Zion Hikes- Day 2

After we thawed out at breakfast  and the sun came out it turned out to be a beautiful day! It was about 55 degrees and since we kept moving all day it turned out to be perfect weather for hiking.  We started off with a drive through the mountain and enjoying some stunning views. 

We pulled over and hiked up the side of a mountain for a while.

After we drove trough the mountain we parked and took the tram since most of the park is off limits to cars.  Out second hike was the Emerald Pools.  It was between 1 1/2 to 2 miles and the kids did great! They hiked the whole way.  There were some steep cliffs and the kids thankfully heeded out (multiple) warnings.

Our 3rd hike was a short 1/2 mile hike to the Weeping Rock.

The final hike of the day was questionable.  We were getting pretty tired but there was one final hike that was within our range and after going back and forth we ended up doing it.  By the end of the day and hiking almost 3 mile by this point, they required some help over the mile hike.  Luckily it was pretty flat.

  Everybody was pretty tired after a full day.  We took my parents back to their hotel and we played by the river for a bit.  Zack convinced us all to build a dam before the sun set and the bitter cold set in.

Looking a little tired here but I like the kids playing in the background.

We spent the evening by the fire roasting hot dogs and marshmallows.  The kids finally asked to go to bed.  We weren't far behind them!

Given the previous night was pretty much as cold as humanly possible (at least in my book), I had higher hopes for night two.  We thought it was going to be in the 30s.  It was closer to low 20s and by the middle of the night Abby was complaining of how cold it was and I was sharing her misery.  I asked her to come share my sleeping bag since I realized I was way warmer the previous night when I had more body heat.  Finally she agreed and Zack got in with Matt.  As the 4 of us were shuffling in to 2 sleeping bags and still shivering I suggested that we forgo the next night and get a hotel in Vegas.  It wasn't very hard to convince the crew:).   

Just Zack is 4

We still call Zack may things, Zacky Pants, Zacky Boy, Bubba and Love Bug are my favorites but if you ask him he is still Just Zack.  His personality has been pretty evident since early on.  He is sweet and strong and knows what he wants.  He's happy and content as long as nobody gets in his way.

He is quieter in a group, or when Abby is around, and doesn't mind playing by himself but when you get him alone he never stops talking!  He has been my Costco buddy a few weeks in a row and we have so much fun running errands and talking and talking and talking!  He likes to ask questions and sometimes can even ask the same one 17 times in a row ( at least it feels that way sometimes).

 A few of my favorite things Zack says these days are more about how he says them:
- He has his own accent.  It is the funniest thing- he seems to draw out vowels and add extra syllables. -- When he emphasizes something he says "but I ree ree (really really) want to...".   Of course he adds the eyes and head tilt for emphasis.
- He still says "actually" a lot which I still think is adorable.
- When he is done with dinner he says,"I'm fill" (instead of full)

 He is still so sweet and affectionate and gives the best hugs.  I can't help but bring hi in for a squeeze every time I take him out of his carseat and he hangs on.  I love it!
His melt my heart lines are
- You are the best mommy, daddy.
- I love you to my heart!
- You are the best in the whole life (He uses whole life instead of whole world- adorable!)

When Z grows up he wants to be a dad and have 100 kids - he's also says he is going to marry Abby and live at home.  It must be the amazing example he has:).  I bet he changes his mind on 3 out of 4 of those:).
He has great friends at school and a few girlfriends that seem to change quickly.
Recently, he has been getting much more confident on his bike and rode it to the park and likes to "ree ree" fast.
Z is still the master builder/designer and got a new marble set for his birthday that he loves to lay with.

One of his major vices is the whining...Sometimes it is just his default voice/noise..ugh!  Thankfully after he is reminded he is pretty good.  We have been super lax on potty training at night.  He was so easy to potty training during the day that I just thought it would happen at night too. We have let him sleep with water and he drinks a ton at night so that is one of my goals to address soon and hopefully be done with pull ups forever!

Can't believe that out baby is 4!  More on his birthday festivities to come.

Zion National Park Day 1

A few months ago Matt was upstairs and peeked his head down, "What do you think about camping for spring break...in Zion?"  I agreed because I always say yes to a vacation, plus I thought it was in driving up the California Coast.  Well, it turns out Zion is in Utah....I should have looked at a map or listened in 7th grade geography class!  We invited my parents, who clearly did a bit more investigating than we did because they got a hotel!

Fast forward 2 months...

Matt took care of everything and I basically packed suitcases the night before and got in the car. My dad got us a suburban for the trip from work and we all packed in.  It was perfect. We headed out at 6 a.m. and Matt drove all the way.  I was not sure how the kids would do since they have never sat through more than 10 minutes of a movie or anything on a plane so I packed lots of stuff to keep them busy.  My dad has a mobile hotspot that  I was happy to find out about as we got in the car.  It took us about an hour to figure it out but once we did it was amazing!  The kids watched movies, played games and loved watching Netflix in the car.  There was not a whine for 9 hours...literally the most peaceful and productive car trip ever!

After 9 hours we arrived at our home sweet campsite.  It was sprinkling when we got there and we were tempted to stay in the hotel with my parents but we toughed it out and set up the tent then went OUT to dinner.  Yes, that is how Martins camp.   The town is less than a mile a way and has great restaurants and warmth.

After a nice dinner we left my parents in town and came back to roast marshmallows at the campsite.  First, some site seeing.  It was really the most beautiful scenery!

The kids we fascinated by the fire...sigh!

This is exactly what I imagined we would be doing camping except I thought it would be a tad warmer and had no idea how beautiful it would be.

Pure joy after S'mores!  We definitely were thankful for the fire to keep us warm in since it was in the 30s later in the evening.  We kept war by the fire and snuggled up in our tent.  I was sound asleep and Abby woke me up about 2...wet!  The water bottle spilled in between the kids sand got their sleeping bags wet so I put them in my sleeping bag with me.  Although it sounded like a good idea and was a quick fix, I was miserable by 6 a.m. when I was wedged in between 2 air mattresses with 2 kids on top of me.  My face was the only part of my body exposed and it was freezing!  I thought I was just a wimp until we checked the temp and it was below 20!  We woke up to frost everywhere.  Matt made a fire promptly, and then we went to breakfast.

PaintNVineyard

I have seen pics of theses painting classes/night out and they looked fun but I was skeptical.  Finally, after enough people came out with a decent paintings, I was semi convinced we could do it.   So,  I bought a living social deal for my mom for Christmas.  We finally got around to redeeming it and had a great time. 

Our blank canvases ready for the magic!

My mama ready to paint:)

The first phase complete.... and some wine too!

Mom getting to work on the tree

 Here is my tree in phase 2...

My final painting...

And my mom's...I don't have a picture of the model so you'll have to just trust me that we nailed it!  Regardless swe had fun and it was a great opportunity to try something new.