Sunday, August 7, 2011

Family Reunions


Last week, we traveled to the small town of Delta, UT to attend Dave's family reunion. His grandparents are now both in their 90s with failing health, so it was good to spend some quality time visiting with them.

We stayed with Dave's Uncle Reid, who is one of the neatest men you'll ever meet. He keeps sheep, cows, and pigs as a hobby with his grandchildren, so Aly got to see all the animals and help feed them while we were there. Nolan seemed to have fun too.





On our way home from Delta, we visited Cedar Breaks National Monument to do some hiking and some searching for agates nearby. The views all along the hike were stunning, and the weather was quite a bit cooler at 56 degrees compared to the 100-degree weather we've been having. By the way, Aly has turned into quite the little hiker. She hiked for over a mile continuously on her own around the rim at Cedar Breaks, and several times lately she has declared, "Momma, I wanna go hiking today." The little girl loves it, and she is good at it! Rarely does she need help scaling rocks, even on the more challenging paths.


With the weather just beginning to warm up, it was Spring there and the wildflowers were blooming




We also took a trip this last week over to Red Cliffs Preserve to do some hiking in an area we hadn't been before. There are two incredible waterfalls out in the middle of the desert there, with treefrogs, crayfish, and butterflies all over the place. We saw plenty of lizards as well as a 3-foot snake. There are supposed to be plenty of rattlesnakes and Gila monsters in the preserve - thankfully we didn't run into any of those. 




You could climb a steep wall with the aid of an anchored rope to continue the hike past the falls. Somehow we managed to scale it even with the kids in our arms.


After the reunion, Dave's parents came to spend a couple of days with us here in St. George. Unfortunately, all the pictures we took were on their camera. Aly loves Grandpa and Grandma - it was such a treat for her to be able to play with them. Thanks Grandpa and Grandma - we love you! Come visit again soon:)