Bryce Canyon

Dan decided last year sometime that he wanted to take the family to Bryce Canyon this summer when his dad would be there for his annual Star Party.  He booked the room at Ruby's Inn and posted the trip details on his family website just in case anyone else wanted to meet up.  One by one, each sibling responded saying they'd booked their room too and they'd be there.

Dan and I could hardly believe it, but were happy we'd get to see everyone.  I even bragged about the ease of planning this mini family reunion to my family since we have tried for the past 4 years to work out something similar with no success.

"It was so easy!"  I said.

"We just picked a place and a time!" I said.

"Everyone arranged and paid for their own rooms!" I said.

"Surely this could work for the Abbott's too!" I said.

But about a month before the trip, one by one, each sibling announced they weren't coming after all. By the end, it was down to Grandpa Don, us, and Dan's sister, Rachel's family.  And even though we were fewer in number than originally planned, we still had a really great time.  And I learned that bragging, for any reason, is never a good idea.

We haven't done any camping this season because as a pregnant lady I can't sleep at home in my bed, let alone on the ground in a sleeping bag.  And Finn, isn't pregnant but he isn't really a camping candidate either.  As it got closer though, we thought it might be fun to reserve a campsite, have a place to gather and hangout and have a campfire, and if he was so inclined, Dan could sleep in the tent with the big kids while I took Finn back to the hotel we'd already reserved.

So that's what we did.  The first night we all stayed in the hotel, where the kids were very excited to be after 9 hours in the car.

I took my chances not bringing a pack n play, hoping there would be one available at the hotel.  Unfortunately, a huge family reunion checked in right before us and took them all.  So that first night was a little sketchy as I had Finn on the floor between the wall, the bed, and two night stands.

Luckily the next day we got a crib. And our sleeping went much smoother.

We had talked about Bryce Canyon with the kids for so long, and our first views did not disappoint.  Dan has been there countless times, I'd been there twice, but for the kids it was their first time and it was loaded with anticipation.

The view is awe-some.

 Like, it inspires awe.

 It's full of awe, but not awful.

We'd also long talked about the Navajo Loop hike and the kids were excited and ready.

This is the one of the few pictures I got of Luke.  From here on out he walked far ahead with Grandpa Don, only letting us catch up a couple of times.

In my opinion we all did great, young, old, and pregnant alike.  My knee held up nearly the whole time and at least wasn't irritated enough to bother me the next day.

About half way through I realized that Max had his shorts on backwards and his shoes on the wrong feet.  It didn't seem to impact his hiking ability though, he was a trooper.

And these are some happy faces after a trail well hiked.

It was really fun to have the campsite.  The only thing was, the area was so dry that our site was almost entirely dirt.  Which didn't appear to be an issue until the kids showed up.  And with all those little feet and hands, unable to resist the urge to kick and dig, it wasn't long before we were all, along with every inch of our chairs, coolers, and tables covered in a thin layer of dirt.

And yes, I know I have abnormally long toes, but this picture is for dirt illustration purposes only.  

We weren't about to let a little (a lot) of dirt stop us from enjoying our dinner and the fire.

For better or for worse, I'm not one to keep my kids squeaky clean.  My standards are on the lower end.  But even though we were camping, when it got time for bed, not even I could mentally handle the thought of the kids sleeping in this condition.  We drove them back to the hotel, put them all into the tub, where the water turned brown and I was positive the drain was going to clog.  They got dressed in their pajamas.  We said our goodnights.  Finn and I stayed and Dan drove the bigs back to the site and carried them one by one directly to their sleeping bags.

Ava felt sick in the night and everybody was cold.  You'll have to ask Dan why he didn't want to get the sweatshirts and extra blankets I'd packed in the van for them.


The next morning was Luke's 7th birthday and even though we planned to celebrate later, we let him blow a candle out of an apple fritter that morning.

On Day 2 we went on another smaller hike to Mossy Cave.  This one was also successful though it did have a little more whining than the previous one, probably due to the less than ideal sleep.  But Dan and I were proud of the kids, especially Ava, for their adventerous attitude.  We had to walk on a log to cross this little river to make it to the waterfall.  It wasn't the easiest thing for little legs, for pregnant people, or for parents with baby backpacks on, which pretty much applied to all of us.  But Ava even did it by herself.

And then to get all the way up to the waterfall, you had to climb up a fairly steep ravine covered in loose dirt and rocks, which made it very difficult to get your footing.  I thought they'd give up as I saw the fear on their faces as the kept slipping, but both Ava and Luke made it to the waterfall.

 The stream was a great place to wade because it was cool but not too cold and not too deep or fast moving.

 It was really fun to be able to spend time together with Rachel, Nate, Charlie, and John. We all went out for ice cream later that afternoon, after nap time.

Even though the boys would have camped again in a heartbeat, it was decided that it might be wiser for everyone to spend the last night in the hotel so that we could pack up the tent that evening, in preparation for a timely departure in the morning.

  And as we've been home and talked about our favorite hikes of the summer, Bryce Canyon is everyone's favorite.