trip. We went to Moab with Big C's brother and family. The kids had so much fun with cousins and we had a great time hiking, biking and camping. I love Moab and especially Arches National Park. If the wind and rain had cooperated a little better it would have been perfect, but we very nearly got blown away and the rain limited our activities at times. I do have to say it was a fun trip though. 

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EUROPEAN ART TRIP- PART II

I got to go to Europe with the Snow College art department again. I went three years ago as well, and was so excited Big C let me go again. We went to Rome again and then to Barcelona. I wasn't very excited for Barcelona, but I ended up LOVING it! It was a great trip and I absolutely love Europe! I'll go again some day, mark my words! 

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I had so many photos, I just made a slide show.

Both times I've gone, I make a list of things to be missed and things I won't miss. Here's this trip's...

THINGS I WON'T MISS:

• Trying to find somewhere to go to the bathroom! Europe is terrible at providing public restrooms and workers are so rude about letting you use theirs. It gets really old. How are you supposed to stay hydrated when there's nowhere to pee? McDonald's saved our bladders more than once. 
• I also won't miss the horribly, odiferous bathrooms. Why can't Europeans get the pee smell out of their bathrooms?? Why is it so hard? They ALL reek and as soon as you get back to the US, the smell is magically gone. They need better cleaners or just better cleaning products.
• I also won't miss being on my feet all day long and trying to keep up with people (men) that want to speed walk everywhere we go. My feet are so sore and tired and still have scabby blisters from one pair of shoes. They need a rest. Some of our group had their Fitbits with them and we averaged between 10-15 miles everyday. 
• I also won't miss the crowds. Rome was unbelievably crowded! Easter is NOT a great time to visit the Vatican! The crowds at the museum were CRAZY! Wall to wall people. Barcelona was busy too, but not nearly as bad as Rome. I won't miss that in my cute little Ephraim.
• The last thing I won't miss is the long hike back to our hotel from the closest Metro station. It was in a very trashy area and when we would come home at night, there would be hookers wearing little more than underwear and stilettos on the streets. Yikes, it was awful! I felt so bad for them.

THINGS I WILL MISS:

• The food in Barcelona! Ironically, I was most worried about the food in Barcelona (I hate paella) and thought I'd starve there, but I ended up LOVING it! The whole tapas idea is awesome and I loved almost everything I tried. Sooo much better than Rome! Potatoes bravas and ham and chicken croquettes were some of my favorites.
• All the art and all the history. I love seeing art works in real life. It is an amazing experience and I never get sick of it. The history part of it all is fabulous too. Seeing the inside of the Colosseum and the Roman Forum this time was definitely a highlight. I am blown away that structures that old are still standing. I loved being there!
• The freedom of doing what I want without making dinner and being responsible for kids for a few days is always really fun. I miss them like crazy and I'm always ready to come home, but for a little while, a break is great!
• Being in Barcelona during El Classico was AMAZING! I wish so much that FCB had won the game, but seeing the excitement and feeling the enthusiasm of the fans during the game was so much fun! It was a very cool experience!
• Walking into a room in the Vatican Museum and seeing my favorite Caravaggio painting. I don't know how I missed it last time I was there, but I am so thrilled I got to see it this time. It is SO beautiful and most of Caravaggio's paintings in Rome are in dark little chapels and hard to see. 

Overall, it was a great trip. I had some reservations about going without a friend, but it ended up being alright. It was fun being a part of the group I was with. I made some great friends of the students and the faculty were wonderful! I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to go again. My next goal is Great Britain! 

SPRING BREAK IN CANCUN

My family was all over the world this year for Spring Break! It was crazy! Princess P and C Man were mad at us that they didn't get to go anywhere, but everyone else did. (I did feel a little bad- like I robbed a trip from them).

The girls she teaches with swimming in a cenote. 

Sister S got to go to Cancun for her break. (If you remember, she was already in Mexico teaching English). They struggled finding a place to stay and it was kind of an adventure in lots of ways for her, but fun too. I love the photos she sent to me.

She got to go parasailing!

Cozumel!

Selfie on a scooter? Now that's skill! haha

Sister S on a beach in Cozumel.

Sister S in the middle with the girls at Chichen Itza.

She happened to lose her passport on this trip and was very worried about getting home, but she's got it all worked out now. She's very ready to come home, but I know that Mexico has been a good experience for her too. If nothing else, it's helped her see she doesn't want to teach. hahaha!

CALIFORNIA HERE WE COME

My two college boys went to California with their buddies to camp on the beach for their Spring Break. I think they had a great time, but it was pretty windy and their stuff came back coated in sand. 

My boys are the ones in the hats.

Point Mugu, with no filter according to Awesome A...

KNOTTY BEAR CABIN FOR NEW YEARS

Big C got online one morning a few weeks ago and reserved a cabin at Eagle Point for us for New Year's! It is kind of out of character for him, so I was very proud of him. (He's not one to vacation much and he's definitely opposed to spending money- at all).  We invited all of his family and most of them came. We crammed in and had a great few days together. It was such a fun way to end our Christmas Break.

Big C and our B and SIL.

We got there New Year's Day and spent the first two day skiing at Eagle Point. The snow was great and it wasn't too cold. 

Me and Big C getting ready to go ski.

My boys! C Man, Elder D, Awesome A and Big C.

The girl cousins, skiing! Miss G, Miss A and Princess P.

Lots of the family!

Hot tubbing was a huge hit!

The beautiful cabin we stayed in- Knotty Bear Cabin.

MOUNTAIN BIKE RACE #5

The Championship Race was in St. George this year and it was fun! All the Gordon family that went down, stayed in the same hotel and we really had a good time! It was SO HOT for October (+80˙), which is great if you want to go swimming, but for mountain bike racing, it is too hot!

The cousins in the hot tub at the hotel.

Supportive parents/spectators/sponsors.

Our Division didn't race until late in the afternoon the next day, so we played around to pass the time.

C Man had a great race! He started at the back of the pack and took 11th out of 50 riders!

Racing hard!

Two of the Freshman riders and one of their coaches.

I'm not sure if C Man wants to do it again next year, but if he does, I'm on board. It was really fun!

COLORFUL COLORADO

We had another invite to my BIL's cabin by Dolores, Colorado again this year for Labor Day. We had such a great time last year and the older kids were thrilled to be able to go this time.

Colorado scenery is the best! This is a hike we went on and it was gorgeous!

We hiked to Geyser Springs and it was a little stinky, but beautiful!

One night the kids gathered around the kitchen table and read Sister S's books in different accents. It was hilarious!

At bedtime, the boys would gather round the computer and watch The Walking Dead and the girls would go read.

Big C went fishing again this year and let Princess P catch the fish this year.  

We went to church in Cortez again and some of the kids forgot clothing items...

The cousins in the beautiful valley.

We went to Telluride again and the boys biked up to Bridal Veil Falls again.

What a view! Is it redundant to say how beautiful this country is again? Too bad. I said it.

Art gallery on Main Street. They even had a radioactive cat from one of the photos I talk about in my classes!

Sister S with her favorite bumper sticker. hehe.

The boys ready to bomb down the trails at Telluride ski resort.

The free gondolas are so nice! I love to ride in them and see the scenery and they haul the boys and their bikes to the top.

Main Street Telluride. This place is definitely a family favorite!