On Kevin's side of the family we have a split in the ages of our nieces and nephews. There is a group of older cousins and a group of younger cousins. Of course, my kids fall inthe 'younger cousin' category of which there are six.
Kevin's mom had a great idea while we were there to get all the younger cousins together for a studio shot. Here are the results. So cute! (ages 1 year to 10 years old)
As I mentioned before, on our second day of vacation, we were in Zion National Park. It is sooo beautiful. So very different than California's landscape. Red dirt, cliffs, canyons, and mountains that look like checkerboards. In my opinion, some of God's best work.
Here's a few more photos from Zion.
A view from a window cutout in the Zion Mount Carmel Tunnel. Construction of the 1.1 mile tunnel began in the late 1920's and was completed in 1930. At the time that the tunnel was dedicated, on July 4, 1930, it was the longest tunnel in the United States. The purpose of the Zion Tunnel (and the east entrance road) was to create direct access to Bryce Canyon and Grand Canyon from Zion National Park. Large vehicles like the motorhome we were driving have to pay and extra $15 as an 'escort' fee. The ranger stop oncoming traffic until the large vehicle is through.
Incredible scenery!On the evening of Wednesday, July 16th we started our vacation. We rented a motorhome from a friend and took off for southern Utah. It was awesome! (no potty breaks necessary!)
The first night we drove to Barstow and spent the night at Shady Lane RV park. An interesting place, but nothing to see in Barstow. We packed up early the next morning and continued our journey.
We hit Vegas by lunchtime and took a break to let the kids run around. (HOT!) We packed up again with southern Utah as our evening goal. We made it to Zion National Park by about 5ish. I'd forgotten how beautiful it is! Southern Utah is one of mine and Kevin's favorite U.S. sites to visit. There are numerous national parks and beautiful sites within a day's drive (Zion, Lake Powell, Grand Canyon, Moab, Bryce, Escalante, Canyonlands, Arches .... and the list goes on!). We never have enough time when we're there!
After a little time in Zion, we set our eyes on making it to Boulder, Utah! Kevin's grandma has a ranch in Boulder, and Boulder was hosting a big family reunion for Kevin's side of the family on July 19th.
We had a great time in Boulder, hiking, swiming in Calf Creek, playing with cousins and catching-up with Kev's family. All of his siblings made it to Boulder for the reunion - even his bro and wife (Brad and Susan from Arkansas!). It was a wonderful weekend.
On Sunday afternoon we packed up again for the drive up to Layton, Utah to Kev's parent's house. It was about a six hour drive. We spent the remaining week in Layton playing with cousins, swimming and exploring Salt Lake more. The kids had a great time playing in the Olympic Memorial Square that hosts in incredible water feature. We saw this when we were in Utah for the 2002 Olympics.
While in Utah the girls decided they wanted to get their hair cut. Aunt Susan took some before and after shots of Lizzie. Unfortunately, I didn't get any of Tori, but I'll see if I have some general shots from vacation.
Lizzie got hers cut to her chin and stacked in back, so cute! Tori now has bangs and a slight layer in back that really makes her curls bounce!
Rarely do I come across a book that I urgently want to share with family and friends. This past week on vacation I read three books. (yes, a VERY long drive!) The last book I read was The Shack, by William P. Young.
It is a fiction book that is written by a passionate theologian. Think you know your God? Think again. Think you know Jesus? Think again.
Religion, spirituality, responsibility, forgiveness, relationships? Think again.
Truly this book is a must read. This link will take you to parts of the book you can read online (forward, comments and the first chapter). The title bar of this post will take you to the web site.
I will be purchasing more copies of this book to give to others. I challenge you to do the same.
Pool Party Fun!
Lizzie's buddy Colby.
Kaleb and Derek on the slide.
Hangn' out and havn' fun!
