My 'stay'cation blues

Jon and I got back late last night from a 3 day trip to southern Utah with my family. It was a struggle to get it planned and to make sure everyone could meet and make the time we had picked out. It's difficult gathering 4 families and a total of 15 people together-but oh boy, was it worth it. We had such an amazing time; it really brought each and everyone of us together again. We had kind of lost that family touch but I feel like the last three days mended what had been taken from us. I am amazed by God's country and the opportunities we have to view it and experience it as a whole. The sights we saw were truly magical. It was fun for me to reminisce back to times when I had seen these areas before and an honor to show Jon Utah's playground for the first time.
Goblin Valley State Park, Utah
I love this place. I remember being a little girl climbing around in the formations pretending they were my houses. Jon had a heyday here; his legs were sore the next day from all the jumping and leaping he did from rock to rock.

The kids thorougly enjoyed climbing all over Goblin Valley. It was really hot and they didn't last long. We were able to get all the boys minus Dad & Ethan up on this Goblin and I stole a picture of them being silly. Kirk, Jaden, Jon, Nate, & Codey.

Here is an opening to an old uranium mine just north of Temple Mountain. It was discovered in 1898 and there are still remnants of the town and people that once lived there. It is almost eery looking into these old mines, most are fenced or gated off now because of the dangers one could face if they entered these 100+ year constructions.
Dead Horse Point, Utah Here's Mom, Dad, & me standing on the legendary Dead Horse Point, where once cowboys herded mustangs onto this 2,000 foot high rock cliff ledge. They picked the ones they wanted and left the others to die coralled there without any water. The views were amazing from this height. This was my favorite part of the trip.
Here's Jon being a smart ass on the very top of the 2,000 ft. high rocky cliff ledge. Jon pushed me to the limit by getting as close to the edge as possible. (He likes to live dangerously or prove he's macho) Everytime I'd catch him pulling these types of stunts my own knees would get wobbly. At one point I heard a lady yell "Suicide, what are you doing?!" I looked at my Dad & said "Let me guess, that's my husband she's yelling at..." & sure enough it was. Turns out he was hanging off the edge on his belly throwing a huge boulder over so he could watch & hear it fall.


'Double Arch' @ Arches National Park I couldn't believe how many arches there were in this park. This was my first time experiencing this recreation. The process of how they form this way is incredible. I noticed while passing others how many different languages and accents I heard, it left me feeling big headed because I live in such a beautiful state that has much to offer. Lucky me.
Jon in the opening at 'Double Arch'. He made me very nervous by being up there but I am so glad I was able to capture this shot.

'Delicate Arch' of the most famous at Arches National Park. We weren't able to hike the treacherous 2 miles with the little ones so we decided to take the smaller hike up to the "Upper View Point" We spent some time up on the rocks and it was peaceful.
Jon caught me gazing at the landscape from the rocks at the "upper view point". Like I said it was very peaceful. I gathered my thoughts here and thought about how thankful I was to have my whole family with me.
We stopped on the way home at Nine Mile Mountain and rode the four wheelers for a bit. It was fun going from hot weather and redrock to fall-like weather and pine trees. I drove Atti around on the machine and she didn't like it very much. She was shaking, but I made her tough it out. I'm a mean mom, I know.


Jon & I after going up a neat canyon in Nine Mile. I love him so much. He blends in w/ my family so well, he was meant for us.


Just the 5 of us as we started out. We have grown tremendously but every once in awhile I like to showcase just the 'roots'.


All in all the trip was a success. I had a great time and I'm looking forward to going again sometime in the future. The most important part to me was spending the time with my family and creating an everlasting memory. Hopefully this summer I will have much more to come!