Moab, Price, Birthday

We haven't been camping all summer long and with Helene and Andrew deciding to go to Moab, we decided we would tag along. We all had to work on Thursday and Ashton and Gavin had school (Gavin is in Kindergarten and Ashton in preschool). So, we didn't leave for Moab until 6:00. We ate fast food in the car and drove to Price. We visited Mike's parents for a minute and met up with Helene and Andrew there (they were 20-40 minutes ahead of us). Then we drove to Moab. I couldn't believe how busy it was. We got the last camping spot in the campground. And we know why it was the last one filled. It was terrible. We slept on sticker bushes (good thing we had sleeping pads). But Helene and Andrew's big air mattress was popped by the sticker bushes. But because we got there late, my kids went to bed great, and slept well. In fact we were worried about the weather since it was supposed to be a cold and wet weekend. But it was great in South Eastern Utah. In fact Mike and I slept way to warm on Thursday night.

Friday morning was eventful. We let the kids play around our camp site. The kids are getting old enough that we don't have to keep such a close eye on them. Emma while hiking up near some of the red rock, got a big black army ant in her shirt. It bit her in her armpit 2 or 3 times before I figured out what was going on. Then she sobbed the rest of the morning till I was able to get her some Benadryl at the grocery store. Ashton and Gavin ended up disturbing some bees. Ashton was screaming that his head hurt, but we couldn't fine any sting. Needless to say, we were glad to leave our camping spot.


Once we stopped at the gas station and grocery store, we went into Arches. Our first stop was double arch. It was a short walk, but fun because you can climb around in there. But it got really busy.



Next we went to Landscape arch. It was about a mile walk, but the kids did pretty good. Emma needed to be carried some, and at the end I carried Ashton because all the other kids were being carried. But he could have made it.



Next we stopped for lunch (by now it was 1:00 or 2:00). Of course our Emma wanted to eat what Brynn was eating and not our food. And we can't go anywhere without incidences. Gavin caught his shirt while climbing a tree and couldn't get down. Then Gavin pooped outside. Followed by Brynn peeing her pants, and Ashton pooping outside. Note, there was a bathroom just about 20 feet away.

Next we went to play at Sand Dune Arch. I had never been to this arch before. It was really cool. It was pretty empty when we showed up, but got really busy by the time we left. It was getting windy too, so we were eating a lot of sand.



Finally our last feat of the day was to do the hike to Delicate Arch. I was glad I made Mike pack the backpack for Emma. She was not up to doing the 3 mile hike. In fact, she fell asleep for the first 1/2 mile until I showed up and talked to her for a minute. Ashton and Gavin did pretty good. Gavin had a little break down on the hike up (Ashton was winning), but they did the hike without anyone carrying them, and I was so proud.

We climbed up into what the kids called Wind Arch (just before you get to Delicate Arch and you can get a cool view of it). But again, Gavin was having issues, he hated the wind. In fact it was really windy in Wind Arch, but also up there by Delicate Arch. We kept a close watch on the kids because the wind would gust; it was pretty powerful.





We finished our day by eating at the Pizza Hut in Moab and finally driving to Price. My kids fell asleep in the car, and didn't even get a bath (although they needed one) that night, I just put them straight in bed.

Saturday morning brought my birthday. Needless to say, it was uneventful (and probably better that way). We ate a lot of food, and watched conference. During the second session of conference, they brought out a cake, sang, and had me blow out candles. That was the extent of my birthday celebration. In fact, I didn't even leave the house that day. Mike did clean out the Pilot for me (between sessions of conference). And we had intended to watch the new Fantastic Four's Silver Surfer Movie. Mike watched it, but they started it at 10:30 or 11:00, so I didn't end up watching it.

The highlight of the day was when the boys came home from a trip to the field near Mike's parents house. The little boys got themselves covered in mud. They were required to take off their clothes on the front porch. When I made it out there to get Ashton, he had listened and was completely naked. I broke into laughter. Gavin on the other hand was in underwear and a t-shirt. I put the two boys in the shower and ran a load of laundry. Hunter hadn't got as messy as Ashton and Gavin, he avoided the shower and had to have very little put in the laundry. (Note, Ashton and Hunter are 2 weeks apart in age. Gavin is about 10 months older than Ashton and Hunter. We tend to spend more time with Helene and Andrew and so Ashton and Gavin are better friends with each other, but still play with Hunter.)

Sunday was more of the same. Lots of good food (including pie), more watching of conference and more antics by the boys. It seems Ashton was waving around a small curtain rod, and knocked down the light fixture in one of the basement rooms. It fell on Hunter's head then broke. Also, Ashton got hit in the face and had a bloody nose on one of the beds, and Emma ate a crayon and spit it out on a bed. I hope Mike's mom likes cleaning because we sure have messy kids.

We left Price at about 5:40 on Sunday. We stopped in Springville to celebrate my cousin Dylan's birthday. We share a birthday, just 19 years apart. It is so nice of Doug and Angie to throw a birthday party for me every year. We got there just in time for cake and ice cream. My grandparents had just been in St. George and brought a gift from my mom up for me, so besides cake and ice cream it was worth the stop for the gift.

Once home, finally on Sunday night around 8:00 it was time to get everyone ready for bed. And get ready to start a busy week on Monday.