In the latter part of March we decided to do a road trip down to Utah to see the family, go to the Symphony, and to have a much needed Brooke and Eric vacation to Zion National Park. We had a great time, here are some pictures.
Last rest stop on the trip
The day after we arrived we went to the Utah Symphony, this is Eric and the kids walking under the tunnel looking like gangsters.
Happy happy cousin greetings
Beautiful place
Family Picture in front of the iconic Dale Chihuly glass sculpture (and yes I had to look that up on Wikipedia - I didn't know this is called "The Olympic Tower" and it cost $625,000 raised during the olympics)
After the symphony all the girls did a fancy tea party at Cami's house while all the boys ate fried chicken in the park.
Everything you see here was made by Cami except for the strawberries, God made those. Seriously thought the teapots on the cupcakes were hand made...delicious
More cousin lovin'
After the weekend and the trip to Zion National Park (pictures at bottom) we continued to make the most of our trip by going to the Leonardo Museum and the Sale Lake City Library. It was fantastic! The games/learnings were fun, the staff was amazing with the kids, and the exhibits were set up to a perfect ambiance for discovery.
Avey posing on a statue next to a random girl hanging out.
Playing with the Green screen.
Picnic outside...fabulous weather.
We forgot his name but this guy was the most helpful guy for the kids. He was very patient with the kids and had a knack for turning their questions into a positive learning dialogue.
Jack, the future electrical engineer.
Explaining what he learned about circuits.
All tuckered out by the end.
I (Eric) got to see some old friends from the Institute Council days (almost 14 years ago).
We had a fun night out with my (Eric's) mom, dad, and sisters at a Mongolian BBQ place HuHot.
Jack found a special love for muscles and clams, he must have eaten twenty of these guys while at the restaurant. Thank goodness for all-you-can-eat.
"Horray for Grandpa!"
Brooke with Sharon, Jonathan (with a hat), and Mandi. Brooked loved watching the play Ghost.
One of the days we promised the kids they could do s'mores but we ran out of time. So this is us one random afternoon doing marshmallow roasting my parent's garage.
Random Friend Shots
Jessica Hakes came up from Texas...Josh was not there [sad face].
Nikki, yay!
Sister, sister, and brother.
Story time with Grandma.
Bakki's condo right before swimming.
Zion National Park
One of the reason's we decided to come out to Utah was so Brooke and I (don't worry we invited the kids but they decided to stay with the grandparents and aunt/uncles) could have a little vacation to ourselves without breaking the bank. And this was perfect. We were there for a whole day and about three hours of another. We did an accidental scenic drive (took the wrong turn while trying to find Angels' Landing), all three of the pools (lower, upper, and middle), a small loop leading to the Narrows (we'll get you next time Narrows), and Observation Point. We were going to do Angel's landing but on our way there a friendly fellow shuttler who had a Chilean flag on his backpack recommended Observation Point after being told it is a better view, harder hike and much less crowded. It ended up being a very good choice.
We are going to do more rock stacking when we go on hikes.
This is where the silly cacti hang out.
Selfie attack!
These are the switchback we had to tackle.
One of the most rewarding parts of the hike is after about a mile of hard switchbacks all the sudden you turn and you are in the middle of, and near the ledge or, some gorgeous slotesque canyons. Once you are in the canyons you get a much more intimate feeling with the rock which, up until this point, presented itself as grand vistas and looming cliffs.
Cheesy, I know.
Hang in there random tree growing on the side of a rock.
resting eating lunch at the top of the world after a long hike.
The money shot. A spectacular view. Just to the right of Brooke's shoulder is Angels Landing. Our hike took us about 800 feet higher and a few miles longer but wow was it a rewarding hike.
Two friends joined us for lunch this is one of them begging for a meal that we did not give him because we are good naturers.
Our two-step hike into The Narrows.
This is how you reward yourself for a long day of hiking. No seriously, they were on sale so we bought a bunch to take back to Utah we did NOT eat all those in one night.
It was great to be in Utah and visit family and friends and an amazing trip to Zion.
Final thoughts on going home...
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