tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30768703015414516122024-02-07T05:39:46.242-08:00A Glimpse of My WorldJuliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01189144134384732232noreply@blogger.comBlogger516125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076870301541451612.post-50669589411666345032020-03-18T09:56:00.001-07:002020-03-18T10:23:57.736-07:00Warding off the Corona in an Empty HotelAbout a month ago Justin called me in the middle of the day from work and asked if I wanted to bring the kids and come live with him in DC for the month of March. My answer was "no, not really." He seemed a little shocked but I reminded him that flying cross country alone with three little kids isn't fun. Justin wasn't deterred though. After painting a picture for me, of us touring through DC not pregnant and morning sick, like the last time. I relented and agreed, and we started making preparations for departure, but I had that nagging sense that this wasn't going to be quite as fun as we had imagined. My father-in-law mercifully volunteered to arrange some of his business flights and meetings so that he could fly with me and the kids, and even put us up in a hotel in Denver the night before departure to make the whole airport thing go smoother. He also basically saved me when at 11pm in Denver I reached the horrifying revelation that I had just doped my older two up with melatonin and <i>then </i>discovered that I'd failed to pack diapers for Evalyn. Seriously, not a single diaper. Oh, and don't let me forget to mention that Vivian had started running a fever the day before, and the pediatrician had basically thrown some antibiotics at us and wished us luck. (Not my regular doctor, and one that I believe to be relatively incompetent. A story for another time...) So it was great having Grandpa along as we made our way to DC on the <i>bumpiest </i>flight of my life. I was starting to get kind of nervous when after hours of bumping around in the sky the airplane was creaking and squeaking over the bumps, but we arrived in one piece with a feverish, pale looking Viv in tow. Justin picked us up, Justin's dad treated us to an amazing dinner at Ruth's Chris, and then left for his business trip. Both of Justin's parents were going to meet us here for the last week and a half or so of the trip, so we expected to see him again soon.<br />
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Our first day here the kids and I decided to spend the day at the hotel. Vivian was still feverish, with no other symptoms, and while we joked around about her having the Corona virus I figured a day to just lounge in front of the TV was definitely in order. Unfortunately the day in front of the TV didn't do anything for her fever, and the second day in front of the TV only resulted in everyone feeling a little crazy and a fever and cough for me. We decided that it was time to visit an urgent care, where Viv tested positive for Influenza A, you know, the form that is completely preventable if you bother to get your flu shot. It doesn't count if you just <i>intend </i>to get that shot for you and yours, unfortunately. We returned to the hotel room armed with Tamiflu for everyone (except Justin since the army does his flu shot so he isn't victimized by my irresponsibility), and after a lot of discussion decided that a day outdoors would probably make everyone, even flu-ridden as we were, feel better. We went to Gettysburg on Sunday and were practicing social distancing before I'd even heard the term.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At Gettysburg</td></tr>
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The kids and I went with Justin to base one day so that I could do laundry while he was in class. Vivian and I were feeling better, although the Tamiflu did make me feel sort of queasy. For Ivan, the Tamiflu gave him crazy diarrhea, and I spent <i>all day long </i>running him back and forth to the bathroom. I washed my hands so many times that they were cracked and crusty by the time Justin was done and we could retreat back to the hotel. By that time I was kicking myself for not standing my ground and staying home. That was the beginning of the week, but by the end of the week the Tamiflu had caused Vivian to break out in hives all over her body, all of Washington DC was pretty much closed, and the flu left me with a residual cough that could clear a crowded room. We spent Saturday at Harper's Ferry and Anteitam, where I actually did clear out a small group or two of people with my coughing. It was a welcome reprieve to be outside for a little while.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Anteitam</td></tr>
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At one point during the outing Justin got a message from work telling him to go to the airport and get himself home. Five minutes later he was on the phone with his boss being told to stay. That night we returned to an all but empty hotel. It was around that time that I realized how truly fortunate I am to be here with Justin, to have our family together, especially as I tried to envision what life would be like right now at home with empty grocery stores, three little kids, a crazy cough, and worried about when I'd get to see my husband again. Justin's parents ultimately cancelled their trip out here, and I spend my days here holed up in a hotel room with three small children (don't whine to me about being stuck at home with your kids, I don't feel bad for you). Since the hotel is largely empty, I'm almost positive that there are no other guests on our floor. Sometimes during the day we run races in the hallway. The pool, gym, and outdoor patio were all closed some time ago. It's been days since I saw anyone besides hotel staff on this floor. As of this morning housekeeping is only handing in clean towels, and picking up trash. I had to request to have a vacuum run through the room. Since restaurants are all closed to dine-in guests we're eating dinner every night on our hotel room floor. <br />
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Yesterday when Justin got released we took a mostly empty metro into the city to see the cherry blossoms on the mall. The mall was actually full of people running, and people looking at cherry blossoms. For a few blissful hours life felt actually kind of normal. It was nice, really nice. <br />
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As of right now Justin is predicting that his course will end early, and he has received authorization to drive us home when it does. Neither of us are interested in boarding an airplane right now. Once home again they've assigned Justin a work shift from 1pm-9pm. I'm dreading this. DREADING THIS, but at the same time telling myself that I need to just be grateful that my husband still has a job to go to right now, regardless of the inconvenience of the shift. I'm praying that it doesn't last long, but anticipating that it will be a while before we get to have dad home for family dinners, bedtimes, and bath times again. This whole thing is a super surreal experience. Crazy times guys, crazy times. </div>
Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01189144134384732232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076870301541451612.post-20360896920972752292019-10-20T13:37:00.002-07:002019-10-20T13:37:14.815-07:00Museums, Pumpkins, and SpanglesOur last vacation somehow slipped through the blogging cracks. We took a longish break and went to Boise to visit Justin's family. It was a visit that was long overdue. Justin hadn't been home in well over a year. My favorite part of the trip was a vacation within a vacation when we took a little road trip from Boise up to Couer d'alene, somewhere that Justin and I had never visited. It was really beautiful up there. However, we quickly discovered that it's beautiful, but not exactly packed with things to do, particularly with small children in tow. However, we caught the Northern Idaho state fair, did a boat tour out on the lake, and enjoyed a nice dinner at a restaurant right on the shoreline. I can't speak for the others, but I found the experience very enjoyable. We returned to Boise the next day and continued with the vacation full of cousins, pool time, a trip to Lucky Peak, feeding the ducks with Grandma Cotter, and the paddle boats at Julia Davis park (which I've been wanting to do for years, and I loved it and want to go again.)<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Notice the still damp pants on Ivan. There was another wading/swimming incident with the kids prior to the boat tour, and again afterwards.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">The only kid with any energy left at the end of the day.</td></tr>
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Weirdly we didn't end up taking any other pictures this trip. <br />
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After Boise we have been awaiting our next vacation, a long weekend to Oklahoma City over Columbus Day. We wanted to go somewhere new, and we wanted to go somewhere that we wouldn't be disappointed if the weather went to crap, so Oklahoma City is the obvious choice, right? It must be, because Brianna and Ima decided to fly in and join us for this one, and we got a chance to see Andrew and Katie there too.</div>
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Our first stop was the bombing memorial. This one was my idea, it's been on my bucket list for a while. To be honest, the memorial was nice. The museum, was great. A little heavy, but we enjoyed it. I also like that Vivian is getting old enough now that I showed her a video about the bombing before we went, and she was at least vaguely aware of what had happened and why we were there. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP6icZkqzm3AuiUWlocNEROASfJhAW5UJxOTLWIo0KJEtHM8wTvP7vSmuxIpXWp4NsCdYG2Q1Ty7Ge4B5k-k52WoCTvjLI0K4X7i0tRfat_aZXeDBnM0tIzdepfE5ENomIXmgx9zAm_fM/s1600/DSC_0590.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjP6icZkqzm3AuiUWlocNEROASfJhAW5UJxOTLWIo0KJEtHM8wTvP7vSmuxIpXWp4NsCdYG2Q1Ty7Ge4B5k-k52WoCTvjLI0K4X7i0tRfat_aZXeDBnM0tIzdepfE5ENomIXmgx9zAm_fM/s400/DSC_0590.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">It's a little weird to me that these are chairs for each bombing victim, I felt weird with the idea of sitting on one.</td></tr>
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<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIQwqHro17422irYhlEFjQ6j_wlah7Vb1qmlZQCMRWnkjGQaEnZO5Qd6gDSezC5pGdLciiyV4_3KytEFqgpEOeVEoYR2rpe6dp3Svc2g7PaNXlGF9RJG6TuGiNwqRNVkRbOWA0BxT3wW8/s1600/DSC_0598.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIQwqHro17422irYhlEFjQ6j_wlah7Vb1qmlZQCMRWnkjGQaEnZO5Qd6gDSezC5pGdLciiyV4_3KytEFqgpEOeVEoYR2rpe6dp3Svc2g7PaNXlGF9RJG6TuGiNwqRNVkRbOWA0BxT3wW8/s400/DSC_0598.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">As a side note, the size of downtown Oklahoma City was surprisingly small, and it struck all of us that it made the location of the bombing seem very random.</td></tr>
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By the time we emerged the kids were over it. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrtsXmZxr6dmHeLYLA1ulO__vvXWmF6TZ6pjLIjvXYxZoUZPeKyBJz-3IrGW4eMJfS0bY8GxQXrHbNrb-q-l2c6sq6AMX5T_ggbCoZu4Z_u5vn90in06fB4CUP3dxSqLoNNvbItbp8CKY/s1600/IMG_8329.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrtsXmZxr6dmHeLYLA1ulO__vvXWmF6TZ6pjLIjvXYxZoUZPeKyBJz-3IrGW4eMJfS0bY8GxQXrHbNrb-q-l2c6sq6AMX5T_ggbCoZu4Z_u5vn90in06fB4CUP3dxSqLoNNvbItbp8CKY/s400/IMG_8329.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Viv's face here is pretty hilarious.</td></tr>
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We took them to ice cream at Braum's, a chain that Justin recognized from his mission, and then off to a pumpkin farm.</div>
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I have never been to a pumpkin farm like this one. There was a train, a carousel, tube slides, playgrounds, corn pits, sand boxes, jump pads, tire stacks, hay stacks, petting zoo, pumpkin patch, pony rides, hay rides, a sad corn maze that hadn't grown in as well as one would hope, and then a smaller, thicker corn patch. We spent a few hours there, before we made our way to the corn maze at the far reaches of the property. We wandered around in it for a while, and then went to the pumpkin patch to let the kids pick out a pumpkin for themselves while I nursed Evalyn. The adults were all talking, and Vivian and Ivan were picking out pumpkins, and then Ivan wasn't. He was just gone. The pumpkin patch wasn't big, and it was right next to the corn maze, and the thick corn patch. It was not an ideal place to lose track of a small child. When we realized that he was gone everyone started splitting up searching for him, and I found myself barking orders at a very young employee to call someone and see if security to watch at the front gate for my small son. She was a little on the panicky side, and I honestly was considering snatching her phone, when only a moment or two later Ivan was spotted cruising around in the half-grown corn maze. He followed someone in that he had apparently mistaken for me. He was returned to me wide-eyed and shaking, and for a while just hugged me while he repeated over and over again "you left me behind." Aside from that unfortunate incident we loved the pumpkin farm. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Evalyn was not such a fan of this idea.</td></tr>
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We made our way back to the hotel that night exhausted. The next morning we left and drove through portions Justin's mission, and Route 66. We spent the night in Wichita, where we discovered the restaurant chain, Spangles that appears to only exist in Kansas. To our disappointment the ice cream machine was broken, and it's the kind of place where you can just sort of sense that you're going to need a shake. Fortunately there was one about an hour or so down the road, so breakfast the next morning was at the hotel, and topped off with shakes from Spangles, and they were delicious. So if you ever find yourself in Kansas, we'd recommend stopping in at a Spangles for a milkshake. </div>
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We also took a little time to drive through the heart of Wichita so that we could take in the number three recommendation in tripadvisor and visit the Guardian of the Plains. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJHnDUucdv5_GjU_u1XdUvLEgmkX52sXWSfttvsNyRIt6gNsbmK1jACSKAZtlu8ujT6R2tHui0TPFeg7t3mepcg3dXBrsJP8yb_69YyG7EpEdYCMoSiKr944cwotDTUoPrrlhyphenhyphentnPPTMM/s1600/DSC_0609.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJHnDUucdv5_GjU_u1XdUvLEgmkX52sXWSfttvsNyRIt6gNsbmK1jACSKAZtlu8ujT6R2tHui0TPFeg7t3mepcg3dXBrsJP8yb_69YyG7EpEdYCMoSiKr944cwotDTUoPrrlhyphenhyphentnPPTMM/s400/DSC_0609.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">Not a thrill a minute kind of thing, but it was quite scenic. </td></tr>
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Our next stop on the way home was at another one of the eight wonders of Kansas, Mushroom Rock State Park. It was only a short detour, and sounded interesting...or at least as interesting as the other two rocks we'd already seen that were on the list. As it turns out the state park consisted of about a dozen or so odd rocks, a couple of which were in fact shaped like mushrooms. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">The state park was down a lovely dirt road. It really was nice out there.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">The kids loved climbing around on the rocks.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 12.8px;">The most mushroom looking rock in the "park."</td></tr>
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After that it was just a long haul back to Denver to drop off Brianna and Ima, and cruise home. We were pretty sad to have the trip end. We had a great time, and it was one of the best short trips we've done, and in all seriousness, we're liking our ventures out onto the plains. Justin has added that this is not my most interesting blog post, so I guess next time I'll have to figure out a way to hype this up a little. </div>
Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01189144134384732232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076870301541451612.post-71060962020400611942019-05-21T17:33:00.000-07:002019-05-21T17:33:04.317-07:00Texas TimeJustin and I have wanted to venture back into Texas for a long time. Justin couldn't make the family reunion in San Antonio a couple of years ago. It's been a very long time since we went to Dallas to see Devon and Annette. Andrew Clark and Katie now live in Texas, as well, so we were long overdue for a visit. It sometimes seems, even to us, like we're vacationing all the time, because we're going places all the time. It's actually been close to two years since we took a real family vacation. The sort where Justin doesn't work the whole time, and we go somewhere and just have fun for more than a long weekend. Needless to say, we've been counting down the days to our Texas vacation.<br />
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We left right after Justin got home from work on Wednesday. Colorado was cold, windy, gloomy, and we were excited to be heading south. We drove all the way into New Mexico and then cut east to the small town of Hereford, Texas. The original plan had been to stay in a hotel in New Mexico, but the hotel in Hereford was $30 cheaper, and got us further down the road. Let's just say that the weather was such that we would have gladly paid twice that to have been able to spend the night in New Mexico, but we were committed. There was a crazy thunderstorm, lots of rain, lots of lightning and as we were cruising along on some deserted highway where we literally had not passed another car for at least 45 minutes, something darted out in front of our car. Justin hit the brakes, and we both started freaking out about what it was that he had almost hit. We're 99.99% sure that he almost took out a Barbary Sheep. They're native to Africa, but a population of them were released in New Mexico back in the 1950's. We were very excited to have seen one, and very relieved that we didn't kill it. We rolled into Hereford late that night, and waded through the flooded parking lot to our hotel room where we realized that I had failed to pack Ivan's pajamas. He's quite particular about his pajamas, he was not interested in sleeping in his clothes. Justin was contemplating rushing out to the Walmart down the street that we passed on our way into town. The flash of lightning and thunder booming straight over head settled the discussion and I put Ivan in one of my t-shirts for the night. Justin and I are both a bit scared of lightning ever since <a href="http://bdb13.blogspot.com/2014/08/so-yesterday-we-almost-died-in-colorado.html" target="_blank">that incident at Dinosaur National Monument a few years back</a>.<br />
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The next morning things still looked a little cold and drizzly, but nothing we couldn't handle. We headed out to Lubbock where we met up with a friend of mine, Karen, who I grew up with in Orem. We haven't seen each other for some twenty years, so it was great to get a chance to meet her husband, and catch up with her. We met up at the Prairie Dog Town in Lubbock. It's really just a city park, where apparently they relocate prairie dogs from other parts of the city to live out there and you can come out and visit and feed them. I brought along some sliced up carrots for the kids to throw to them. They loved it. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ivan kept trying to race up and throw the carrots directly down the prairie dog holes.</td></tr>
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After all the carrots were gone Karen showed us where the Lubbock temple is and we walked around the grounds and she took a few pictures there for us. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOMZom05wZF5rU3BLk4JFGJRHJDSEUL0kb5OTFsBrvzY06hmArDhL0B2_a51ezC6ftgxUOFayc3CZHqj0zgts1kheFvyQTy_x9UovZT_GBobeE32H6-DAOB6s0X2T8scZBRc5DDMC09b4/s1600/IMG_2448.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1203" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOMZom05wZF5rU3BLk4JFGJRHJDSEUL0kb5OTFsBrvzY06hmArDhL0B2_a51ezC6ftgxUOFayc3CZHqj0zgts1kheFvyQTy_x9UovZT_GBobeE32H6-DAOB6s0X2T8scZBRc5DDMC09b4/s400/IMG_2448.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Karen, Evalyn and I</td></tr>
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Our visit to Lubbock was rather brief, but we thoroughly enjoyed our time there, and hope to be able to see Karen and her family again sometime before another two decades have elapsed. Also, I would like to note that Lubbock is just as flat as Kansas, possibly more so, and that's really saying something. I can see why they're part of tornado alley. <div>
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From Lubbock we continued on towards Marble Falls, where we were staying in the time share, and then meeting up with John and Devon's families the next day. I missed sort of a key turn, and Justin refused to back track, so we ended up taking a somewhat less than direct route to Marble Falls, but we did arrive there that evening without any further problems.</div>
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The next morning we had reservations to go to the Hamilton Pool Preserve. This place looked so cool. I have done lots of reading about it, looked at a ton of pictures, and I was very excited about this...and then the road to it was washed out by some rain from the previous night. I was pretty disappointed, but I kept reminding myself that I have two brothers in Texas. This won't be my last visit to the area. Thankfully, Justin had read up on a hike that wasn't really close at all, but it sounded great, so we decided to try that instead. It was beautiful! I do not envision this sort of thing when I think about Texas. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeMEOorTxEevIQh24iaNUeP9jbcxZDgz7_4Vmk-ggu4D9hgEQGU1lgLmuQLu8ZplU7WDbAzjfWviJBOBFv-yUFL8u8JyIyQwOarhV71IrUahXJ4yr4E8xH3nACORlZ8iUpi1T9H07II-Q/s1600/DSC_0527.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1068" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgeMEOorTxEevIQh24iaNUeP9jbcxZDgz7_4Vmk-ggu4D9hgEQGU1lgLmuQLu8ZplU7WDbAzjfWviJBOBFv-yUFL8u8JyIyQwOarhV71IrUahXJ4yr4E8xH3nACORlZ8iUpi1T9H07II-Q/s400/DSC_0527.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our first glimpse of the waterfall, and we were pretty excited.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Naturally we stopped to take a bunch of pictures</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And then we hiked further down and saw this.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I bought him a little portable tripod for Christmas, he left it in the car, hence the weird angle.</td></tr>
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It was really spectacular. The river runs right by the falls, and it was freaking me out how high and fast it was running, so I made the kids stand on that wooden platform the entire time to make sure that neither of them ventured out of my sight. We successfully made it out with all members of the family still present and dry. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Also, the wild flowers were in full bloom, and they were amazing.</td></tr>
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Thankfully Justin's hiking research paid off and we salvaged the day. By the time we got back to Marble Falls Devon and John's families had arrived at the time share. John and his three oldest didn't show up until the family breakfast, the next morning...ish. When they showed up we decided to go take a tour of the Longhorn Caverns that Annette had read about. We were pretty impressed with these caverns. Justin and I have been to a few, and this is probably second on our list, only to Carlsbad Caverns. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6HNAKvbMJbkRxveFnsBOWOeVL7gqgiwKMFStPbtyQ2Oqka7wv3G6gpa_wWFw2QyfHrvyG-Z6LbKaclO0WKBuIOuddX7xUsMVRbxbiKcho9S-CYd6TCdw9o0rzWD5VRygy7bYzWqOZnxM/s1600/DSC_0678.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1068" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6HNAKvbMJbkRxveFnsBOWOeVL7gqgiwKMFStPbtyQ2Oqka7wv3G6gpa_wWFw2QyfHrvyG-Z6LbKaclO0WKBuIOuddX7xUsMVRbxbiKcho9S-CYd6TCdw9o0rzWD5VRygy7bYzWqOZnxM/s400/DSC_0678.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the Cavern entrance</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLnY20qSHl2bZw8dZa3IxIy8S1H6zafz1Hgwt8foC63kJknI1zZz_CpsMIHHYKIKxaw8bEWKdIVpA3gnBslDN_X0TSu8BakuPJrmfK699tigbAChegJRjkoNRlITY-77bLr_ll570enLw/s1600/DSC_0692.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1513" data-original-width="1600" height="377" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLnY20qSHl2bZw8dZa3IxIy8S1H6zafz1Hgwt8foC63kJknI1zZz_CpsMIHHYKIKxaw8bEWKdIVpA3gnBslDN_X0TSu8BakuPJrmfK699tigbAChegJRjkoNRlITY-77bLr_ll570enLw/s400/DSC_0692.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB8ERK0m49lWC0X6h02RmY7XkcSVX0rXtnJ3llJrjkixAOlZRJtEZTufWGuuK4oGK_A2NY_WqUEoWYyv_7ENrTL8iQxX8DeuEHu5SRrYKJs6la5ySCyVdL925DcU2qgBnmTNCmQ0jrKEM/s1600/DSC_0712.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1254" data-original-width="1600" height="312" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiB8ERK0m49lWC0X6h02RmY7XkcSVX0rXtnJ3llJrjkixAOlZRJtEZTufWGuuK4oGK_A2NY_WqUEoWYyv_7ENrTL8iQxX8DeuEHu5SRrYKJs6la5ySCyVdL925DcU2qgBnmTNCmQ0jrKEM/s400/DSC_0712.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQqFTiCvjcCZZwC2PvpLHfFM04Ln-gpVBi6JjCptvy8555jFqqd_TDSDLI38FXtUm4vpnCC5v-aM1u9et9e97vDRHfDVQP97TeGS0jadT0pWDVi8gd7ZtfY6a57jm2LwHJRVxuy1ZYgmw/s1600/DSC_0713.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQqFTiCvjcCZZwC2PvpLHfFM04Ln-gpVBi6JjCptvy8555jFqqd_TDSDLI38FXtUm4vpnCC5v-aM1u9et9e97vDRHfDVQP97TeGS0jadT0pWDVi8gd7ZtfY6a57jm2LwHJRVxuy1ZYgmw/s400/DSC_0713.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There were a couple of rooms that were covered in these crystals.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsJre16WesEy_l5S1FzrG9uA0ONwWitisSbD_VkteyUuuqPCbt6tMBYh23OSR30gGuPa1Qy33Fc2VTqgrUboqNSDxO7wW5tDk7lG4HVhblVFNsScocwMlNM60ewyOrr3RsSCGL9A7zZgc/s1600/DSC_0726.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1333" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsJre16WesEy_l5S1FzrG9uA0ONwWitisSbD_VkteyUuuqPCbt6tMBYh23OSR30gGuPa1Qy33Fc2VTqgrUboqNSDxO7wW5tDk7lG4HVhblVFNsScocwMlNM60ewyOrr3RsSCGL9A7zZgc/s400/DSC_0726.JPG" width="332" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He looks fairly innocent in this picture, but Ivan was a bit of a wild man in there. Going on three days without naps was definitely taking a toll.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Iz6OW5mkwRVeMrXz5fVAvbeOQ86j7hT1ERAfwLW5NmNRgj_KafseMwp4S-3HneHnqqn0o63X5arhhen7CM44-pPpDWB3RHXzNg8EcA-y2et7SzCy4dXHHBE-gFTKEejPQWNpL_OVibw/s1600/DSC_0733.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Iz6OW5mkwRVeMrXz5fVAvbeOQ86j7hT1ERAfwLW5NmNRgj_KafseMwp4S-3HneHnqqn0o63X5arhhen7CM44-pPpDWB3RHXzNg8EcA-y2et7SzCy4dXHHBE-gFTKEejPQWNpL_OVibw/s400/DSC_0733.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A tiny little bat.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4C02aW9BJZu4kduWUywpN68leHwhjlXzTPhzqZauJQ_j5CBmPTV4nLr4Y-LmuP7Wxs6fTmAMv-fJRHdKRNAva6hKNlcEoUws7CRhAjSFVMe8-3CbsBGK5lR13tfd9Pz7_-HvgzgeMH68/s1600/DSC_0751.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1322" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4C02aW9BJZu4kduWUywpN68leHwhjlXzTPhzqZauJQ_j5CBmPTV4nLr4Y-LmuP7Wxs6fTmAMv-fJRHdKRNAva6hKNlcEoUws7CRhAjSFVMe8-3CbsBGK5lR13tfd9Pz7_-HvgzgeMH68/s400/DSC_0751.JPG" width="330" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We were perpetually at the back of the tour.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_5IKQceCb9win8N1FxBXoq0kJRVyrBgim_vDUMNJQiro9RyQocU3iIarjHr3OfGLbDYh3vFCB08Mkzyy9NNSmuonm0VkAkOdtquJRjebVtuXT2YSYJM2X1GB-lNKsvgOA-v0rKpb8_As/s1600/DSC_0759.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_5IKQceCb9win8N1FxBXoq0kJRVyrBgim_vDUMNJQiro9RyQocU3iIarjHr3OfGLbDYh3vFCB08Mkzyy9NNSmuonm0VkAkOdtquJRjebVtuXT2YSYJM2X1GB-lNKsvgOA-v0rKpb8_As/s400/DSC_0759.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There were some very cool open rooms like that in these caverns.<br /></td></tr>
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The caverns were definitely a great choice. Although, we enjoyed the experience, our tour guide really wasn't our biggest fan. We had a whole herd of small unruly children, and there were a other parties there with a few kids of their own. A couple of times our guide started talking about something that he seemed to find very exciting, and then his voice just sort of trailed off as he realized that nobody was listening, and he moved us along. There was one couple there without kids who seemed a bit annoyed with us as well, and I overheard snippets of a conversation between them and the guide at the end where he remarked that we had been a challenging group. At the time I just wished he would stop yapping with them, since Vivian was dancing around in a state of emergency, having failed to use the restrooms before the tour. She's four, so this is really a failure on my part, but thankfully her dad was able to race ahead with her and resolve the issue.</div>
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We arrived back at the time share just as the clouds broke, the sun came out, and we all headed over to the pool. I gather that we were similarly unpopular at the pool. It seemed to me that everyone in our party had a great time. When I retreated to the hot tub with my tiny, purple, shivering son to warm him up a little bit we were treated to a conversation there about the annoying group in the pool that was playing with water guns, and apparently driving away other resort guests. </div>
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The pool wore the kids down and we called it a night shortly thereafter. The next morning we regrouped for another family breakfast before Devon and his family had to return to Dallas and we continued on to San Antonio with John and his family.</div>
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Our first day in San Antonio was supposed to be a pretty low-key day, to give the kids a chance to recover a little. John invited us to go meet up with him at his work on the USAA campus for lunch. We were thoroughly impressed with the campus, and glad that he made the suggestion. Any other family that goes to visit, you should take the time to do that. He told us to take a few minutes to drive around after lunch and look at the campus. For a second I thought he was kidding, he wasn't. It's beautiful. </div>
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The next day we took some time to go to the Alamo and the Riverwalk, and neglected to bring the camera. Thankfully, Michelle took this picture for us at the Alamo. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It was blazing hot outside, and we just came from Colorado, so only a few hours in that humidity pretty much exhausted us. Even Evalyn: <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic_NTG_p9S2XIBgahjirTLVHIbZqf5s1lmebqm9HCd0TMSg4ivC3YvHwxqTLthdxbdaJNj9Dl5NF4okEl9Mn8y8IkLl1LGUfrz3mPbJmj6ok-09StFQZKvdW16FJYsjkzJZ81Lrx8A-pE/s1600/IMG_4674.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="640" data-original-width="480" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEic_NTG_p9S2XIBgahjirTLVHIbZqf5s1lmebqm9HCd0TMSg4ivC3YvHwxqTLthdxbdaJNj9Dl5NF4okEl9Mn8y8IkLl1LGUfrz3mPbJmj6ok-09StFQZKvdW16FJYsjkzJZ81Lrx8A-pE/s400/IMG_4674.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She seemed to like her Uncle John</td></tr>
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The next day we had reservations to hike Enchanted Rock. Michelle had some church obligations, so she had to sit this one out. This was all my idea, but some times I do this thing that I've sort of alluded to on here before, where I suggest a hike, and then Justin gets all enthused about it, and I start to regret it because it sounds more torturous than when I read about it online while relaxing on soft couch cushions. Justin ends up having to all but drag me to the trail head, and then we have a great time. That was pretty much the story at Enchanted Rock. I'm glad that he knows me well enough to not let me back out. We had a really great time. The kids loved climbing around on the rocks. We ended up spending the better part of the day out there. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdchdomJ9TN6ql-BA4aWvUWhzAeDSIp_LvwrLZ4UfU3GXunsz2rMO6wE2QIbKbeEE1lrcgUMXPRl_y6MzaEyaP8GWb81uiky-UfauwDAkgvORutBBPhMavcI72kX4TNow2Vu0n6lF7e94/s1600/DSC_0767.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdchdomJ9TN6ql-BA4aWvUWhzAeDSIp_LvwrLZ4UfU3GXunsz2rMO6wE2QIbKbeEE1lrcgUMXPRl_y6MzaEyaP8GWb81uiky-UfauwDAkgvORutBBPhMavcI72kX4TNow2Vu0n6lF7e94/s400/DSC_0767.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxoPws3n_Mkk5qhqy8KbH2idgmcMceEdyCFcmfrMwvYvB3sQYmIGSAz5h0vvUtTMgPD_gzzmmrNgCSPH6KpGKScTHE0TdUCRJScmI01_X0FtzH910WuAU8vmdYrvsmheRPUvoQKaYajoc/s1600/DSC_0776.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxoPws3n_Mkk5qhqy8KbH2idgmcMceEdyCFcmfrMwvYvB3sQYmIGSAz5h0vvUtTMgPD_gzzmmrNgCSPH6KpGKScTHE0TdUCRJScmI01_X0FtzH910WuAU8vmdYrvsmheRPUvoQKaYajoc/s400/DSC_0776.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi70JSL6ihYGXq-77he6v4RHwKQxt50WZ_gyaVlp7ieio_BtidcC2yVnUV6okjMgbjgAb4LwukzKoY-SZpAr2wDXFYhv0XG_R6B8ckAvWFK70ffrRBDdkvNNnJQrXIxs-zkqr-63omJq08/s1600/DSC_0822.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi70JSL6ihYGXq-77he6v4RHwKQxt50WZ_gyaVlp7ieio_BtidcC2yVnUV6okjMgbjgAb4LwukzKoY-SZpAr2wDXFYhv0XG_R6B8ckAvWFK70ffrRBDdkvNNnJQrXIxs-zkqr-63omJq08/s400/DSC_0822.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjteb_-IDSpOTMp2vJLiskJJcvebZbMhhZfNTXygcpBn-H8aVF9lJbIarIXKr5wb7kGodjGXhsqB5g1v1HNrPQLqkTVvbKmzG8-Xq1mJtqGdS6J3F5oWtb4mSqqDNQxXkIeQV8fLeg7e9o/s1600/DSC_0868.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="802" data-original-width="1600" height="200" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjteb_-IDSpOTMp2vJLiskJJcvebZbMhhZfNTXygcpBn-H8aVF9lJbIarIXKr5wb7kGodjGXhsqB5g1v1HNrPQLqkTVvbKmzG8-Xq1mJtqGdS6J3F5oWtb4mSqqDNQxXkIeQV8fLeg7e9o/s400/DSC_0868.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I know that I'm a little partial, but I think my little people are very cute.</td></tr>
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By the time we left we were completely exhausted. The kids were unbearably crabby, even Evalyn. We pulled over to look at a weird, huge pile of snakes in the river on our way out of the parking lot, and I think all three were wailing, and then all three asleep before we made it 5 miles down the road.</div>
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We had to race back because Justin was helping John out with scouts by allowing John to pretend to be a radio talk show host interviewing Justin about his job in the military. I'm a little sketchy on details, so all I can tell you is that Justin seemed to thoroughly enjoy the experience, allegedly the boys seemed to enjoy the experience, but one of them was not able to walk properly afterwards because of the number of wall sits he was asked to do during the "interview."</div>
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Our last day in San Antonio John took the day off work to spend with us. We drove out to a place near New Braunfels called Coopers to experience "real" Texas BBQ. It seemed very authentic to us. One of the other patrons attempted to talk to Justin and I. He was wearing a cowboy hat, tight pants, button up shirt, and had something to say about Evalyn. I thought it was my hearing loss that was keeping me from understanding him, but Justin confirmed later that it was his accent and that Justin had no idea what the guy was saying either. Justin thinks he was complimenting our parenting, but for all we know he was actually insulting it. All the same, we loved Coopers, and we were very glad that John had the day to come with us. </div>
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We visited the Japanese Tea Gardens on the way back to San Antonio. They were unexpectedly cool. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The pools were filled with koi and little turtles</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love Atlee on the leash in this picture</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The clear water here made Vivian remark that it made her want to go swimming.</td></tr>
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We finished that day off with a visit to John and Michelle's neighborhood pool. At the end of the day Vivian announced that she never wanted to leave San Antonio. Her cousin Creed, in particular, was a source of never ending entertainment for her. </div>
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It took us FAR too long to drive from San Antonio to Dallas the next day. We made one stop outside of Austin to experience a Buc-ees, which was quite an experience, and spent hours sitting in traffic as we had the misfortune of getting stuck behind four pile ups. FOUR. We arrived in Dallas somewhat frazzled from the experience.</div>
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The next day we spent some time in the morning with Devon and Annette, then went off to meet Andrew and Katie for lunch, and then we were all supposed to go together to the George W. Bush library. Over lunch there were flood warnings, and the sky in the distance was turning the green that Justin recognized as tornado weather. We decided to scratch the library. We spent some time with both Andrew and Katie and Devon and Annette at their respective homes before we finally had to start the drive home. We spent the night in Burkburnet, Texas, and the next morning tackled an 11 hour drive back to Colorado Springs. The kids were great on the trip home, even little Evalyn. The weather was good, thankfully, although it seems that the next day the area we had driven through was riddled with tornadoes. As for us, we arrived home to a flat tire on the van, had to shuttle Vivian and Ivan off to the neighbors across the street while we returned the rental car, and settled in here at home just as the snow started falling and we woke up this morning to ten inches of snow. Maybe Vivian was on to something when she said that we should just move to Texas. She's ready to make every family vacation a Texas vacation. </div>
Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01189144134384732232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076870301541451612.post-87178184815446141102019-04-09T20:07:00.001-07:002019-04-09T20:07:50.215-07:00Because, why not?Justin and I have wanted to venture into the Midwest a little bit ever since we moved here. When we admit this to people we're usually met with blank faces, followed by the inevitable "Why?" The only answer we've had is "Why not?" Because, really the place isn't exactly brimming over with tourist attractions. However, we've been dutifully researching for some time, and we finally decided that we had found enough to see and do to justify a trip into Kansas. Two trips, actually. We're going to have to wait for the second one though until the kids are a little older so that we can take them to tour the salt mines, the air and space museum, and the Eisenhower museum. For this trip we decided to stop in Eastern Colorado, in Granada to tour the Amache Japanese Internment camp, or what's left of it, then continue on into Kansas to Ft. Larned National Historic Site, then spend the night in Great Bend, Kansas. The next morning we planned to visit Pawnee Rock, Castle Rock, and Monument Rocks on our way back to Colorado. Just a short weekend trip that admittedly seemed to be primarily about looking at rocks.<br />
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We left early Saturday morning, and immediately decided that we're definitely now a minivan sized family. We rented a "small SUV," and it was very snug. VERY snug. Particularly the three car seats across the backseat. Regardless, we were very excited to be on the road. We didn't even make it out of the county before we were stopping to change a blow out diaper...the joys of traveling with an infant. From there we drove three hours to Granada, Colorado. There was a tiny museum in town that a local high school teacher keeps. I had spoken with him on the phone earlier and he told me that there was another group scheduled for 1030 and that we would need to basically tour with them, because he wouldn't be able to keep the museum open all day on a Saturday. We pulled in at 1030 and it appeared that the tour had already started. The museum was a one-room affair. The high school teacher was a bit of a bragger, and full of a lot of stories about out-bidding people on ebay for certain items in the museum. The other group was a dozen or so older ladies from Kansas. The high school teacher was enjoying having them as a captive audience (most of them looked rather bored), so we took a minute to walk through, look at a few interesting things and then dart back out the door to head out to the internment camp for the driving tour. <br />
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Justin was driving. We had a brief, "discussion" about directions. Justin is usually right when it comes to maps, I'm usually wrong, this situation proved to be no different, and we did finally make our way out to the remnants of a Koi pond, a mess hall, some latrines, and a high school, etc. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Water tank from the camp</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Guard tower. Seems kind of absurd out here. Not sure where they were worried about these people going, US citizens...kind of boggles the mind.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Evalyn is a tiny bit uncertain about the camera Dad keeps pointing at her.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some of the old foundations of a building.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They're just kind of loving being out of the car.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hard to imagine anyone volunteering out of an internment camp to go fight for the country imprisoning them, but some of them did.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of them even earned the medal of honor.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These purple flowers were everywhere, and Vivian loved them. I picked a few for her, and now I think that I'm allergic to them. Not sure what else could have caused the minor little rash later that day.</td></tr>
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Truthfully, it was super interesting. We loved it. It gave me a much better appreciation for the way these people suffered...they suffered. They had some replicated barracks up, and I think my dining room is as big as the space that was allocated for an entire family.<div>
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We left Amache and headed into Kansas. We spent way more time in Amache than we had anticipated and then we had neglected to calculate in a lost hour crossing into central time, so we arrived at Ft. Larned 30 minutes after closing. Still, Kansas may not be super exciting, but I found it to be quite picturesque. Picturesque enough that we didn't feel too bad about missing Ft. Larned.</div>
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We arrived in Great Bend, checked into our hotel, and were not totally thrilled with our ground level room. It had some sliding glass doors that we assumed opened up onto a patio...nope, try an indoor conference room, where some sort of very loud birthday party was taking place, (and continued until 10pm). We left for dinner, and immediately became aware that either people in Kansas are just all unabashed starers, or there is something about us that seems to turn every head in the state. People were very friendly, super nice, but really, they seemed to feel quite comfortable just staring at us, even when we made eye contact. This persisted for the remainder of our time throughout the state.</div>
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The next morning we woke up early and left for Castle Rock. We made a game time decision to eliminate Pawnee Rock on the grounds that further reading made it seem even less interesting than we had initially anticipated. Castle Rock proved to be something of an adventure. It took us HOURS to find it. So this is partly because we failed to look up directions, and we don't have smart phones. (we've been reconsidering upgrading back to smart phones, and this incident has definitely pushed us further in that direction.) Our first attempt to find Castle Rock was really just picking a random dirt road in the general vicinity and launching down it. Some time later we determined that this wasn't the best method. I was the navigator. Justin was somewhat dissatisfied with my performance in that capacity. He took over my duties, and eventually, he got us straightened out and we arrived at Castle Rock. It was kind of interesting. I don't mean to seem snobbish about this, but it was not exactly spectacular. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheOHsEIZ7ml10sSiWDg1H9F73S8Sqq7Uapqvj6uYzCW0HSl0wiwnNUP8ceRMoQ6CY9H1RaPWQhXrHYpa2MO5L6Ky-NePHVQ0vfnZJJGSe1PZvLP_S3imSA8OblgJFViK96kQLr-u2gKBc/s1600/DSC_0269.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="645" data-original-width="839" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEheOHsEIZ7ml10sSiWDg1H9F73S8Sqq7Uapqvj6uYzCW0HSl0wiwnNUP8ceRMoQ6CY9H1RaPWQhXrHYpa2MO5L6Ky-NePHVQ0vfnZJJGSe1PZvLP_S3imSA8OblgJFViK96kQLr-u2gKBc/s400/DSC_0269.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The rear view of a wild turkey we spotted on our drive out there.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw62qk3Hkxhucehd6X9-9_dK1tfuTfSEjoxrGl_aFvG58qvoCyJIY0by88j_D91JxocvxCH5TdIdYygmCcn0uzNfC1niIfJjKCH2-gMZ0rsAckkx9cG23N_F4IQiidRzbyxcUWGmcPEGs/s1600/DSC_0270.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="697" data-original-width="840" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw62qk3Hkxhucehd6X9-9_dK1tfuTfSEjoxrGl_aFvG58qvoCyJIY0by88j_D91JxocvxCH5TdIdYygmCcn0uzNfC1niIfJjKCH2-gMZ0rsAckkx9cG23N_F4IQiidRzbyxcUWGmcPEGs/s400/DSC_0270.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Side view of the same turkey. We didn't see much in the way of wildlife this trip.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggyG4QeFZ-BqYWTgjZ9ObEHCme0DJrrtTm5vLnb62hkiHpyVqrj5YUbppagE-0FP0oYwY0u2GigOPZoqlSAZZe5-JZXQzWuDPBT6Lrrxx2R4kGqrQs8q9sSY3rzuUmKzosJP0ppvfQCJo/s1600/DSC_0274.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1018" data-original-width="1600" height="253" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggyG4QeFZ-BqYWTgjZ9ObEHCme0DJrrtTm5vLnb62hkiHpyVqrj5YUbppagE-0FP0oYwY0u2GigOPZoqlSAZZe5-JZXQzWuDPBT6Lrrxx2R4kGqrQs8q9sSY3rzuUmKzosJP0ppvfQCJo/s400/DSC_0274.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Castle Rock. Viv out snapping a picture of it with an old iphone that we use to send Marco Polo videos.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFPAw5966Ele_PKNaetVFlU_A0vFmamu4ggCsjLcKotB5kpujIgLnhMUcXlI6rjs5MAn1K-t6FJO1o4zpdIuTX8c8p58R_bVPYN3DizX11Z4wWnFlL4TIugch_XIl7-UFWt7nANgt1zdg/s1600/DSC_0285.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1351" data-original-width="1600" height="337" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgFPAw5966Ele_PKNaetVFlU_A0vFmamu4ggCsjLcKotB5kpujIgLnhMUcXlI6rjs5MAn1K-t6FJO1o4zpdIuTX8c8p58R_bVPYN3DizX11Z4wWnFlL4TIugch_XIl7-UFWt7nANgt1zdg/s400/DSC_0285.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Yours truly touching the rock.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
From there we continued on to Monument Rocks which were more interesting, less windy, and significantly easier to locate. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-s6qOahIfSo1cxNTOBXrd5nAWLz1OvG2Qd_cVvh947xn9TYxGum0LkeCWvJmGuSTmv13JAGmkR-s8hQIhOq7yP7L6kRJqcSXa0EPzA2P1tiNY3CNyJRZywoQIpdYzxDaych1vswpIXXM/s1600/DSC_0292.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1068" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-s6qOahIfSo1cxNTOBXrd5nAWLz1OvG2Qd_cVvh947xn9TYxGum0LkeCWvJmGuSTmv13JAGmkR-s8hQIhOq7yP7L6kRJqcSXa0EPzA2P1tiNY3CNyJRZywoQIpdYzxDaych1vswpIXXM/s400/DSC_0292.JPG" width="266" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz0HK5BwlwhSakJ__pHYjyO7TzaX0LTAx6xRhv-l7rrNvVxbmADM9NReTT4QUv9bQOQziv-yw5OhR9EB9oS4OUZIPpblQvBf6R_BcqKbknAbofttL5hvP2BGMeXVzcXJuPtXbP1iIy218/s1600/DSC_0309.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhz0HK5BwlwhSakJ__pHYjyO7TzaX0LTAx6xRhv-l7rrNvVxbmADM9NReTT4QUv9bQOQziv-yw5OhR9EB9oS4OUZIPpblQvBf6R_BcqKbknAbofttL5hvP2BGMeXVzcXJuPtXbP1iIy218/s400/DSC_0309.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyxlZdJkVou-9eHWyXQ_IhlzQGYfb996KYPX8_mvlMHSreqfJ7wyIyqZ2z0b_u8nXVi5glhjJRKBjlRc7GKBcPSu-LUGfgf5hgGYstZ0tm0D_2JQB-GMWUk-Wp_S12BxoJSXq5JVl7F4g/s1600/DSC_0325.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="966" data-original-width="1023" height="377" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgyxlZdJkVou-9eHWyXQ_IhlzQGYfb996KYPX8_mvlMHSreqfJ7wyIyqZ2z0b_u8nXVi5glhjJRKBjlRc7GKBcPSu-LUGfgf5hgGYstZ0tm0D_2JQB-GMWUk-Wp_S12BxoJSXq5JVl7F4g/s400/DSC_0325.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The kids loved running around at this one.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
From there we loaded back up and drove home. It was a few more hours of this: <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaWqGXTpsghiN6hmuLwUqhyphenhyphenAkW8zwABWI-GNvGS4uEdQLkIzkBquA7QTwRKlDd0QMWAuMNiNorCSIFbbeOad-MXW9nM9C8aa5LJ9oIrQP0qJFo-A71MKaUAUxz5UBGSSemQVextD-DoD8/s1600/DSC_0330.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="611" data-original-width="1600" height="152" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhaWqGXTpsghiN6hmuLwUqhyphenhyphenAkW8zwABWI-GNvGS4uEdQLkIzkBquA7QTwRKlDd0QMWAuMNiNorCSIFbbeOad-MXW9nM9C8aa5LJ9oIrQP0qJFo-A71MKaUAUxz5UBGSSemQVextD-DoD8/s400/DSC_0330.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I don't think I'd love living there, but I do think it's pretty in it's own way.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
and then we started to see Pike's Peak coming into view. We were forced to stop a few miles out to address some crisis in the backseat with Ivan, a water bottle, and soaking wet pants. He continued the trip home in this attire:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh94CBudW5ehAwhjNwBTWphyphenhyphenGdSCLJWmgAyRowrW95TGTNa6ManSGnnPbzb09mLt-d9BffrtdCd-cgbWhhZx-nurjA7L_0ognj6LsUXVgDsfniWA_2Y-3ZH_RhVcnaT-EduPmI3SP83-QQ/s1600/DSC_0334.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1488" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh94CBudW5ehAwhjNwBTWphyphenhyphenGdSCLJWmgAyRowrW95TGTNa6ManSGnnPbzb09mLt-d9BffrtdCd-cgbWhhZx-nurjA7L_0ognj6LsUXVgDsfniWA_2Y-3ZH_RhVcnaT-EduPmI3SP83-QQ/s400/DSC_0334.JPG" width="371" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixmYBwCg38xYHgHtSOEUgDWpDGPeX3SuajRYnA6-2O8benYaEpuoIuf8nA5vkr-FiCUCPJvjCmit8vmTEgCZ6U-RkUNYjs6gqWygEYRWKwBnWwM70URSrwLSYvjgWPElRrIBFKzV7axOk/s1600/DSC_0337.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixmYBwCg38xYHgHtSOEUgDWpDGPeX3SuajRYnA6-2O8benYaEpuoIuf8nA5vkr-FiCUCPJvjCmit8vmTEgCZ6U-RkUNYjs6gqWygEYRWKwBnWwM70URSrwLSYvjgWPElRrIBFKzV7axOk/s400/DSC_0337.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's a confident little man.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Now we're trying to catch up on the missed sessions of conference, and looking forward to our next chance to explore the great Midwest!</div>
Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01189144134384732232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076870301541451612.post-40640697088754043922019-01-06T18:03:00.000-08:002019-01-06T19:40:14.955-08:00Goodbye 2018!<br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">I have to admit that I wasn't sad to see this year close and a new one
start. 2018 didn't shape up at all how I had hoped. We started off
buying our first home, and Justin was starting his new job, and that was
supposed to be the beginning of a lot of stability for us. More
importantly, a lot of stability for our two kids who haven't enjoyed a whole
lot of that in their brief little lives. It started out pretty
good. We started buying furniture, and settling into our new life.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKvWM6DXYCltP5k-9Sq-fJuIMr-7Zste02xYj7u1d-xo2zSb2mhpzMhh2RBeC6FtI-vpdiN8g7tydVdb3hs8ky-zyTfkYPQJVHyTeVn-2WFvqmZsdyib42YbFBtT7WiFMzna4siNTPesY/s1600/26173693_10156271516047313_2502493101103907771_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKvWM6DXYCltP5k-9Sq-fJuIMr-7Zste02xYj7u1d-xo2zSb2mhpzMhh2RBeC6FtI-vpdiN8g7tydVdb3hs8ky-zyTfkYPQJVHyTeVn-2WFvqmZsdyib42YbFBtT7WiFMzna4siNTPesY/s400/26173693_10156271516047313_2502493101103907771_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">January 2, 2018 we closed on our first home. This is the picture we took of ourselves that evening.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.5pt;">Justin had a few little business trips here and there, but nothing
too long, and really it was all going very well. It was going even better
when we found out that I was pregnant. However, I got sick, and Justin
left town. I got sicker and Justin left town for longer. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh_4k5ZFgdELkrpCd_1uBgBajrfa94EaoVCwNC1wM0W4F8HArvwHqb0ia82dDL_NVCK6CnBtz4U1xlZtwPbYOYO2tF6X9-T61yW_15wpo_Kg1JIlz31qfGQuOzr0wNKg-7Ve56t1weo4A/s1600/31964095_10216625400888720_1813818406256771072_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="986" data-original-width="1600" height="246" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhh_4k5ZFgdELkrpCd_1uBgBajrfa94EaoVCwNC1wM0W4F8HArvwHqb0ia82dDL_NVCK6CnBtz4U1xlZtwPbYOYO2tF6X9-T61yW_15wpo_Kg1JIlz31qfGQuOzr0wNKg-7Ve56t1weo4A/s400/31964095_10216625400888720_1813818406256771072_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was so sick at this point when we went back to Logan for Justin's graduation.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></span><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0qsrb8UxsiVY73FvX6uuLviSnKXylHBRnoJFUICsLBD5FGN3nBtWR2bY2rGQVZeaz2GL3sycyRsI3F9QeKRDwO47M7kKS-nLejOU5B8K9pM7PjeKiXN4pf6gPT_Ene0tB5lTYhM9c3zU/s1600/35142974_10216892443804626_3174702360479924224_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1201" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0qsrb8UxsiVY73FvX6uuLviSnKXylHBRnoJFUICsLBD5FGN3nBtWR2bY2rGQVZeaz2GL3sycyRsI3F9QeKRDwO47M7kKS-nLejOU5B8K9pM7PjeKiXN4pf6gPT_Ene0tB5lTYhM9c3zU/s400/35142974_10216892443804626_3174702360479924224_o.jpg" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Was starting to feel a little bit better here in June when we took a trip to Granby, Colorado with Justin's parents.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.5pt;">Justin was sent away for two months in DC. The kids and I had to
spend a month in Utah doing things for the guard, and then we joined him for
a month in DC. It wasn't the greatest month of my life, or our lives, but
we were grateful that we found a way to be together for a month of Justin's two
month absence. It wasn't exactly a miserable experience either.</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.5pt;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7l1EQuLUIiVaCk2VaBOwli2FAwGWPAV2f5xcuCj8yQ7KSA7VTGnrXEuB5-43JDGAd-JWH7qCCdkJcQIU6RXX0TyBcnJ1uJLuC3Xh-_M66ynz0RjRZ_f5MD6YYq2GBGMFDbJ2Uevr6Hto/s1600/37944238_10156812249832313_3196533516036734976_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1306" data-original-width="1600" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7l1EQuLUIiVaCk2VaBOwli2FAwGWPAV2f5xcuCj8yQ7KSA7VTGnrXEuB5-43JDGAd-JWH7qCCdkJcQIU6RXX0TyBcnJ1uJLuC3Xh-_M66ynz0RjRZ_f5MD6YYq2GBGMFDbJ2Uevr6Hto/s400/37944238_10156812249832313_3196533516036734976_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying our month together in DC</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.5pt;">We came home, and were excited to settle back into our
routine. Justin called me the day after I got back (he was still in
DC). The army called him. They wanted him to turn around and leave
for another four months of training just a few weeks after he got home.
He would not be home for the birth of our baby. We talked it over.
We didn't like it, but we decided that it would be for the best.</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.5pt;">Justin came home, and Justin left again and I can't honestly say
that it went over very well with our children. I can't honestly say that
it went over super well with Justin, and I can't honestly say that it went over
super well with me. The internet connection was terrible. We could
video chat and he could see us, but we could never see him, and that was if we
could get it to work at all. The cellphone coverage was even worse.
He could only place phone calls from one spot in his dark little hotel room, or
outside of his hotel room, and every phone call dropped at least two or three
times, sometimes more. We all hated it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.5pt;">The kids and I did get to come
spend Columbus Day with him, but leaving him behind as we headed back to Utah
for me to attend drill was horrible. Ivan sat in the car repeating over
and over again "Leaving Dad?! Leaving Dad?!" Vivian fell
apart, which for her looked like a form of extreme hyper naughtiness, and for
Ivan looked like throwing up in a hotel room all night. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfKofu3C_Fk66pl3zm9gPTHwHYFf9QgBmqhwK4NDovBAQX2FzHxfFKli8cadd0Q7dbzHQq0e-DXX5kq-74tGlE1pBl4_qQHAze-ZRAiRqJmtVLCVdVU4cF_Z2fNu10VlhX0-MvwrgcPXM/s1600/DSC_0234.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1222" data-original-width="1600" height="305" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfKofu3C_Fk66pl3zm9gPTHwHYFf9QgBmqhwK4NDovBAQX2FzHxfFKli8cadd0Q7dbzHQq0e-DXX5kq-74tGlE1pBl4_qQHAze-ZRAiRqJmtVLCVdVU4cF_Z2fNu10VlhX0-MvwrgcPXM/s400/DSC_0234.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7WphDNfuYoE6yEZMZq_BIL_m5SEa23Bav3KzyWVzVTHcRwL8iGa6a6Pm6pkQGWpFjKg97pITD2QWUBk9M0iPSuljV648MvQ0zYiv_sBfw3cUgDYWoZtzKz-OkAOtCF0EciRh04soo3eQ/s1600/DSC_0242.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1054" data-original-width="1600" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh7WphDNfuYoE6yEZMZq_BIL_m5SEa23Bav3KzyWVzVTHcRwL8iGa6a6Pm6pkQGWpFjKg97pITD2QWUBk9M0iPSuljV648MvQ0zYiv_sBfw3cUgDYWoZtzKz-OkAOtCF0EciRh04soo3eQ/s400/DSC_0242.JPG" width="400" /></span></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Hiking in Chiricahua National Monument when we visited Justin over Columbus Day.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Now I have to say a big thanks to my in-laws in there who took us to
Disneyland, who brought us out to Boise so the kids could go to the Lion King
stage production, and let us stay and do Halloween with them. The
distractions were super helpful. I mean, nothing really makes up for
having your dad just a voice over the phone or internet for months on end, but
at least it helped. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy1t90qa4AfR0CzFxp9nRaprY9QrBQGtGmvJevKjiF_TuV8Il8xSIdzW6BMB8OlNMvaredLuclebccsnBL1BGivOtdha8luGnZ-9PURizih2-_tJBAMshUPibqk2qunX-Xcds_SUJ3m9o/s1600/43011318_10217809593532796_2911829166301118464_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="876" data-original-width="1600" height="218" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy1t90qa4AfR0CzFxp9nRaprY9QrBQGtGmvJevKjiF_TuV8Il8xSIdzW6BMB8OlNMvaredLuclebccsnBL1BGivOtdha8luGnZ-9PURizih2-_tJBAMshUPibqk2qunX-Xcds_SUJ3m9o/s400/43011318_10217809593532796_2911829166301118464_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ready for Mickey's Halloween Party</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqnWrvMH5unR9zX26mAnvg-GKCqCxE5uSSbtUJa9B5_MwsgibeszyfVfuXUawfpC9bWi6ztXsveLyYzsQCfetQwHtYRFkklkuYH1hssGIDWAw9_PeEpvV-I93GGgMvq2eda8uE8TvYlCE/s1600/44931895_10160888246655697_2195677218330378240_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="960" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhqnWrvMH5unR9zX26mAnvg-GKCqCxE5uSSbtUJa9B5_MwsgibeszyfVfuXUawfpC9bWi6ztXsveLyYzsQCfetQwHtYRFkklkuYH1hssGIDWAw9_PeEpvV-I93GGgMvq2eda8uE8TvYlCE/s400/44931895_10160888246655697_2195677218330378240_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Lion King</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZKmMhHlPdbpVyp33T5T8eY0c11KqHzBLjeRH5ZnyckxAls0-PjkQbK5GXcR-JwFjIq0n3CNteQZ9b1IIxRR8KI2h5FgsxIpNBROBZEYkiSWVftC_3qBbX3WeM8e7oFDNUfyUXWkuEVC8/s1600/45139551_10160903848935697_2243512231905984512_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1080" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZKmMhHlPdbpVyp33T5T8eY0c11KqHzBLjeRH5ZnyckxAls0-PjkQbK5GXcR-JwFjIq0n3CNteQZ9b1IIxRR8KI2h5FgsxIpNBROBZEYkiSWVftC_3qBbX3WeM8e7oFDNUfyUXWkuEVC8/s400/45139551_10160903848935697_2243512231905984512_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ivan went as Grandpa Goodale for Halloween</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><br />
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.5pt;">In all of this the pregnancy was progressing along great, and we
were putting together a plan for my in-laws to come and have Grandpa watch the
kids while Grandma would come with me to the delivery. Justin had flown home for
Thanksgiving weekend, and while his visit was great, his departure again was
frankly just more than our little people could handle. I remain convinced
that it was all the coming and going and never staying that finally just became
too much for them. They couldn't do it, and his departure was met with a
flood of tears and tantrums. Justin and I decided shortly thereafter that
we would all return with him for the last month of training after Christmas,
assuming that the baby and I were healthy.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span>
<br />
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Our biggest break this year
came when I was chatting with my doctor one day, a few weeks before my
scheduled induction and asked her if she would let me try and wait just a few
more days until Justin could come home. At our first few appointments
this doctor had been somewhat adamant that I be induced right at 39 weeks, and
I was asking to try and wait until two days before my due date. She had
also predicted that the baby would show up before 38 weeks. However,
little baby Evalyn was still breech, and since she remained breech the doctor
no longer believed that she was going to show up early, and she agreed to let me
try and wait it out. We talked about all the risks, the possibility of an
emergency c-section, and such, but she also confided that if she were me, she'd
do everything to try and wait for Justin to get here too.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">
</span>
<div style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt;">
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;"><br /></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt; line-height: 115%;">Justin's parents arrived on the 6th. I breathed a sigh of relief
when they arrived. I still think that Evalyn would have shown up early if
they hadn't been there to help me with the other two for that last little
stretch. Evalyn flipped herself on the 13th, and Justin flew in the
afternoon of the 15th, and I was induced early the next morning and her dad was
there to meet her when she arrived later that afternoon. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsEofTZ_EwxLmaSipsWVbVHFzNZETldNQPrCUjN9IlfdRTZ1pNAK2ghP1xM_s3moLuxHnXFmY8xdMd-j_sR48yR5AGU1MsTkpkY8Ck1i2cIDsN9HdHSctIFKvVcDvZJd81pg9xIhmRNBA/s1600/48369687_250701129195102_8698893239375101952_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsEofTZ_EwxLmaSipsWVbVHFzNZETldNQPrCUjN9IlfdRTZ1pNAK2ghP1xM_s3moLuxHnXFmY8xdMd-j_sR48yR5AGU1MsTkpkY8Ck1i2cIDsN9HdHSctIFKvVcDvZJd81pg9xIhmRNBA/s400/48369687_250701129195102_8698893239375101952_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5xdPEllU9QmK1kcePt-sJfdMCNejBHtX1BCGzP8XpqJ26fY95zKlppE94qOKsXi3uWLXEPapQOtL9tnHTPDLoENjI4nwkcPBdw5cblb5H-6knYBHlmOPQB0_hQucHHnKHHA-5Jjeu0Kg/s1600/48371246_2216384105297496_7114115337250930688_n+%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5xdPEllU9QmK1kcePt-sJfdMCNejBHtX1BCGzP8XpqJ26fY95zKlppE94qOKsXi3uWLXEPapQOtL9tnHTPDLoENjI4nwkcPBdw5cblb5H-6knYBHlmOPQB0_hQucHHnKHHA-5Jjeu0Kg/s400/48371246_2216384105297496_7114115337250930688_n+%25281%2529.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It would be hard to overstate how happy I was to have him home in time to be there for Evalyn's arrival.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">Justin's parents had to leave the next morning. Our kids
were beyond excited to have their dad back, they were completely thrown for a
loop having a new baby sister, and I couldn't help but note that their lives
remained every bit, if not more tumultuous than they had been last
year. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeEyo-adUfsGtTC4AzLTfJBUU93ZNwzspECNK1tLVQHzwTQPGpBV8wbSZuG_qCCLLa2XxaAEXOJqquQ5Dr-og9Z5a4fRgVYxkypJIRnuvrOw7TfSobTGhQA3WN-HobigInXHgpfvAv-MM/s1600/48363004_10218411114490444_4548071582769086464_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeEyo-adUfsGtTC4AzLTfJBUU93ZNwzspECNK1tLVQHzwTQPGpBV8wbSZuG_qCCLLa2XxaAEXOJqquQ5Dr-og9Z5a4fRgVYxkypJIRnuvrOw7TfSobTGhQA3WN-HobigInXHgpfvAv-MM/s400/48363004_10218411114490444_4548071582769086464_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Evalyn is a very loved little sister.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div style="margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin: 0in;">
<span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">We began 2019 living in a hotel room, on a military base, and as I
reflect back on what was kind of a crazy year, I can't help but say that
despite the moments that were hard, the weeks and months that were long, and
the things that didn't go right, we had a pretty great year. We have a
beautiful home, and we're excited to go home and live in it! I left the
military, and it was so much harder to walk away than I anticipated, but as my
wise little Viv reminded me one day when I was feeling bad about it "you
got to be a soldier for a long time Mom, and now it's time to just be a
Mom." I suspect she overheard her dad and I discussing it, but it
was a poignant, well-timed little reminder why it needed to happen. We watched
Vivian go from toddler to kid, and become too smart for her own good,
perceptive beyond her years, with an imagination that often leaves us
speechless, and does nothing but delight her younger brother. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilFeL0mK7ETV6rbQUKZLJh6fwNzlEz5KFtsiGK7spRMvY35mjHOOBN3_X-4yo4S9-Li62v3BhIHemFQaT1g7NhMZEKmPSEgYtFsf35JLzZBBGbRoZtpWLxNaM02ZskB5PyTg6UfFtaono/s1600/DSC_0250.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1512" data-original-width="1600" height="377" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilFeL0mK7ETV6rbQUKZLJh6fwNzlEz5KFtsiGK7spRMvY35mjHOOBN3_X-4yo4S9-Li62v3BhIHemFQaT1g7NhMZEKmPSEgYtFsf35JLzZBBGbRoZtpWLxNaM02ZskB5PyTg6UfFtaono/s400/DSC_0250.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She still loves hiking.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> Ivan went from words to phrases, and one of his favorites is "I love you Mom/Dad/Vivian/Evalyn. Great person!" I think I might not be his favorite anymore, because he loves nothing more than playing with Dad, but I also know that it doesn't matter because really neither Justin or I can compete with Vivian for favorite anyway. I'm more grateful than I can say that they have each other. I can't imagine either one of them getting through a year like this alone. </span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX75J7BQ22-DaPFpvYu4BU2UEosuxyNk8mTy-V6tm858PFCXesxMlP-jxkEOqCBR3zOvaOLuBAs1J4IXYOEFgynigTPNnqrOh7JWOxq4hD1wtK4Fpiw3LA03eOfjyf0zkgZP_ckv79oo0/s1600/DSC_0223.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1388" data-original-width="1600" height="277" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhX75J7BQ22-DaPFpvYu4BU2UEosuxyNk8mTy-V6tm858PFCXesxMlP-jxkEOqCBR3zOvaOLuBAs1J4IXYOEFgynigTPNnqrOh7JWOxq4hD1wtK4Fpiw3LA03eOfjyf0zkgZP_ckv79oo0/s320/DSC_0223.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYQrMbAojshwBKSxJs7g75k0BOcav1CWRUcgH6sJWWztyviNWhyNYUCt1zTNSGteyyhEgPv8-Yl97j2_pYvmtM-OFoRxwTnS4EG3cU5Sbp-Q_rtHiwdqxoKM9j43iIZwqyn_x3iZzLMDo/s1600/48369524_262363061111772_6486367057616044032_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYQrMbAojshwBKSxJs7g75k0BOcav1CWRUcgH6sJWWztyviNWhyNYUCt1zTNSGteyyhEgPv8-Yl97j2_pYvmtM-OFoRxwTnS4EG3cU5Sbp-Q_rtHiwdqxoKM9j43iIZwqyn_x3iZzLMDo/s320/48369524_262363061111772_6486367057616044032_n.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a pretty standard thing with them. They still hold hands in the car too.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">We are also grateful that after a pretty hellish pregnancy, we have a healthy, happy, and beautiful baby Evalyn. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifcHTwluA2r6mLuDl6m3MGcNcBUBHn4eiqDVAc_PmluKkJPxhyphenhyphena8WHWQ6esPlYtd4fSwCmsPuM72jiv58PuiGc5DsWG3yGWBjB6ziPyR30NWg8JItn-Ivx8XowIKo46wNX25eenMEsOF0/s1600/DSC_0539.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1326" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifcHTwluA2r6mLuDl6m3MGcNcBUBHn4eiqDVAc_PmluKkJPxhyphenhyphena8WHWQ6esPlYtd4fSwCmsPuM72jiv58PuiGc5DsWG3yGWBjB6ziPyR30NWg8JItn-Ivx8XowIKo46wNX25eenMEsOF0/s400/DSC_0539.JPG" width="331" /></a></div>
</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;">We remembered this year how grateful we are for the gospel, that binds us together forever, no matter where we are in the world, we'll be a family forever. We remembered this year that our things don't matter, stuff breaks, and wears out, and ruined vacation plans don't matter, there's always next year (although Justin is determined that this year we're making the most of his time off), but time together at home or away, or even over the phone or crappy internet connection does. After our first day in the hotel Justin came home from class, and listened to me whine at him about how much I hated being in a hotel room all day with our three small children. Then as Ivan woke up from his nap and wrapped his arms around his dad as he exclaimed "DAD IS HOME!" all he had to say was, "but doesn't this make it worthwhile?" It does, it definitely does, but we're still hoping that 2019 is our best year yet, finds us spending more time in our own home, and more time together and we're excited to see what it brings either way!</span><span style="font-size: 13.5pt;"> </span></span>Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01189144134384732232noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076870301541451612.post-52789136451025955972018-08-07T12:44:00.000-07:002018-08-07T12:44:32.836-07:00HomeboundWe're in our last 24 hours here in the east, before the kids and I have to return to Utah for me to attend August drill. Our last couple weeks here have been a lot of fun. We went on a second outing to see the rest of the memorials at the National Mall. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9PK1tESfkmIcRGdxKz_kpSeYW5WlJ_N82Gc6ExprkUXVLy1feJ6sFSlYc5m0k9tJByFyjYdnJFTua5r8jkjSpcx0PkeSen5w7gc_nj5tbJ7lCPEJIHaylDR9bT2jUoAQkGcsU0Ru9pfc/s1600/DSC_0585.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9PK1tESfkmIcRGdxKz_kpSeYW5WlJ_N82Gc6ExprkUXVLy1feJ6sFSlYc5m0k9tJByFyjYdnJFTua5r8jkjSpcx0PkeSen5w7gc_nj5tbJ7lCPEJIHaylDR9bT2jUoAQkGcsU0Ru9pfc/s400/DSC_0585.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My feet were swelling a lot on this walk, so we stopped in again at the WWII Memorial to soak them. Our kids didn't complain.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2y3r4uEUrqS9mVxT9xICBRKWV_dhNOkL1Pld134bH9mi-xVr0OBSj0i55wXhmLE1W8e-9F3g0BKznyP0Dfe7P6xnPizO0Yx6Mns0MmXkuJE6pYYIiSq1bSC7u7T9WXh0vIloJQiGcUF0/s1600/DSC_0591.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2y3r4uEUrqS9mVxT9xICBRKWV_dhNOkL1Pld134bH9mi-xVr0OBSj0i55wXhmLE1W8e-9F3g0BKznyP0Dfe7P6xnPizO0Yx6Mns0MmXkuJE6pYYIiSq1bSC7u7T9WXh0vIloJQiGcUF0/s400/DSC_0591.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He loves me. He just doesn't want anyone else to know.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeEkeRG5JJRsaTSnZ3zxuvpoja5rryZsGN4jz3huGNiVpG3m2FF1RoW7NI9S00qmLjzcm8mcmi6mzjvDS1C4TJGfdoTGx7-v3ZxCLCPzLWsKnp-sfix7ivDC0i3qOCZJkJwPHJNhBqpDs/s1600/DSC_0595.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="946" data-original-width="1600" height="236" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeEkeRG5JJRsaTSnZ3zxuvpoja5rryZsGN4jz3huGNiVpG3m2FF1RoW7NI9S00qmLjzcm8mcmi6mzjvDS1C4TJGfdoTGx7-v3ZxCLCPzLWsKnp-sfix7ivDC0i3qOCZJkJwPHJNhBqpDs/s400/DSC_0595.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jefferson monument from across the tidal basin</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkTNOLYEuFqPbaAxLMXDdatmcEoJsN5T9-VcgPoe8EfPx6qImyK60IBUk_PO9kcfIRaRAzxQ_QoHw8LWEfCJ3_TVhwmliGck3MIG9AvKd_sz1Akr59iL338ORovgKUtILHck6NFYh0I3E/s1600/DSC_0598.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjkTNOLYEuFqPbaAxLMXDdatmcEoJsN5T9-VcgPoe8EfPx6qImyK60IBUk_PO9kcfIRaRAzxQ_QoHw8LWEfCJ3_TVhwmliGck3MIG9AvKd_sz1Akr59iL338ORovgKUtILHck6NFYh0I3E/s400/DSC_0598.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Washington Monument at sunset. Incidentally we saw it get struck by lightning the other day, which was crazy. Wish I had a picture of that.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzfVTXUiDM3b99ya5kwVde6jB7y-IKkg78Hpxse2bE3HnmWKCnQnKtd93gJPFn7snEDDg2w2N8Qg87CBeeNiCldsjDyiY68R8IsInSOyRpdOua8FkVYHH1lisTL8nGi-h5j1j0ppj6aP4/s1600/DSC_0600.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1440" data-original-width="1600" height="358" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzfVTXUiDM3b99ya5kwVde6jB7y-IKkg78Hpxse2bE3HnmWKCnQnKtd93gJPFn7snEDDg2w2N8Qg87CBeeNiCldsjDyiY68R8IsInSOyRpdOua8FkVYHH1lisTL8nGi-h5j1j0ppj6aP4/s400/DSC_0600.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the FDR Memorial. Vivian loved all the water features of this one. I felt that it was a little too big personally. Maybe I would have felt differently if my feet didn't feel huge, and uncomfy, but they did, so I was unhappy about it's size. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD79GNf83nVX5AqZI4Ms_I8ftBE8g70pPGJinq4DsI7ti5S_qFor05MEo9EDXvkHdkx0FYUG1juKiJWsP5n4VGgDhxX86UvIzfqlP8QtPqCMXMkfkrrPD0trSfHXRTcNmFat7ZpQSKok0/s1600/DSC_0623a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1133" data-original-width="1131" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD79GNf83nVX5AqZI4Ms_I8ftBE8g70pPGJinq4DsI7ti5S_qFor05MEo9EDXvkHdkx0FYUG1juKiJWsP5n4VGgDhxX86UvIzfqlP8QtPqCMXMkfkrrPD0trSfHXRTcNmFat7ZpQSKok0/s400/DSC_0623a.JPG" width="398" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Inside the Jefferson Monument</td></tr>
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This was the outing that led to the "Disney rash" that I mentioned in the previous post. So we're a little out of order here I guess.<div>
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The week after the trip to NYC I took the kids to the Natural History Museum to see a live butterfly exhibit. I went on Tuesday because the exhibit is rather pricey, but free on Tuesdays. First we met up with some friends from DLI for lunch, and it was great catching up with them, and then we continued on to the museum. It was nuts. We had to wait in a very long line to even enter the museum, and then we got one of the last tickets to see the butterflies for that day. However, we had something like 90 minutes to kill before the time on our tickets. So we visited the dinosaur section which was surprisingly interesting to Vivian, and then the remainder of the time looking at rocks and gems, which she loved. I wanted to take her back to get another look at them since we were on a bit of a time crunch by the time we got to the jewels, which was definitely her favorite part. We never got to it though. So next time in DC I guess. Anyway, by the time we got to the butterflies the kids were tired, and they get very hyper when they are tired. Ivan was tired and then freed from the confines of his stroller for the butterflies. So moments after we got the talk about not touching butterflies, there he was, a foot from the entrance snatching at a butterfly. It was a very long exhibit for me. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWpspI1BWdW54ZBF6D4p3J671GDOjYsFj27JGg-MS6SvfiSJJDUuHO7yuksHL4RcYem-iA348WqkeHi2DlrkCrX7lBmyxhKWTvoazSLroN5B8on6unhUbXwqXyknSgOIVW5WZadl_ndK0/s1600/DSC_0660a.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWpspI1BWdW54ZBF6D4p3J671GDOjYsFj27JGg-MS6SvfiSJJDUuHO7yuksHL4RcYem-iA348WqkeHi2DlrkCrX7lBmyxhKWTvoazSLroN5B8on6unhUbXwqXyknSgOIVW5WZadl_ndK0/s400/DSC_0660a.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moments before he reached over and snatched at that butterfly</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwhzjSJbflj9gtMt7N9X9TOs4FmSUbijp3CdZFO4mPD91Dq2EDhY_FveT7rkCnNc1HPumzOWqDXepGC7kif9p8d0DhXwQXg-ta1jie-t-JHhNcZT2ZwPkhYfRv3gHIuWrpFw2qn2mIyoU/s1600/DSC_0666.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1412" data-original-width="1600" height="352" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwhzjSJbflj9gtMt7N9X9TOs4FmSUbijp3CdZFO4mPD91Dq2EDhY_FveT7rkCnNc1HPumzOWqDXepGC7kif9p8d0DhXwQXg-ta1jie-t-JHhNcZT2ZwPkhYfRv3gHIuWrpFw2qn2mIyoU/s400/DSC_0666.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Just happy to be out of the stroller</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiszoObm7emLt5tIewzt2-_GTKXe1xeg88fS1H1WVVOPw3iQ5YDmvJrCvoZM0HLQut5pyrfk_3TbQbjVEmp86mAvAFYgzaEfW4dA3XnMrcJ6u1LkDAUACqAyBmILjCvjvMqqCHXHq6KLNI/s1600/DSC_0667.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1440" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiszoObm7emLt5tIewzt2-_GTKXe1xeg88fS1H1WVVOPw3iQ5YDmvJrCvoZM0HLQut5pyrfk_3TbQbjVEmp86mAvAFYgzaEfW4dA3XnMrcJ6u1LkDAUACqAyBmILjCvjvMqqCHXHq6KLNI/s400/DSC_0667.JPG" width="360" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is what he does when you ask him to smile, but seriously he was like a wild person in there, which made it almost seem like some kind of a threatening face. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1068" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPvZ-EoQy-qQIcK76e5sLRfm2iKuaSXR-BWZ3MtdBx6v4Jfk-8iCBhyGctQ3B_fqP3YXvj9QnFEnCFfWTgRuHspc6NF2o-sYmwuCO3RfBMKxtRXoAMiyA6HOjDJudSHtY38sINeqBPcDw/s400/DSC_0673.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="266" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At least one of them actually enjoyed the butterflies.</td></tr>
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Exiting the exhibit proved problematic since there was some worker there that has to let you out. I had to drag Ivan away from more butterflies, and he was not very happy about it. I was standing there with my screeching, flailing 1.5 year old while the worker first tried to tell Ivan that he needed to be quieter or he would scare the butterflies (Genius, why didn't I just think of that? Oh, because he doesn't care, and just writhing around and shouting to be put down), she then proceeded to continue talking to some lady there that appeared to have an endless list of mind-numbing questions about butterflies. I was on the verge of just barging past her out the door when it seemed to finally dawn on her that if she just let us out that we would go away. The truth is that the butterfly exhibit wasn't really all that great either. Quite frankly the one at the Boise zoo was way more impressive. Still, Vivian seemed to really like it, so I figure that it was worth dragging my hyper little boy through it, but I'm glad we didn't pay for that experience. </div>
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A few days later was Vivian's 4th birthday. Her birthdays make me sad. I don't like how quickly they seem to pass. We talked about how we weren't going to do anything that day other than take her to the mall nearby for some ice cream. We didn't want to buy her gifts since we don't have a lot of extra room in our suitcase for gifts. We told her that we'd do that when we get home to Colorado. However, while eating our ice cream I spotted a Claire's and suggested that we buy her a piece of jewelry as a small gift now. It seemed like a great idea. It was a great idea, but we completely underestimated her enthusiasm for that place. So as Justin was checking out with 5 necklaces, a bracelet, and a small stuffed animal the cashier was laughing as Vivian told her dad that "everything that I see in this store is amazing. I want to buy one of everything here." It was definitely a win. I guess now we know where we need to go for Christmas shopping this year.</div>
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When the weekend rolled around we took her to the National Aquarium in Baltimore. She loves aquariums, and this one was a very good aquarium. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdwWYw2pFPcC3VUkwVq7oMuZPwL890-MQ2ukl4BVSd3RklzpPJVpiiRAj01oEgqXRQgh4GAMjhohSfCINHYnb8cauV3UJj0VnPFFATMa7UpMoxfO4JECsqADgGOu2kkprNGfxkNNKZDNw/s1600/DSC_0679.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="926" data-original-width="1600" height="231" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdwWYw2pFPcC3VUkwVq7oMuZPwL890-MQ2ukl4BVSd3RklzpPJVpiiRAj01oEgqXRQgh4GAMjhohSfCINHYnb8cauV3UJj0VnPFFATMa7UpMoxfO4JECsqADgGOu2kkprNGfxkNNKZDNw/s400/DSC_0679.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Touching jellyfish</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg2uv_XvUgKd8ucX3iCfAdymhC6_l3EmRIvXy-Yzs9rr3tNAzhG11qunVxfbGZwcI_fbLrIFTAU_mW13BtMv6e-NuQ-C5r6VTeg4zECqhS05NUcwpKZJGvSCMn7LOqHiqluSDLI1t7MfU/s1600/DSC_0683.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1276" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhg2uv_XvUgKd8ucX3iCfAdymhC6_l3EmRIvXy-Yzs9rr3tNAzhG11qunVxfbGZwcI_fbLrIFTAU_mW13BtMv6e-NuQ-C5r6VTeg4zECqhS05NUcwpKZJGvSCMn7LOqHiqluSDLI1t7MfU/s400/DSC_0683.JPG" width="318" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He was eager to touch them. Vivian initially refused until she realized that Ivan was doing it. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1318" data-original-width="1600" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoS-cXE5fQKmpcsuNU1qNCbPmM7ZAJ6c5xmik1Rprr5KlqZgXMqQ8Jbp86FkSukSrO_Q-XaR_3ean68jx_0hRDNuzwhMyQl2EZy1_pDbwCuSyXoeSAEe6XRIQ7A39boaO6GTOgKjlzLOw/s400/DSC_0689.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She was much more compliant about the "one to two finger" touching policy than her brother.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoS-cXE5fQKmpcsuNU1qNCbPmM7ZAJ6c5xmik1Rprr5KlqZgXMqQ8Jbp86FkSukSrO_Q-XaR_3ean68jx_0hRDNuzwhMyQl2EZy1_pDbwCuSyXoeSAEe6XRIQ7A39boaO6GTOgKjlzLOw/s1600/DSC_0689.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoS-cXE5fQKmpcsuNU1qNCbPmM7ZAJ6c5xmik1Rprr5KlqZgXMqQ8Jbp86FkSukSrO_Q-XaR_3ean68jx_0hRDNuzwhMyQl2EZy1_pDbwCuSyXoeSAEe6XRIQ7A39boaO6GTOgKjlzLOw/s1600/DSC_0689.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwAu0sFIEaXfFMGbCLeKwChd33aYeDVfXxWUwZUkaIFMrCH21cD7rV_J3NrQmeCwsTPNyBT-t9VZOIToKO12v8xAhfXwjY6RVgZmHYR4YiVitEeBT8La4fng10rXvG0oZKHsj-elmCsjU/s1600/DSC_0693.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgwAu0sFIEaXfFMGbCLeKwChd33aYeDVfXxWUwZUkaIFMrCH21cD7rV_J3NrQmeCwsTPNyBT-t9VZOIToKO12v8xAhfXwjY6RVgZmHYR4YiVitEeBT8La4fng10rXvG0oZKHsj-elmCsjU/s400/DSC_0693.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A look down at the open pool on the main floor</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYYJr03dgdZq-O0SMGQYhmoPvvHFw_QwgVWcxXwDiHQ0E0_KuIrNwSUuESwuh8lkInCq7JbQzENvhTVz049jzs0UjFpcEnx4DWcozIMW4yPceTkiR7UhW4BBFoAVcX7wEJTqxipHASiMU/s1600/DSC_0711.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1068" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgYYJr03dgdZq-O0SMGQYhmoPvvHFw_QwgVWcxXwDiHQ0E0_KuIrNwSUuESwuh8lkInCq7JbQzENvhTVz049jzs0UjFpcEnx4DWcozIMW4yPceTkiR7UhW4BBFoAVcX7wEJTqxipHASiMU/s400/DSC_0711.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The dolphin tank</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtfl4l6OOZTC9xnSXf8mZgSaQdRTg5YFm4AQdKQBCheFW-q4KCaSADuTosryrqn8sogx16ikNwRyaHdeKVhwkFIfEPNqDmAPmEMlQqzguwZzN7-3lf3rfVxIw8xUQ6FXIKUEsLhORMHOI/s1600/DSC_0715.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtfl4l6OOZTC9xnSXf8mZgSaQdRTg5YFm4AQdKQBCheFW-q4KCaSADuTosryrqn8sogx16ikNwRyaHdeKVhwkFIfEPNqDmAPmEMlQqzguwZzN7-3lf3rfVxIw8xUQ6FXIKUEsLhORMHOI/s400/DSC_0715.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting for the dolphin show to start.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPCXTXqs1X98bB0Y3x3hX6epHDLGujjYKkPeMNhQ1dHu-TPuXH1q60XuUKvY1FYID36Xb6bNokL98H40eNoPTN29RSTfqoSxjwOAH4w_CQt2FVEGdfYvJuaEOBJAsoxbB0lYMBJ5FcD2U/s1600/DSC_0774.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="916" data-original-width="1600" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjPCXTXqs1X98bB0Y3x3hX6epHDLGujjYKkPeMNhQ1dHu-TPuXH1q60XuUKvY1FYID36Xb6bNokL98H40eNoPTN29RSTfqoSxjwOAH4w_CQt2FVEGdfYvJuaEOBJAsoxbB0lYMBJ5FcD2U/s400/DSC_0774.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was a very impressive show, although the kids were disappointed that the dolphins didn't play with some balls that they spotted sitting next to the pool in the background.</td></tr>
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We had a great time, came home exhausted and very happy with the trip. The only thing we'd do different on this one is to go during the week. The weekend was so crowded. At a minimum we would have left earlier and bought our tickets online in advance. Just trust me on this, if you ever consider doing this, buy your tickets in advance. Even if you get the $5 military discount at the window, it's not worth it. Just buy them online.</div>
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After that we took a few days to recover, and then one of my friends from DLI took the kids and I out to Great Falls Park in Maryland for a little hike/walk while Justin was at work. We had a great day. The kids loved it because it had rained and the trails were full of puddles. I made a weak initial effort to keep them out of puddles ("Go around the puddle! Go around the puddle. Go around the puddle...as Vivian barely skirts the edge and Ivan walks directly through the middle of it), but I gave up on that pretty quickly, and really, you're only little once, so why not?<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizJ8kueeXRtj9bPTrGWwbDjegYdMuF9sftfz-4wYSxS2hceE4WL6oyt2eLPkskuvcKWfLWb_stmWQs6DTnubnGQLua6xcS_vqvtqFX6CzPuECwI1LjhbMsFP1pyyqk_q89vuf2NqapJTE/s1600/DSC_0792.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizJ8kueeXRtj9bPTrGWwbDjegYdMuF9sftfz-4wYSxS2hceE4WL6oyt2eLPkskuvcKWfLWb_stmWQs6DTnubnGQLua6xcS_vqvtqFX6CzPuECwI1LjhbMsFP1pyyqk_q89vuf2NqapJTE/s400/DSC_0792.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apparently the falls were very full that day because of recent rain storms.</td></tr>
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In all of my perusing of things to see and do in the area I hadn't stumbled across this one, and it was really beautiful, and a very fun day, so thank you to Kate Semons for taking us out there. <br /><br />
Our last weekend here we decided to drive out to Assateague Island National Seashore. It's a few hours away, so we left at 8, which we hoped was early enough for a Saturday. It was, and it wasn't. We hit some bad traffic, but as it turns out little kids on a hot beach only do well out there for a little while anyway, so we had plenty of time. If we were to do it again when the kids are older we'd probably get a hotel nearby, camp out there the night before, or leave at the crack of dawn, but for this excursion what we did worked out fine. We would however, definitely pack a lunch. We decided not to, since we were a little short on lunch type foods, and agreed that we would buy lunch out there. There isn't really a place for that out there, or nearby, so we had to settle with a lunch of ice cream and snack foods, which was most definitely not ideal. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0YylfYfKk3RYb1nC06mWnhxDFMKPldcQ975MFi5O8b8S8RRD0IDE4TwNIwjQgyYBmS51bJb_x57v1LNpQ-ZPdFHLnfyTtcgwNbsvw1qLP87rRX_uQQ2Rd-Thgm9vjAHHu26cvZ076mMs/s1600/DSC_0806.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1429" data-original-width="1600" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi0YylfYfKk3RYb1nC06mWnhxDFMKPldcQ975MFi5O8b8S8RRD0IDE4TwNIwjQgyYBmS51bJb_x57v1LNpQ-ZPdFHLnfyTtcgwNbsvw1qLP87rRX_uQQ2Rd-Thgm9vjAHHu26cvZ076mMs/s400/DSC_0806.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ivan went into a state of high alert every time that Justin and Vivian ventured away from our little spot on the beach.</td></tr>
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We hadn't been there very long before I took Ivan down to see the water. I watched the waves for a while, and decided that since we did not have life jackets it was best to not take him in very far at all. When we returned to Justin and Vivian playing in the sand on the beach I reiterated this advice to him as he was gearing up Vivian to come play in the waves with him. He dismissed me, and told me that it would be fine, and it was...mostly. She loved holding onto him while the waves crashed up around them. I could hear the people around us talking about how cute they looked out there together, and you could hear her laughing and squealing all up and down the beach.<br /><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He didn't realize that this wave would be so high.</td></tr>
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It was all very fun to watch, until one of the waves broke over their heads, and they both disappeared under the water for a few seconds. To be honest one of the pictures looks for all the world like he momentarily dropped her, but Justin insists that he hung onto her, and Vivian confirms that "Dad Bug had me tight the whole time." Although she also has mentioned several times that she loved playing the water with him "except for the part where I drowned" which cracks me up whenever she says it.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dragging himself and Viv up out of the water. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1130" data-original-width="1600" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhRO77dNLoIYUPx_R792qIl5StDRC1IGBGXNutG3O01S-iAHv7e6krFKqMBvyW59a6JSnvF9TgW8pfY1Jn7TQ_0hO_mqrHqFnAoTogOtbM0TtDYEBQQKWaGd76tuFsxhotL-lLCm4kPm50/s400/DSC_0823.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And exiting the ocean without glasses.</td></tr>
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Unfortunately, because he had Vivian and was focused on not letting go of her and having her washed away, the Atlantic claimed his glasses. This is kind of big deal. Okay, it's a really huge big deal. His eyes are terrible. He can't see anything without them. He acted like it wasn't a big deal as he sat there squinting at me, trying to see my face, and telling me that he can still drive because "I can still see when there are objects in front of me...", that if he caused an accident nobody would ever know that it was because he wasn't wearing them (he didn't realize that it says something on his driver's license), and that of course he does not carry his prescription with him, "that would be ridiculous." So unfortunately he missed some very pretty scenery as we left the beach, and went on a walk on the marsh trail to see if we had any luck spotting wild horses. We did not, or perhaps I should say that I did not.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We did spot these little needle fish though, which I thought were very interesting, and I took this picture mostly so I could show them to Justin later.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4tGNTsFpjXSdAPEC-O8Pi-k4T8ZB8f6hHsf3ijfOqNMVbpjXWmi7n_9k40z61hj1iGXbkREHMM1Ne0t0aioQztCYJM4xtRQwOSSDBFcNuOVJyBnHnFgyWaHUDUbgHh4nqDf0Ar9BsY2s/s1600/DSC_0834.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="796" data-original-width="1209" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4tGNTsFpjXSdAPEC-O8Pi-k4T8ZB8f6hHsf3ijfOqNMVbpjXWmi7n_9k40z61hj1iGXbkREHMM1Ne0t0aioQztCYJM4xtRQwOSSDBFcNuOVJyBnHnFgyWaHUDUbgHh4nqDf0Ar9BsY2s/s400/DSC_0834.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We ran across a family that was breaking rules by wading around in the water in the area and had fished out this horseshoe crab, which completely disgusted Vivian and myself. I had to take the picture though, so that Justin could be disgusted by it later too.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These two...I'm convinced that there is no bigger Daddy's girl out there.</td></tr>
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After that we left and drove into Maryland to visit another couple that I know from DLI. We spent the evening chatting, with Justin squinting his way through the conversation. It was really fun to be able to see so many friends that I haven't seen in a very long time, fun for me to see them, fun for Justin to talk to them.</div>
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Sunday after church we walked to the mall nearby and went to a place called Visionworks that claimed to be able to do an exam and new glasses in 24 hours, for most prescriptions. The guy working there told Justin that they should be able to get him something unless "you've got some really crazy prescription or something." He turned and whispered to me "So my glasses will be ready sometime in November." It was funny, but really, not that funny because we were really afraid of how much truth there might be in that. We were lucky though, and although the guy seemed pretty shocked by how blind Justin is, they had one set of lenses for him. They're pretty cheap, no glare reduction or scratch resistance or any of that other fancy stuff, but they said that they would be ready Monday afternoon. We found some frames that he likes, placed the order and headed out to have dinner with my cousin Lyle and his family at their house. I was hoping that they could have his glasses done sooner, because I hate doing all the driving here, but it wasn't to be. I did manage to get us out to Lyle's house without killing us, and home again late that night after a good visit there.</div>
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Then we all got up early the next morning, drove Justin to work, dropped him off and the kids and I spent a few hours exploring the base, waiting for rush hour to end so that we could head home for lunch, short naps, and back to pick him up again before the traffic got out of control again. I'm so glad that we only had to do that once, because the kids were not loving it. Monday afternoon Justin finally got his new glasses, and I'm not sure who was more relieved, me or him, but probably him. I was very worried that I was going to have to annoy my company, and pay a fortune to reschedule flights to stay out here and shuttle him around until the new ones got here, but as much as a hassle as that would have been for me, I'm guessing that living in a blurry world that whole time would have been a far, far worse experience for him.</div>
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So we leave tomorrow, Justin stays for a while, and we will see him soon when our family regroups again, at home, in Colorado. We are counting down the days until we get to all be home and together. It won't be soon enough. </div>
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Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01189144134384732232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076870301541451612.post-19442638679289102652018-07-26T18:32:00.003-07:002018-07-26T18:50:37.326-07:00A Train Bound for the Big AppleSince we're pretty much never on the east coast, we decided to take the train from DC to New York City to visit one of Justin's cousins while we're here. He hadn't seen her in at least 10 years, so it seemed like it was time to make it happen. He can't take any time off from his training, so it was a pretty quick trip up and back.<br />
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We left Friday night. This was the first time that Justin or the kids have been on an Amtrak train. Vivian is a bit of a seasoned traveler, so she took it all in stride. To say that Ivan found the experience exciting would be a total understatement.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vivian played quietly with her stickers the entire ride. Ivan played quietly with his for about 10 minutes.</td></tr>
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He quickly discovered that a train doesn't require him to sit in his seat the way the metro and the airplane did. He spent a large portion of the trip darting back and forth across the aisle between Justin and I. He was exhausted, but the aisle was calling his name, and the guy next to me was a source of never ending fascination, and this other passenger's pita chips (which he thankfully didn't mind sharing) were too tasty to be neglected. Although our train didn't arrive in New York City until almost 11pm, Ivan remained awake, alert, and loud for all but the last 30 minutes.<br />
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I'm not going to pretend that I'm totally comfortable in big cities, because I'm not. I don't like them, and I am pretty intimidated by them, and I'm really phenomenally bad at directions so this makes cities feel really overwhelming. I printed out detailed instructions of how to get from the train station, to the subway, to our hotel, gave them to Justin and told him to make it happen. His cousin Kristin asked if we wanted to stop for some ice cream on the way to the hotel and meet up for a minute. I would have never agreed to this on my own, because it would require deviating from my specific instructions, but Justin seemed confident and so we figured, why not? We had an early dinner, Vivian was willing to force sleep aside for it, and Ivan was fast asleep in the stroller. Justin got us to the ice cream place with only one minor little turn around (no street sign, so he really wasn't to blame).</div>
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Since our trip was mostly about visiting Kristin and she lives in Upper Manhattan, and I gather that most of the tourist type things I want to see are in Lower Manhattan, we decided to just spend the day with the kids in Central Park.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We actually started off with breakfast in a diner where Vivian spent more time trashing their sugar collection (making a salad) than she did eating breakfast.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the subway</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She loves climbing.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Climbing all over the Alice in Wonderland statue with their dad.</td></tr>
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We spent a fair amount of time at the Alice in Wonderland statue. I was feeling pretty hot and tired, and still very paranoid about a recent bout of what my internet research has led me to believe was the "Disney Rash" following our Thursday night outing back in DC. I was wearing the old lady compression stockings for this outing, but still kind of hoping to take it easy, so I was very grateful to Justin for letting me just ride the bench for this one while he monitored them. Mostly Ivan, whose legs are still a bit too short to do much unassisted climbing. I think that Vivian would have spent all day there.</div>
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We wandered over to a lake with little sail boats. We watched people paddling about in row boats on a river, with varying degrees of success, and Vivian conquered a large rock.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The wind kept blowing her hair in her face.</td></tr>
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I was actually very proud of her. When she got to the top of the rock there were two other little girls up there, with bare feet. They proceeded to tell Vivian that she couldn't stay on the rock without taking her shoes and socks off, because it was their "house." Now, my Viv can be a bit bossy when it comes to kids she knows, but there's also a history of her letting strange children tell her off, and push her around, and she doesn't stand her ground. So Justin walked off and left her alone to handle it. After some heated discussion the two other girls abandoned the rock, and Vivian, with shoes still on, climbed to the top. The other girls returned as we were leaving, wearing shoes. Vivian reported that she told them that it wasn't their house, and they better put their shoes back on their feet. I was just pleased that she stood up for herself without being a jerk, a small victory in parenting.</div>
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We moved on to an area with some performers where Vivian experienced the inside of a bubble, thanks to "Bam Bam the Bubble Man."<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">His first attempt was only partially successful.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Round two did momentarily place her in a bubble.</td></tr>
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It was shortly thereafter that the kids started to run out of steam, and we went to lunch.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_TCNPJKf084Ozh1muR2BgC1emRbXmZRrWXCTUGrrRwcxYVVXrQAr4PEzfZLmGI-V7xosJMCMJ4gLm00HksgevGPVCNloK7aEGNRRZlqt0R0nRwW0YCfY4SCF-PzxGeZ6pBI_mDRt8ypI/s1600/DSC_0658.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1068" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_TCNPJKf084Ozh1muR2BgC1emRbXmZRrWXCTUGrrRwcxYVVXrQAr4PEzfZLmGI-V7xosJMCMJ4gLm00HksgevGPVCNloK7aEGNRRZlqt0R0nRwW0YCfY4SCF-PzxGeZ6pBI_mDRt8ypI/s400/DSC_0658.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We stopped to let Vivian play for a second in the fountains outside of the Met. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ivan was no longer a participant. She leaned up against that water wall and walked away looking like she'd been for a swim.</td></tr>
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Lunch was followed by naps, and a rainstorm, and then dinner, and we went to Kristin's apartment. She loves living in New York. I think maybe, <i>maybe </i>a quarter of my belongings would fit in her apartment. I just don't think it's for me. I'm not sure what that says about me, just that I prefer a home that affords me the ability to hoard lots of things that I rarely use I guess. Anyway, I thought it was very interesting, and we had a really nice visit. We stayed kind of late, and called it when the kids started crossing the line from tired to hyper and there was no way the neighbors were going to like their volume. We said goodbye to Kristin, and hopefully it won't be so long before our next visit. Our big regret from the trip was only that the visit was much too short.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTzfnFt6dSIQBCrpYcHjVxKaqLbop8N8BF_4KaJiYrnD7xs_GrbqxtBbDIJGTpka_OIWoZHQipPCveII8DHdxzqMQj4XR9HFkgT6_gxGIn2itKJm2TiaIV4PmRerlgyAplbmyHeIrDo0k/s1600/IMG_0726.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTzfnFt6dSIQBCrpYcHjVxKaqLbop8N8BF_4KaJiYrnD7xs_GrbqxtBbDIJGTpka_OIWoZHQipPCveII8DHdxzqMQj4XR9HFkgT6_gxGIn2itKJm2TiaIV4PmRerlgyAplbmyHeIrDo0k/s400/IMG_0726.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thankfully Kristin had the presence of mind to get a picture of them together. </td></tr>
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Our train trip home was only marginally better than the trip out. I mean, truthfully I thought that Ivan was quite a bit better behaved, but we had two people in front of me that were very vocal about their annoyance with him...or obvious anyway. The woman made remarks in a nasty tone, and the man just made a point to stare and glare at Justin and I. Seriously, Ivan really wasn't being that bad, and he slept for about half the trip. I'm okay with it though, because I never have to see them again after I got off in DC, and that's a luxury that they don't get. It was a fun little introduction to the great NYC, great finally getting to meet Kristin, and I'm looking forward to the day when I get to go back and see more of her, and more of all that NYC has to offer. </div>
Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01189144134384732232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076870301541451612.post-14014182026708600802018-07-16T15:01:00.003-07:002018-07-16T15:01:36.469-07:00Forty in DC<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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There's a two month training course that Justin's job requires him to attend in Washington DC. From what I can gather it's very boring, but deemed by the people above him to be a necessity, so back in June he flew off and left us for the nation's Capitol. The kids and I went to Utah so that I could work on getting some things done with the National Guard, and then squeeze in a little visit to Boise with Justin's parents and Grandma. After that we flew out to DC to join Justin in his 15th floor one-bedroom apartment for the last month or so of his training here. <br />
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Now flying cross-country pregnant, with two small toddlers is, for the record, not the greatest experience of my life. Our first flight left so early that I was rousting out my little people at 3am in Utah, and they were weirdly okay with it, because after a month of no "Dad Bug" all I really had to say was "okay kids, we have to get up, it's time to go get on an airplane to see Dad Bug." Magic words for my little Vivian, and Ivan takes all his cues from her, so off we went. It really went pretty well, other than when Ivan lobbed a water bottle at Vivian in the middle of our layover in Minneapolis, and an all out brawl ensued, ending only when I intervened and had to drag Ivan off of his older sister. Considering their level of sleep deprivation though, I think they did remarkably well. When we finally arrived in DC, and there was Dad Bug waiting for us at baggage claim they seemed half stunned to have actually arrived at his location. Stunned but shortly thereafter elated. <br />
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Our first few days here were spent just lounging and napping. This is partly because my kid's hours were all screwed up and they were sleeping in until almost 11am, and then partly because I was exhausted and not all that motivated to drag them out early to address the issue. However, Friday the 13th was my birthday, and as much as I wanted to spend the day in a tiny apartment, I didn't, so I picked that day to drag them out early and reintroduce afternoon naps. It was a rough morning, with some very crabby little people, and at one point I found myself looking in the mirror thinking "I never ever suspected that I would celebrate my fortieth birthday, pregnant, living with two small toddlers in a one-bedroom apartment in DC, with my 29 year old husband...and yet, here I am." All the same, we were ready to go when Justin got home. We loaded up the kids and headed out to the National Mall to tour some of the monuments. <br />
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This was my idea to spend my birthday touring the monuments. Partly because my husband, whom I love very, very much, basically sucks at celebrating birthdays. His preparations to celebrate this year consisted of a "happy birthday" text received at lunchtime. He's really great at a lot of things, but if you're counting on this guy to make you feel like your birthday is special...just don't. So we set off on what Meredith later, appropriately labeled my birthday death march. I mean it wouldn't have been that bad if I weren't pregnant, but I am, and perpetually exhausted, but I still very much enjoyed the whole excursion. We started out at the White House<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM2af2tQT3WVDYfXxK_OYGdJ1in27aGmOnuPjmotRTH07SGWlACKTxWr1WuC3ML16xNG7WwsLRXq0rmHqbsc4RjHGrvbVmmrwxIwEXJApQR192Thch4Gp7NMppyEZUQneTnLs8oQ0rZ4o/s1600/DSC_0471.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1305" data-original-width="1600" height="326" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM2af2tQT3WVDYfXxK_OYGdJ1in27aGmOnuPjmotRTH07SGWlACKTxWr1WuC3ML16xNG7WwsLRXq0rmHqbsc4RjHGrvbVmmrwxIwEXJApQR192Thch4Gp7NMppyEZUQneTnLs8oQ0rZ4o/s400/DSC_0471.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the best picture that the four of us could manage. Ivan looks distinctly unimpressed.</td></tr>
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Some nice tourists offered to take a family picture for us. After they watched this attempt unfold:<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKkazEynJ9QErkigM4ixNc_QLLDq-uuehVrYYARfsJi3ijZV549k5Bm5YjZEioO4b4MOFV5tnLBma4ANQwic9ail6NaJjVPfhND1KRSHo1CFrTzy6phBTqRcek0c-u0eOG4WhsAa-6HJs/s1600/DSC_0469.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1068" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKkazEynJ9QErkigM4ixNc_QLLDq-uuehVrYYARfsJi3ijZV549k5Bm5YjZEioO4b4MOFV5tnLBma4ANQwic9ail6NaJjVPfhND1KRSHo1CFrTzy6phBTqRcek0c-u0eOG4WhsAa-6HJs/s320/DSC_0469.JPG" width="213" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGIY71QDSV2LJWFuirFs6NB8A_bLTFyi6N5KhTz8jp4BytACzViL1xyeRf4gjgYtwUAG6awo32LOjRbufswxR6a36jsxcqJ-7NA-hl4z40nRwQcKfPCm4w-ea06GNo7SSjGN0CDb_hSb8/s1600/DSC_0470.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1068" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGIY71QDSV2LJWFuirFs6NB8A_bLTFyi6N5KhTz8jp4BytACzViL1xyeRf4gjgYtwUAG6awo32LOjRbufswxR6a36jsxcqJ-7NA-hl4z40nRwQcKfPCm4w-ea06GNo7SSjGN0CDb_hSb8/s400/DSC_0470.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I think that Vivian's face pretty much mirrored my own.</td></tr>
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After that we moved on to the Washington Monument, which unfortunately is closed so we couldn't go up inside of it, but that's okay. It was closed the one other time I was in DC too, so I'm starting to think it's all just a vicious rumor anyway. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyTTBMvIz4VkLpkFxZKxIgH9mmOrRyJ4NO1WbY9vnucvQn91RFyMnnQRh41xsIWCacNIen2Vsql_wPnVwnuNeDs8R0tw8H39p-SUCH5Xh9vB5rbvj8KsOrbgoyoOfg_pf9DMTA-zVl0h0/s1600/DSC_0473.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyTTBMvIz4VkLpkFxZKxIgH9mmOrRyJ4NO1WbY9vnucvQn91RFyMnnQRh41xsIWCacNIen2Vsql_wPnVwnuNeDs8R0tw8H39p-SUCH5Xh9vB5rbvj8KsOrbgoyoOfg_pf9DMTA-zVl0h0/s400/DSC_0473.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRa1IMkW69WxfDh8Z536LiJ25e7tLR7nxPXk4Kgt893I53-5JpnHkQjL0vm50r-P4-M1EPp_oTupAbfT3xZWgMEcuZF35-rvPvIzxW7xYWHCyEE4hZSfjpF0fe1XKqf4pNm_z00jm7t2I/s1600/DSC_0484.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1187" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRa1IMkW69WxfDh8Z536LiJ25e7tLR7nxPXk4Kgt893I53-5JpnHkQjL0vm50r-P4-M1EPp_oTupAbfT3xZWgMEcuZF35-rvPvIzxW7xYWHCyEE4hZSfjpF0fe1XKqf4pNm_z00jm7t2I/s400/DSC_0484.JPG" width="296" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The kids just were not cooperating for this one.</td></tr>
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Next we headed over to the WWII Memorial, which was under some sort of construction on my previous visit. I love this one, and the fact that you can sit and soak your feet made it the kid's favorite, which should come as no surprise to anyone who has ever met them. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL7to0GnP-QP0nuBs5VEjIiNMFKojpqh7z9Rh3sdicwdIVyxwTrLQ0ltxsLgReNlUlw1OzbWmTRDO2rzb8DpJpRXCkBVYp2B6wwtZENOLAx-ELjtHebew-DiPJFmnVF30NhsKHtbe9IY4/s1600/DSC_0490.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL7to0GnP-QP0nuBs5VEjIiNMFKojpqh7z9Rh3sdicwdIVyxwTrLQ0ltxsLgReNlUlw1OzbWmTRDO2rzb8DpJpRXCkBVYp2B6wwtZENOLAx-ELjtHebew-DiPJFmnVF30NhsKHtbe9IY4/s400/DSC_0490.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWYmeB45jA9nkbXQI9hBObSKPC1a74S0AX7axDw8g1yTyXPBydSHnyO6CB9qCb8I1HjxRpPKcSGylgfaBvarOpOg9pm0heSYgUeGc8lXteQHJ5DfwWUiblp0UQlrqf8JH0ixLf3qZvjMg/s1600/DSC_0491.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWYmeB45jA9nkbXQI9hBObSKPC1a74S0AX7axDw8g1yTyXPBydSHnyO6CB9qCb8I1HjxRpPKcSGylgfaBvarOpOg9pm0heSYgUeGc8lXteQHJ5DfwWUiblp0UQlrqf8JH0ixLf3qZvjMg/s400/DSC_0491.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She would have happily stayed here for the rest of the evening.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_qsSe8ykeiejghTsPjNe4X-3wMQl9ccECMFWG0Ky0tQP8aULk1EAxd_Q9mZVZOKkxREizysQcZUvo-8FkFlub_F3FT5F07RUa-NeTThswL4_XwYA-s1TcLX8cXFyrokb-fA1Upu225u4/s1600/DSC_0505.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_qsSe8ykeiejghTsPjNe4X-3wMQl9ccECMFWG0Ky0tQP8aULk1EAxd_Q9mZVZOKkxREizysQcZUvo-8FkFlub_F3FT5F07RUa-NeTThswL4_XwYA-s1TcLX8cXFyrokb-fA1Upu225u4/s400/DSC_0505.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This might be my favorite memorial.</td></tr>
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We finally dragged them out of the water, and moved on to the reflecting pool and then the Vietnam Memorial. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQb3-86VOuUk9bPIEXqHZxwKSEBFTIHtQtVlttAztRB24R-Y6-iNdlz2P3EVn6uDbufM0SRNAru79riNhxUFQwWzRNNTQZI84kTYfOdDlD1YtRtRmpWVYGsoQT6Yr-7PsBP64SbDlhKZg/s1600/DSC_0512.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQb3-86VOuUk9bPIEXqHZxwKSEBFTIHtQtVlttAztRB24R-Y6-iNdlz2P3EVn6uDbufM0SRNAru79riNhxUFQwWzRNNTQZI84kTYfOdDlD1YtRtRmpWVYGsoQT6Yr-7PsBP64SbDlhKZg/s400/DSC_0512.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The kids mostly just liked the ducks in the reflecting pond. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib2ZUwtRSIZm4OZZKdb-xBT5hbeTWLPZ48FQIwVG2AyTXdT8BMD3WITvybpX2mWKZVwDJWK-YwjoWfCOpINQWvum0BOAty4qhCZ1nYrkMqus25YV0ux6FgbaWacXRUbDHO5zcfuZEGWJw/s1600/DSC_0517.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEib2ZUwtRSIZm4OZZKdb-xBT5hbeTWLPZ48FQIwVG2AyTXdT8BMD3WITvybpX2mWKZVwDJWK-YwjoWfCOpINQWvum0BOAty4qhCZ1nYrkMqus25YV0ux6FgbaWacXRUbDHO5zcfuZEGWJw/s400/DSC_0517.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vivian was actually pretty poorly behaved at this point. Turns out that war memorials aren't super interesting when you're only 3.</td></tr>
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We don't have any names to look up, and Vivian was struggling to keep her volume down, so we didn't linger at that one very long. We looped back around to the Lincoln Memorial, where our kids were only slightly better behaved. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrrM1yrxJGyp2N6A61gU5O0qSFu8n85tKGGO83dumtZj2tQSaKGZqQHDblYIjKujJkYz6fGsBwflB8gCUlxoymsrbJPzTBgrmxMUdFTq66-VZ6tF-DNIWTV-aaEIqKWSRp61eOAgmSSns/s1600/DSC_0521.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="881" data-original-width="1600" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhrrM1yrxJGyp2N6A61gU5O0qSFu8n85tKGGO83dumtZj2tQSaKGZqQHDblYIjKujJkYz6fGsBwflB8gCUlxoymsrbJPzTBgrmxMUdFTq66-VZ6tF-DNIWTV-aaEIqKWSRp61eOAgmSSns/s400/DSC_0521.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjMEYkCP9TbMl0WNhr_wIAw4QCW6NzUXKgn1-70mtrUj7t3OnkYNkNaI0zKuLSDKPz2XHDZdSSarOIE4Mieo0XW-ONncD2FCBCMScimQfaZWk_sUiNYWk4PAzgUR990wlH8u8cTqPXRWI/s1600/DSC_0525.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1068" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjMEYkCP9TbMl0WNhr_wIAw4QCW6NzUXKgn1-70mtrUj7t3OnkYNkNaI0zKuLSDKPz2XHDZdSSarOIE4Mieo0XW-ONncD2FCBCMScimQfaZWk_sUiNYWk4PAzgUR990wlH8u8cTqPXRWI/s400/DSC_0525.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still uncooperative for pictures</td></tr>
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Ivan was released from his stroller for this, and therefore became the biggest culprit of noise and running at this memorial. <div>
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We stopped for a snack, went through the Korean War Memorial, but failed to take pictures and started our trek back to the metro station. On the way back we realized it was really late, we hadn't had dinner, and decided to honor a Goodale family tradition and visit the Hard Rock Cafe.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNkx9nR7oHIoIN7hhrTb3l3Bw5PVvYwN1hHBL8MVpHNnMPElnczaSb0K0G8Y9H230tdS8gXnmwbXuvjK-zkUBcEpAJ174mfxETZlqzdSSFwU_b1-04-E0AkCOZaO8RiCYXkpgZLV50CAk/s1600/DSC_0542.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNkx9nR7oHIoIN7hhrTb3l3Bw5PVvYwN1hHBL8MVpHNnMPElnczaSb0K0G8Y9H230tdS8gXnmwbXuvjK-zkUBcEpAJ174mfxETZlqzdSSFwU_b1-04-E0AkCOZaO8RiCYXkpgZLV50CAk/s400/DSC_0542.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ivan insisted on getting down to go touch this velvety wall.</td></tr>
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Our kids somehow managed to stay awake for everything, even the metro ride home and the walk back to the apartment. It was all just too exciting I guess. They didn't want to miss a moment.</div>
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We slept in the next day, and at least the kids and I were still dragging quite a bit from the birthday death march, so we considered, and then abandoned the idea of skipping our planned trip to Shenandoah National Park. The highlight of the park is a scenic drive, so it didn't seem like it was going to be all that taxing of an experience anyway.</div>
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Once we got there, and stopped at the visitor's center, I stupidly agreed to do a hike. I'm not sure what I was thinking. Maybe I was thinking that I didn't just turn forty, and that I'm not pregnant, but I did and I am. I even more stupidly picked one of the longest, and probably the most crowded one from off the list of options that Justin presented. Regardless of what I was thinking, that is the decision that was made. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqPF33qzhJk8UhrgEGBSNO9t-fuHVF_GBumVDIxKArgXEF_3SiQ4lanzvqLPREj4Qrblafx1_UwYenKoNO4Uq3xIUcaO5dC6m_apBYqziF8CS9SuOBNECQU_9Kpmtk1fWyxtJB8FmFIWw/s1600/DSC_0546.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqPF33qzhJk8UhrgEGBSNO9t-fuHVF_GBumVDIxKArgXEF_3SiQ4lanzvqLPREj4Qrblafx1_UwYenKoNO4Uq3xIUcaO5dC6m_apBYqziF8CS9SuOBNECQU_9Kpmtk1fWyxtJB8FmFIWw/s400/DSC_0546.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He loved being allowed to hike</td></tr>
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About five minutes in I realized how big an error it was to do this without something to carry Ivan. His legs are too short to make hiking anything but an exercise in patience, but too heavy and wiggly to carry without feeling like you're trying to hike with a shake weight. Ivan however, loved being periodically let down to trudge along with us.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We stopped to take in some scenery on the way to the falls</td></tr>
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The number of trees out here is really just kind of crazy, by the way. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBdVn-iyB0xjyuKlshVL8HMXOMdEtiKCsWtyANqwwgxdD4g3BqKGIsHifdeQyKbH5c7OPIp6jI4bszaSpFy-oqiSshdRGMneE3aLqc0nT5PXCq8zU-dnkc_rw0N5WNTLw7roBhN9_BtAk/s1600/DSC_0558.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1068" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBdVn-iyB0xjyuKlshVL8HMXOMdEtiKCsWtyANqwwgxdD4g3BqKGIsHifdeQyKbH5c7OPIp6jI4bszaSpFy-oqiSshdRGMneE3aLqc0nT5PXCq8zU-dnkc_rw0N5WNTLw7roBhN9_BtAk/s400/DSC_0558.JPG" width="266" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finally made it to the falls</td></tr>
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We are a slow moving party, and it took way longer to get to the falls than it should have, and even longer to get back to the car, but we made it. Vivian and Ivan were extremely unhappy with us because we wouldn't let them swim in the water with a hundred of our international fellow hikers, who didn't seem at all bothered to be crammed together in the bottom pool, although in fairness I think a large number of them were related to each other. Seriously though, we were the only native English speakers there. <div>
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On the way back out Justin found a big rock for he and Vivian to climb, because what would a hiking outing be without a little scrambling with her Dad Bug.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We finally made it back to the car, and drove into a nearby town for dinner. We intentionally stalled heading back into the city, so that we could drive around and find some lightning bugs. We found a park, and it didn't disappoint. I'm not sure that Ivan understood what was going on, but Vivian definitely did, and it's the most lightning bugs that I've ever seen. Justin had seen a lot of them when the army sent him to live in the woods of Kentucky for a month, so it was less of a novel experience for him. I'm pretty sure that the guy out there at the park playing basketball thought that we were really weird.</div>
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I told Justin over dinner that I was exhausted that I was going to sleep the entire drive home. Justin slept the entire drive home. He let the kids and I sleep right through church the next morning, and I'm grateful for it. We spent Sunday afternoon at the air and space museum in Fairfax, where I met up with the best roommate I ever had, my AIT roommate. We haven't seen each other since graduation, so this was a happy late birthday to me! <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyRi4rPXDI3fwf863awfidYXo2kLK_sK5E9rLgEVbQBzTIkrPvxkQ_-JI2RfBWbcNKW8TfzO81IZRZoARs9mnaPs1eVlxnnG8W8wsirbPF08Vq5hMXEfd5OAyFqXVkLF9MGgYbR7c5-iQ/s1600/IMG_7711.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1203" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyRi4rPXDI3fwf863awfidYXo2kLK_sK5E9rLgEVbQBzTIkrPvxkQ_-JI2RfBWbcNKW8TfzO81IZRZoARs9mnaPs1eVlxnnG8W8wsirbPF08Vq5hMXEfd5OAyFqXVkLF9MGgYbR7c5-iQ/s400/IMG_7711.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Now if I can just talk her into moving west.</td></tr>
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We had to call it after her 3 year old took his second fall for the day and some security guard there felt a need to come over and lecture her about the dangers of letting your kid fall too much. Still, great to see her, meet her family, and Butcher, I think you're a great mom!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01189144134384732232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076870301541451612.post-47588902764316835532018-06-13T15:02:00.000-07:002018-06-13T15:02:47.145-07:00Our Own Little Pause ExI've been wanting to update this with fun trips, and things that we have been doing for months. The problem is that we haven't been doing any fun things, for months. We had some fun things planned. I had a whole list of local attractions I would like to visit in the spring. We had a trip to Washington DC planned, and a road trip through Texas to San Antonio, but we cancelled everything. We were forced to when I discovered that we have our number three on the way, and is always the case with me, I have descended into months of morning sickness. It has been worse this time than ever, but thankfully it also seems to be lifting a little bit. I'm definitely not in the worst of it anymore, but not out of the woods yet either. Now I'm just praying it doesn't drag out to twenty weeks like what my little Ivan put me through.<br />
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So as things have been improving on that front, we decided not to cancel a little weekend trip to Granby with Justin's parents. Thankfully, I had the best weekend I've had in months. The evenings were still kind of rough, but the days were great. So the first day we spent quite a while in the pool, and discovered that Ivan just may be part fish...or at least he would like to be part fish. After that, and lunch, his parents rented a pontoon boat for a couple of hours to go cruise around Grand Lake. It was even more fun than I anticipated. The scenery was great, and the kids loved it. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM1bTlyfpYNkjJqhn4N8yOshiD8pAmKkdgYBreRLDnmeu-Qc58sCJNHB-Uwq7GhDpAQt6bUyoQcu9icw4QL3dDjfwvVbQchiciCn6NfeBf9Ya5yCJrUTwVtRxj8Ijv9otC-2WH6KKn35g/s1600/34774996_10216870384493157_5193909689129107456_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM1bTlyfpYNkjJqhn4N8yOshiD8pAmKkdgYBreRLDnmeu-Qc58sCJNHB-Uwq7GhDpAQt6bUyoQcu9icw4QL3dDjfwvVbQchiciCn6NfeBf9Ya5yCJrUTwVtRxj8Ijv9otC-2WH6KKn35g/s400/34774996_10216870384493157_5193909689129107456_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still at the dock. They had no idea what was happening.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_r9UCwft2zOl-13NrqFvSLv2wj9wtPfOEQVVjSCrRkl0H6Dg2oemsTN4DKSY3zGwpJ3cZWwqeBxWHaw-wfYEeS87Ez2WTJ94MQd4HnZAytl7k_vyx1NuK7w9FNsfX3bLZfS6NeKRNc_A/s1600/34775045_10216870387133223_7458555509478522880_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_r9UCwft2zOl-13NrqFvSLv2wj9wtPfOEQVVjSCrRkl0H6Dg2oemsTN4DKSY3zGwpJ3cZWwqeBxWHaw-wfYEeS87Ez2WTJ94MQd4HnZAytl7k_vyx1NuK7w9FNsfX3bLZfS6NeKRNc_A/s400/34775045_10216870387133223_7458555509478522880_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vivian is Ivan's expert on all things. She talks, he listens.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidU2rVoMJEqmSfYrhzYh4AHXP700DvKK9sL9ha-cHR_vtUVASshGZKg2BwrKulsUwkH5RxDdi3M9DpbMUSkttuGoWlXA9M2z7Ant9qklD5P4fwubt2rHOSlVqTmsLGV1-3Jjf7woJpufY/s1600/34796248_10216870385813190_1906601833132982272_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="923" data-original-width="1600" height="230" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidU2rVoMJEqmSfYrhzYh4AHXP700DvKK9sL9ha-cHR_vtUVASshGZKg2BwrKulsUwkH5RxDdi3M9DpbMUSkttuGoWlXA9M2z7Ant9qklD5P4fwubt2rHOSlVqTmsLGV1-3Jjf7woJpufY/s400/34796248_10216870385813190_1906601833132982272_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">All of Granby is very picturesque</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibSzR4eJZN65HXFLtiUoer5PnWg44HYCl7hAOxfYEPu-OF0VfSJrmli4KJFgiIkmmXDh8qCrkrw_Ilq5_f_lcpK4turnUzhyuS08gHGjUB6EEuFjZbnYb_i2b3bixjMobXewDoy3SPQP8/s1600/34811940_10216870381893092_4327333160225341440_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEibSzR4eJZN65HXFLtiUoer5PnWg44HYCl7hAOxfYEPu-OF0VfSJrmli4KJFgiIkmmXDh8qCrkrw_Ilq5_f_lcpK4turnUzhyuS08gHGjUB6EEuFjZbnYb_i2b3bixjMobXewDoy3SPQP8/s400/34811940_10216870381893092_4327333160225341440_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The boat was on, but moving slowly. It didn't matter, she loved it.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgruflWy2JroG5g6217YM3P93uifSDeK9gWsEeAD3CXQUMZLRzluz_yYAH2DW7C_FYamxy0hkHtA570v5aXfIdkQxBTxe4rAeoQH3LsK_Zx9d5ETb2_M7OY4E0HgLxhlJHp9SkPNGDIkZw/s1600/35051442_10216870381333078_758648312902451200_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1141" data-original-width="1600" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgruflWy2JroG5g6217YM3P93uifSDeK9gWsEeAD3CXQUMZLRzluz_yYAH2DW7C_FYamxy0hkHtA570v5aXfIdkQxBTxe4rAeoQH3LsK_Zx9d5ETb2_M7OY4E0HgLxhlJHp9SkPNGDIkZw/s400/35051442_10216870381333078_758648312902451200_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ivan needed to take his turn </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj2sRTj5ut8siXx9sPQHV8oWMjSKREoRzWXPmz_eVIB5ZGaCJbJd_S3OFPjaiRIscftAQQuBcwH39bUeP1XS0NgAC7iW2jL6hkAOZkb0HTpY5c1-IRUWIqrFZ4eLHW0SaM4EjjVplt_nnI/s400/34707592_10216870394613410_8850412568817172480_o.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and another turn</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbVYCIxcxl2WBwSvsQZp2lyBTEPe3G1n5DYafBdIW4ftKydiSya5K3FPiTb8wo-HGoUmsgF6RaNj7tXRSCU1HMiDPLCxCNWSq6PWOv6IJ1mPivooLlI2uVXjsi2bHOH0tQWk8AKw0qZpU/s1600/34727783_10216870394213400_7424023328173588480_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbVYCIxcxl2WBwSvsQZp2lyBTEPe3G1n5DYafBdIW4ftKydiSya5K3FPiTb8wo-HGoUmsgF6RaNj7tXRSCU1HMiDPLCxCNWSq6PWOv6IJ1mPivooLlI2uVXjsi2bHOH0tQWk8AKw0qZpU/s400/34727783_10216870394213400_7424023328173588480_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and another</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD7t2D58tA9xVfpdsAPGM5qxOKY3nl9bAnyFdLXbxLboREeYx75osvCkMPbDxrbCDjG2So8H09tGEeAb9-zSADi26yDXeKqTeyCF0m7OER7CcUK9KTy0AG2GK2ZwpAd8165U9Lz_dwDoc/s1600/34752555_10216870384293152_1694769287270498304_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiD7t2D58tA9xVfpdsAPGM5qxOKY3nl9bAnyFdLXbxLboREeYx75osvCkMPbDxrbCDjG2So8H09tGEeAb9-zSADi26yDXeKqTeyCF0m7OER7CcUK9KTy0AG2GK2ZwpAd8165U9Lz_dwDoc/s400/34752555_10216870384293152_1694769287270498304_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">but all the excitement finally caught up with him</td></tr>
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<div>
We had other things planned for after the boat outing, but the kids were exceptionally tired, so we decided to call it, and then I was glad, because I was feeling pretty crappy by the time we got back to the timeshare.<br />
<br />
The next day we took the kids to the beach of Grand Lake to play in the sand, and then we drove through Rocky Mountain National Park before heading home. <br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRrDxYXTw412Ggf2PAEQTFO6Q-rUJfMXpRRRit7V5ihNMJlUfQNozWWEr1T_ac-OjJC3rABMS33vE9yT2Gdj8e_GYt9le-8OT_bwx1QJfvNeL-DzRmmPWJDyqCTObcBwnegwvNchqdJ4M/s1600/35134072_10216892425444167_7933515923900596224_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1600" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRrDxYXTw412Ggf2PAEQTFO6Q-rUJfMXpRRRit7V5ihNMJlUfQNozWWEr1T_ac-OjJC3rABMS33vE9yT2Gdj8e_GYt9le-8OT_bwx1QJfvNeL-DzRmmPWJDyqCTObcBwnegwvNchqdJ4M/s400/35134072_10216892425444167_7933515923900596224_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sand required a lot of serious play from both he and his sister.</td></tr>
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Then onto the park<br /><br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiljfzb2hOad5Yx5aXzdA9wD96HgVGq3N9WMfoEuKgzNAzNtusbotOWWU9lUmIAOQmrS367J9KHd52fy8BbmM4hg_jIOjwpAHru58cRMcgkWOop6kcnqbLlPxh3Mc71YoOTQQBQsBFGzss/s1600/35225471_10216892439524519_2921483582767628288_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1201" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiljfzb2hOad5Yx5aXzdA9wD96HgVGq3N9WMfoEuKgzNAzNtusbotOWWU9lUmIAOQmrS367J9KHd52fy8BbmM4hg_jIOjwpAHru58cRMcgkWOop6kcnqbLlPxh3Mc71YoOTQQBQsBFGzss/s400/35225471_10216892439524519_2921483582767628288_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We left Grandma and Ivan in the car and took a walk to get a look at some elk.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6PugvvU4UkfXV6duJ4tuU5WaFB-VMZDDyNmF6gI2JDAmmeG8z0PG_JZ5wOf-zmhV-b5aLFJ7-tkC2BVNH6GVGEVSYRxJDEtYsCggwy4wvG1Fbbo1Rq_52rswgsxOAxjK1OkFwx8w6VSs/s1600/35064517_10216892437484468_6061756871222493184_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6PugvvU4UkfXV6duJ4tuU5WaFB-VMZDDyNmF6gI2JDAmmeG8z0PG_JZ5wOf-zmhV-b5aLFJ7-tkC2BVNH6GVGEVSYRxJDEtYsCggwy4wvG1Fbbo1Rq_52rswgsxOAxjK1OkFwx8w6VSs/s400/35064517_10216892437484468_6061756871222493184_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At 12,000 feet</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq5DaUj6dXtAjV7dVJ1HgRu9E7MEoOLYPSzofbIyYQC89whF42AdhKLo-269OXnyoBUuvvcz0_mnQKp1nMg4tpKYLj-NWmyxWSRGuEF_x7evyX41NglUtNRGWs1zqglZIg3mvB-wx_Kpo/s1600/35043461_10216892431364315_2447560085119959040_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiq5DaUj6dXtAjV7dVJ1HgRu9E7MEoOLYPSzofbIyYQC89whF42AdhKLo-269OXnyoBUuvvcz0_mnQKp1nMg4tpKYLj-NWmyxWSRGuEF_x7evyX41NglUtNRGWs1zqglZIg3mvB-wx_Kpo/s400/35043461_10216892431364315_2447560085119959040_o.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Although Ivan seemed to really enjoy sitting on Grandpa's shoulders, it was hard to watch. He leans back in kind of a lounging position that makes it seem like he's going to flop out upside down at any minute.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX3Ur0hrqAj2E6jBN-8vVJjspNnevU9JMnrE5SHrjLOdKScflt2EJEVcawg2fjRyxVpYdl6HIU9j2iAp9hkSKZZBBirxB744TDcjTqeNp-H7NhdDYCe_zvtdTLKaFu5IMdkdNYKrcphyphenhyphen4/s1600/35067597_10216892422924104_3221126528838402048_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX3Ur0hrqAj2E6jBN-8vVJjspNnevU9JMnrE5SHrjLOdKScflt2EJEVcawg2fjRyxVpYdl6HIU9j2iAp9hkSKZZBBirxB744TDcjTqeNp-H7NhdDYCe_zvtdTLKaFu5IMdkdNYKrcphyphenhyphen4/s400/35067597_10216892422924104_3221126528838402048_o.jpg" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Nothing about this looks comfortable, but my people are lookers.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgecFATFDpocDv2mM_GPf1s6uI13mMNzcAtxmWTDfMFIjTx98dSD9pn78MUbPogxEkS0KspDOHYlCV2CA5VCPp_ofXJ4xm_d7Y3-Qx7yZz9t9gTjiNkZb2zt8k1RkyIT2sSFYXp0C7V66M/s1600/35078594_10216892431244312_3782110602713890816_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgecFATFDpocDv2mM_GPf1s6uI13mMNzcAtxmWTDfMFIjTx98dSD9pn78MUbPogxEkS0KspDOHYlCV2CA5VCPp_ofXJ4xm_d7Y3-Qx7yZz9t9gTjiNkZb2zt8k1RkyIT2sSFYXp0C7V66M/s400/35078594_10216892431244312_3782110602713890816_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They're big fans of the grandparents.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm_LdKtTDqywJy1fW1h9cOJrkkaOkfrHiv4XjK-iLA3q50W0xOtQ0gbaeu5PcUf1rFqVdrI_QwO7Ttw-KWHI2r9rri7-iEiIlfQ0ZuZRnwTfEgiRr6tBhmtSKB5Db2Vyc5UF3AqxW89qU/s1600/35142974_10216892443804626_3174702360479924224_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1201" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgm_LdKtTDqywJy1fW1h9cOJrkkaOkfrHiv4XjK-iLA3q50W0xOtQ0gbaeu5PcUf1rFqVdrI_QwO7Ttw-KWHI2r9rri7-iEiIlfQ0ZuZRnwTfEgiRr6tBhmtSKB5Db2Vyc5UF3AqxW89qU/s400/35142974_10216892443804626_3174702360479924224_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This looks inviting. My feet hurt from the cold after about 2 seconds.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuQtXjcR9X2mncVS387bW7YQ10IEKGuXtGJ6ovEwwYaZpsSrENwVwAZEjSp1WL0xDWYW-_Zb2VuggQMU6QvGaf1Gw4mul5eBEDIp12dekObwtZcXXRT4fRHT3q4wVO5hnfyRN149pnLcU/s1600/35162060_10216892425084158_677205549602832384_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuQtXjcR9X2mncVS387bW7YQ10IEKGuXtGJ6ovEwwYaZpsSrENwVwAZEjSp1WL0xDWYW-_Zb2VuggQMU6QvGaf1Gw4mul5eBEDIp12dekObwtZcXXRT4fRHT3q4wVO5hnfyRN149pnLcU/s400/35162060_10216892425084158_677205549602832384_o.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He'll drop my hand in a instant whenever Vivian offers to hold his, and I'm totally fine with that.</td></tr>
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It was a great weekend, we had lots of fun, but it just went by a little too fast. Sunday night Vivian tried to convince Justin that he didn't have to go to work again the next day...and that would have been nice, but he did. </div>
<div>
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As for the new baby, Vivian is very excited. She was too little last time to really grasp what was going on, but she's definitely got a better idea this time and she talks incessantly about how we will have a new baby by Christmas. She has repeatedly stated that she wants a brother <i>and</i> a sister, but sorry Viv...there's only one in there. We talked about finding out the gender, but ultimately decided that we still prefer the surprise, so we'll let you know in December! And hopefully we'll have more chances to get out and do things before then.</div>
Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01189144134384732232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076870301541451612.post-86625036829242468562018-03-18T15:36:00.000-07:002018-03-18T15:36:51.804-07:00Cranes and Gators<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinXiRA6qNoXaVeOmA2ZRVy4GIEpP-6q0lwrrWuJvhqIPwgQjSqr1sLRuq8G0rmq_1yV_YOyDQZe8TOPJnIs8mF9Qb1QtggZufNTc2prZ0JqEsP8ghd1CGUtNZxjieov_IV1XB3jnaVtLQ/s1600/DSC_0001.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinXiRA6qNoXaVeOmA2ZRVy4GIEpP-6q0lwrrWuJvhqIPwgQjSqr1sLRuq8G0rmq_1yV_YOyDQZe8TOPJnIs8mF9Qb1QtggZufNTc2prZ0JqEsP8ghd1CGUtNZxjieov_IV1XB3jnaVtLQ/s400/DSC_0001.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
Justin and I stumbled across something on the internet the other day about a Sandhill Crane migration in Alamosa, Colorado. We're not really bird people, and it still sounded pretty cool to us. Thousands of these huge cranes descend on the area. In the mornings they all lift off together at the same time, and return again to their evening nesting spot together, 25,000 of them. Truth be told we actually really want to go to Nebraska where you can see 500,000...but that will have to wait for another day when Justin has more leave saved up, and we're not still trying to furnish our home. For now we settled on Alamosa, just a mere three hour drive away, a place that we've already visited a few times and we already know that we love it there. We made a hotel reservation and were looking forward to it. Then earlier this week we realized that we couldn't take one of our own cars. It's a long story of one car with expired registration, and the other in the midst of a test for a serious mechanical issue that could potentially be screwed up by driving it that far right now. So we booked a rental car to pick up Friday. The only little hang up in there was that Justin had to close up at work that night, so he has to hang out until he's the last one there or until 6pm when he's allowed to start kicking people out. Usually people leave early on Fridays, so it's not a big deal and he's not home that late (ordinarily he starts work early and is home by 4 at the latest)...but of course this week there were a few people that decided to stay until the last possible minute. Our car rental was at a place down the street that closed at 6, and he had Ivan's car seat so I couldn't even drive the unregistered car over to get it myself. When it became obvious that he wasn't going to make it in time I tried to cancel the whole trip, but the hotel said it was too late to cancel. I was able to move the rental car reservation to the airport, which fortuitously ended up being less money and allowed for 24 hr pick up and drop off selection. <div>
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We were packed up and ready when Justin finally got home. We loaded up the car, and started driving to the airport, but Justin realized halfway there that he'd forgotten his wallet. So we had to turn around and circle back for it. At this point I'm not sure that either of us were looking forward to the trip. It just seemed like too much hassle. We stopped at a KFC for dinner. Justin ordered a potpie, and back on the freeway discovered that they hadn't included a spork with his food. So after a few swear words from him we circled back yet again to go back for an eating utensil. We were finally on our way. We arrived in Alamosa at midnight, were checked in and had everyone settled into bed by 1am. We were still planning a 5am wake up to go see all the birds fly off the next morning at once.</div>
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When the alarm went off four hours later I seriously contemplated getting up. I even sat up, and then I looked at my two toddlers and their exhausted little sleeping faces and decided that I'd be okay not seeing the birds all fly at once in the morning, maybe we could catch them returning together in the evening instead.</div>
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<div>
We woke up, went to breakfast, and were on the road to go search for cranes, out with the self-proclaimed "craniacs" by 9am. We had done some reading on where to find them, so it didn't take us long to locate a decent flock...do you call them flocks? I have no idea, but regardless there were a bunch of them. We sat around and watched them for a while...doing nothing, and then a whole huge flock, or group, or whatever of them came flying in all at once, which seemed very interesting, but to be honest, they were birds standing around in a field, and as I've mentioned before, we're not bird people. It didn't take too long before we were getting kind of bored, and the kids had already been bored for some time. We were hoping to see the cranes doing their weird little mating dance, but they just stood around in a field and that gets old after a while. We decided to move on.</div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLARpGdDJ0MnN1baZJvwatcH1TjQaua16_Of-031R3fYzqghJKkhS1NaMonobxOM2hgXdX92136nYOkLIJ5rioeqh6YubY-zybdjX0dGG3DDFXyftFSX__LP1hci3bYfv91qpW1PpJ1jg/s1600/DSC_0016.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLARpGdDJ0MnN1baZJvwatcH1TjQaua16_Of-031R3fYzqghJKkhS1NaMonobxOM2hgXdX92136nYOkLIJ5rioeqh6YubY-zybdjX0dGG3DDFXyftFSX__LP1hci3bYfv91qpW1PpJ1jg/s400/DSC_0016.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Part of the large group landing</td></tr>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitnO-dAskPbvhZxUgxTfEKp3zrtpii4yFf4y_US4xAi32qyT4EuyEYGbTv1FDEVnN4hIqv83uvTDAHxyQDYvJHPpqi6o2fD88b0OCNN-kr_2eoxno4s6Xi2Eg3PE_Kr4RCV_NEclHq4cQ/s1600/DSC_0033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1125" data-original-width="1600" height="281" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitnO-dAskPbvhZxUgxTfEKp3zrtpii4yFf4y_US4xAi32qyT4EuyEYGbTv1FDEVnN4hIqv83uvTDAHxyQDYvJHPpqi6o2fD88b0OCNN-kr_2eoxno4s6Xi2Eg3PE_Kr4RCV_NEclHq4cQ/s400/DSC_0033.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-AsLuDllon_kQRcLyXg6-Q4H1CKTh6B4Qdb8356F8owYNrh0kuO9ouYpJm6-5mwBkrMCJXc7vTMMqoAW72STtDan43dD7prto9lr3D4i7cbmQOd9qhBL58NVHLp9UyIR_o7-ze0Xxg9M/s1600/DSC_0045.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="764" data-original-width="1600" height="190" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-AsLuDllon_kQRcLyXg6-Q4H1CKTh6B4Qdb8356F8owYNrh0kuO9ouYpJm6-5mwBkrMCJXc7vTMMqoAW72STtDan43dD7prto9lr3D4i7cbmQOd9qhBL58NVHLp9UyIR_o7-ze0Xxg9M/s400/DSC_0045.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After a while they weren't flying anymore, just standing around in the field like this.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji57h6r6z23iu9dIoImH4vtQTF2DlfeEdPDoZsgNQzisLQlnXeMGL1mlwl05A8n2u2XUY2reYivW11D2lDQfqGIB-b5vL-nHT94-VD2zLIvCEKNMwuzltTHzCWcKTvz6KX8xzPsCvNOfo/s1600/DSC_0048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="971" data-original-width="1600" height="242" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji57h6r6z23iu9dIoImH4vtQTF2DlfeEdPDoZsgNQzisLQlnXeMGL1mlwl05A8n2u2XUY2reYivW11D2lDQfqGIB-b5vL-nHT94-VD2zLIvCEKNMwuzltTHzCWcKTvz6KX8xzPsCvNOfo/s400/DSC_0048.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Watching them fly around was pretty interesting.</td></tr>
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To help fill the daytime hours while we waited for the evening return to the nesting area we decided to visit Colorado Gators. An alligator farm in the middle of nowhere Colorado. We'd driven past it before, and even talked about going to visit some day if we had more time...and now there we were, with more time. I'm not sure exactly what I expected...maybe a dozen or so alligators lounging around their hot springs I guess. When we pulled up the place looked sort of garbagey and redneck and then in the lobby, if one can call it a lobby there was a display of digits soaking in formaldehyde that have been bitten off during alligator wrestling. You can take lessons and build up to wrestling a 9 foot gator for only $100. The injuries were described in such detail that standing there reading it I was curling up my fingers and wishing that I could stop reading, but naturally I did not. It was quite disturbing. They have a big sign up above the pictures of some injured wrestlers that reads "it only hurts until you pass out," and with that cheery thought we began our tour.</div>
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You start off inside, and the staff there told us that in addition to their alligators they're also running a rescue of sorts for unwanted exotic pets. The tour begins with the unwanted pets. Why in the world was someone keeping an Anaconda as a pet? WHY? Why did someone have a monitor as a pet? Rattlesnakes, Piranhas, Caymans were a few of the others that just beg the question what in the heck was someone thinking? Vivian held a coral snake, and Justin and I both took turns holding this baby alligator, a rescue from someone in Wyoming. Okay, seriously, why did someone in Wyoming think it would be a good idea to take on a pet alligator? <i>Why? </i></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There were at least a dozen or more of these Sulcata Tortoises</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holding the Coral Snake</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ8SUz3JYm-N5UUxwEYtJ4Fr8fWlAmDnxG6WS1yLfQFlAldt2arShqrwpMiRtViRCCJh-tgR54SezT-rBG0_dDeMcPe624mUZdWqEsD0Tp9f_T-gmd5DU6b8jW-lM7iFplpkoXJB0_lJo/s1600/DSC_0101.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1523" data-original-width="1600" height="380" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQ8SUz3JYm-N5UUxwEYtJ4Fr8fWlAmDnxG6WS1yLfQFlAldt2arShqrwpMiRtViRCCJh-tgR54SezT-rBG0_dDeMcPe624mUZdWqEsD0Tp9f_T-gmd5DU6b8jW-lM7iFplpkoXJB0_lJo/s400/DSC_0101.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me and a small alligator</td></tr>
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That being said, we were already feeling like this experience was worth every penny of the admission fee and we hadn't even seen a full grown gator yet. We continued on to the fish. Koi fish. Tons of them. And then these fish that you can feed...we think that they're Tilapia, because Colorado Gators started out as a Tilapia fish farm and they brought a few gators in to clean up the fish scraps. There are so many of them. When you toss the fish food in at them the whole pool writhes around in front of you. It's fascinating. </div>
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Feeding the Tilapia</div>
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Mixed in there was a snapping turtle...who in their right mind would want a snapping turtle as a pet? There were lizards, birds, and all sorts of harmless turtles. It was all very interesting, and then at last we ventured outside to the gators. It was shocking. I swear there must be at least a hundred of them in various sizes. They gave us a bucket of smelly little fish pellet things to feed them, and that's pretty awesome watching them snap at the little fish pellets you've hurled at them. We had a great time. We took hundreds, literally hundreds of pictures.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOaZhhU0tXgyjwVkfnFuTNB-cNVu1i7u11zsLvBVzUmHoAXwJyBtuvAaUE1-UlD539LSPQGHuqueLIudGe8UJpbWbnKL-wldl3kgqsIsui1AyOgOU9-TMExYCsSfVUykiRNMDKylUo07w/s1600/DSC_0112.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1216" data-original-width="1600" height="303" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgOaZhhU0tXgyjwVkfnFuTNB-cNVu1i7u11zsLvBVzUmHoAXwJyBtuvAaUE1-UlD539LSPQGHuqueLIudGe8UJpbWbnKL-wldl3kgqsIsui1AyOgOU9-TMExYCsSfVUykiRNMDKylUo07w/s400/DSC_0112.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snapping at that tiny little fish pellet off to the left of it's mouth there.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Justin had to hold Vivian up to throw the pellets in to this one.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">One of the biggest ones there.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLCw3haBCWNeUnOTGTzebU0eWgqUZruaeWDOo1Yvw3A3Kr2NfI2fMTm_zBeJwvVy4YDtfuYvq5gCCEQhNG_wpcziST6vjA88D-UjjtjNlE9vJHM9SUGf4nUhb94nit41fcZe_AusKSoZY/s1600/DSC_0139.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjLCw3haBCWNeUnOTGTzebU0eWgqUZruaeWDOo1Yvw3A3Kr2NfI2fMTm_zBeJwvVy4YDtfuYvq5gCCEQhNG_wpcziST6vjA88D-UjjtjNlE9vJHM9SUGf4nUhb94nit41fcZe_AusKSoZY/s400/DSC_0139.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There were so many of them.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snapping at more pellets.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These were some of the juveniles.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They just needed to verify that the teeth are sharp I guess.</td></tr>
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At the end there were three albino alligators, and an alligator that was retired from Hollywood after being in a bunch of movies and allegedly trashing a few movie sets as well. There were also some emus and a couple of wolves and more turtles. It was fantastic. Justin loved it, I loved it, Vivian loved it, and Ivan even seemed to find it at least interesting enough to keep him quiet for the most part. We even bought a souvenir magnet, and generally speaking, we never buy souvenirs. That's how much we loved it. ...if you can just get past the fingers in the lobby. Seriously, just don't stop and read about it, you'll be sorry. My fingers hurt just thinking about it. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The albino alligators</td></tr>
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When we finally left we felt like our day was pretty much complete. We drove into Great Sand Dunes National Park, but the kids had just finished eating a late lunch and drifted off to sleep, it was pretty windy, and so we talked it over, decided to let them be, called it a day, and headed home. We'll go watch the cranes all fly back in the evening some day in Nebraska. </div>
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On the drive home Vivian woke up and the first words out of her mouth were "I liked feeding the gators today." So did I Viv, so did I. When we got home and I was bathing the kids I realized that we all smelled like those little fish pellets that we had been feeding the alligators. Gross, but worth it. I can't wait to take Ivan back when he's Vivian's age. He's going to love it! We set out with the idea that the cranes were going to be the big highlight of the day, but the gators definitely took center stage and we're so glad that we took the trip out there to see them.</div>
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Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01189144134384732232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076870301541451612.post-85579215525219792392018-01-24T16:31:00.000-08:002018-01-24T16:31:43.668-08:00A New PageI find that when I get really behind on this thing, that it becomes very difficult to catch back up. However, I'm going to try and bring everything back up to speed in one post, and we'll take it from there, see how it goes. We left off with our trip to Southern Utah.<br />
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Shortly thereafter we took a rather ill-advised, and somewhat ill-fated trip to Glacier National Park. It was ill-advised because school had started again, and it was expensive, and we were poor. However, we found some cabins that were reasonably priced, and the temptation to go was too much for us, so off we went. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7UTwmBrmkP6Gcm7qvU0hoxXxU9-qKrkC_WRqURGkMi59CH2ePua6HFlpulbJjp_ANfrS5a8-fGd_pERorBd-k65i2aSDXanoN5iDJnLCtKx-9mdbS3fgxtRak3rWeZEMB2UCgVy9qImI/s1600/DSC_0685.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1068" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi7UTwmBrmkP6Gcm7qvU0hoxXxU9-qKrkC_WRqURGkMi59CH2ePua6HFlpulbJjp_ANfrS5a8-fGd_pERorBd-k65i2aSDXanoN5iDJnLCtKx-9mdbS3fgxtRak3rWeZEMB2UCgVy9qImI/s400/DSC_0685.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The interior of our cabin</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnb-rSC5N3VW6HWsFV96FBsz1-XLyqWei_3yc4fdZlHz7z3PYO_kmIaDnnWHddWZQaP2vzqsdOEe3Lko9moxx1LZRGGrme_pgR9LN1DDXlhuDcEvEythyCrG0rVX8Y1z2xVm7BWpDC_S4/s1600/DSC_0693.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnb-rSC5N3VW6HWsFV96FBsz1-XLyqWei_3yc4fdZlHz7z3PYO_kmIaDnnWHddWZQaP2vzqsdOEe3Lko9moxx1LZRGGrme_pgR9LN1DDXlhuDcEvEythyCrG0rVX8Y1z2xVm7BWpDC_S4/s400/DSC_0693.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our newest sign picture</td></tr>
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I say the trip was ill-fated since we spent a large portion of the first day in the park watching a forest fire break over the top of this mountain. It was all very interesting, and in some ways a real win, but the air quality was awful, and the views that we've been reading about for years were pretty hazy.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjkT007Rq98mHiGRkpTT9738KK6dMtPttdCcuJEjwng6NytsB9bwCjezX4-hyNKTSOSSRiwNYdAaDqwED7y2Uee5ROS993KP6vHe8Crz5kyd5kdb6G5cw6jElWl51KY9aCJ6K7Dz6ky3w/s1600/DSC_0723.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1567" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjkT007Rq98mHiGRkpTT9738KK6dMtPttdCcuJEjwng6NytsB9bwCjezX4-hyNKTSOSSRiwNYdAaDqwED7y2Uee5ROS993KP6vHe8Crz5kyd5kdb6G5cw6jElWl51KY9aCJ6K7Dz6ky3w/s400/DSC_0723.JPG" width="391" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha9CLPvk0rV97Ehs81SNXaVtjrp8-Qc6sEFI_O4MjrQXD7zuyrj5sOonL0tPn7xrwGa9jAeFmm56fZvgxEfbXK4-4IKzqgbU4pZQuo0mNUxJWaIdg0BOhGouzOBhiiUY2zqNK2tsbNOMs/s1600/DSC_0751.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1143" data-original-width="1600" height="228" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha9CLPvk0rV97Ehs81SNXaVtjrp8-Qc6sEFI_O4MjrQXD7zuyrj5sOonL0tPn7xrwGa9jAeFmm56fZvgxEfbXK4-4IKzqgbU4pZQuo0mNUxJWaIdg0BOhGouzOBhiiUY2zqNK2tsbNOMs/s320/DSC_0751.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ivan was thrilled to be there regardless of the air quality</td></tr>
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The next morning we had hoped that the air would be better, but it was actually worse. All the same, we decided to go spend some time on the beach at Lake MacDonald and do some wading while we waited for our scheduled red bus tour of the Going to the Sun Road to start.<br /><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Juvz6tVrFXRiGZsvbQ3PdCoV4m8GCaqTtnwvRhdsBTeaGP1vw2yNORU57jrNx7QmWXTLSKPw9PxPTuvG4eG3_hWcRg4myXybvLqUwV01WDruAibldmygWT2R8cdwAxQVZY1KSTqwhQY/s1600/DSC_0849.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1Juvz6tVrFXRiGZsvbQ3PdCoV4m8GCaqTtnwvRhdsBTeaGP1vw2yNORU57jrNx7QmWXTLSKPw9PxPTuvG4eG3_hWcRg4myXybvLqUwV01WDruAibldmygWT2R8cdwAxQVZY1KSTqwhQY/s400/DSC_0849.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is what I have in mind when I say "Let's go wading kids."</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo6abAsAJk2g3z4S2r9TaQpp_2tpXpHxO7AWhL4XIWwvAPSI78_JbN3LLXVDTpLwKwZc8Tibls4AtKE4UFy1n92DirT7ju-c3u6UWT51a5aOAcQlsnTs0h2wYDt1Wr3VvvLooa9bQFF2A/s1600/DSC_0875.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="683" data-original-width="1600" height="170" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgo6abAsAJk2g3z4S2r9TaQpp_2tpXpHxO7AWhL4XIWwvAPSI78_JbN3LLXVDTpLwKwZc8Tibls4AtKE4UFy1n92DirT7ju-c3u6UWT51a5aOAcQlsnTs0h2wYDt1Wr3VvvLooa9bQFF2A/s400/DSC_0875.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is what happens when Vivian hears the words "Let's go wading kids."</td></tr>
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I love her enthusiasm, and we have learned to always, <i>ALWAYS </i>have extra clothes along for these sorts of outings. So eventually we made our way to our Red Bus tour, and it was pretty awesome. We saw mountain goats. They were far away, but we thought that was cool, but we were also a little disappointed since we couldn't see a whole lot of anything else. So maybe next time. <br /><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqj1d1J6ZX4G137GuwA9NcMO5tv6iZYMyr4vklM4oaBeSXZUz6ZY1Ek3aDPCWfk3IqEzfvRY96ty0gUSE94xS0orN3yZNkEIeEbXNQKJwpGbkkEL-8mEyES3PNa1LG2EjSWEv0ilxaPIE/s1600/DSC_0883.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqj1d1J6ZX4G137GuwA9NcMO5tv6iZYMyr4vklM4oaBeSXZUz6ZY1Ek3aDPCWfk3IqEzfvRY96ty0gUSE94xS0orN3yZNkEIeEbXNQKJwpGbkkEL-8mEyES3PNa1LG2EjSWEv0ilxaPIE/s400/DSC_0883.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Even the kids loved the tour</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpXW7qHrLbQ6_ROipD4qcuYh337c2-EL8xAq8vhuuJ-1XJQQpIM0Rnvt3NY1_Kc_ouekM4jFHFOj0IdktsrK0zhinoQBsE_pTu65QKbVuL1499t_ywHmwjdmVh_YYOS0jZ0vCYJ1nWVIg/s1600/DSC_0913.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpXW7qHrLbQ6_ROipD4qcuYh337c2-EL8xAq8vhuuJ-1XJQQpIM0Rnvt3NY1_Kc_ouekM4jFHFOj0IdktsrK0zhinoQBsE_pTu65QKbVuL1499t_ywHmwjdmVh_YYOS0jZ0vCYJ1nWVIg/s400/DSC_0913.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Outside our red bus. We will do this again some day, pricey, but totally worth it!</td></tr>
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After that we left the park, and the next day it was evacuated and so we decided to cut our losses, check out of the cabin early and drive to Boise to surprise Justin's dad with a birthday visit. <br /><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0pTQ1zqPqwxlrt9boBFRhbbxIgDApS0h611QG9OqYBO9zlaLdr0vC5Z5rcUhWBkPMcXzDZklbous7TBY0c08n0nUyT_0FCOUrba47rT6AIR07b0S9X2Gog_9hyPn4HjhkKAyIFg4krNE/s1600/DSC_0960.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="951" data-original-width="1600" height="237" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg0pTQ1zqPqwxlrt9boBFRhbbxIgDApS0h611QG9OqYBO9zlaLdr0vC5Z5rcUhWBkPMcXzDZklbous7TBY0c08n0nUyT_0FCOUrba47rT6AIR07b0S9X2Gog_9hyPn4HjhkKAyIFg4krNE/s400/DSC_0960.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The sunset through the haze was very pretty.</td></tr>
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We called it a win, even though the trip wasn't at all what we had in mind when we first planned it. <div>
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So the next item that I really feel like should find it's way into my blog is a trip that the kids and I took with Justin's mom to Disneyland. Justin was in school, so he couldn't come with us for this one. I knew that Ivan and I wouldn't be able to ride much, but I thought that it would be a very fun opportunity for Vivian to spend some time with her Grandma, and who better to introduce her to the magic of Disneyland? So off we went, and my only regret was that Justin wasn't there to see her exhaust herself with excitement and wonder every day that we were there. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ZYfhLt32Re7pA2o-VJl_rO4WUpz90Tyjd6dkG6maRUJNcY2vuYCL2mduE96H_o_xssa8-ASfMFXZMtuYp6ZtJ6QskXD37qVXvbbXMa0Q-jr2OOwbsNJkngyZDxSUXT9iGey03eJNMng/s1600/DSC_0031.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9ZYfhLt32Re7pA2o-VJl_rO4WUpz90Tyjd6dkG6maRUJNcY2vuYCL2mduE96H_o_xssa8-ASfMFXZMtuYp6ZtJ6QskXD37qVXvbbXMa0Q-jr2OOwbsNJkngyZDxSUXT9iGey03eJNMng/s400/DSC_0031.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some play area over in California Adventure that she loved</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijcCDegf8WSkF6JvYG66fD7NehXkv3OCoUP6qoFNTo6NtJT85wQuNCl4qm3XKteNXUlTQfqZejrJEqI5OkuiP11Vdr4VsnS1SDXaFjbbKSTuL7YIi1fkcrvsNpY5bt3sseEWb3AwJSdtA/s1600/DSC_0043.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1157" data-original-width="1600" height="288" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijcCDegf8WSkF6JvYG66fD7NehXkv3OCoUP6qoFNTo6NtJT85wQuNCl4qm3XKteNXUlTQfqZejrJEqI5OkuiP11Vdr4VsnS1SDXaFjbbKSTuL7YIi1fkcrvsNpY5bt3sseEWb3AwJSdtA/s400/DSC_0043.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We're lucky that he was so easy going about just sitting in the stroller for hours on end.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6k6-weUGhxIsqjed9Muj0IrqB7wLQGJlSJXOnFm3iuVYdUVZHlGTvXE4STpsqafTH5oRmHMyV9BNgknwd8yuiIqW68ok4QQYKXJHCcaOCntG0ekxhKpkoyXjA3-B8zvJZLxqgKzE4D-c/s1600/DSC_0057.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1166" data-original-width="1202" height="387" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6k6-weUGhxIsqjed9Muj0IrqB7wLQGJlSJXOnFm3iuVYdUVZHlGTvXE4STpsqafTH5oRmHMyV9BNgknwd8yuiIqW68ok4QQYKXJHCcaOCntG0ekxhKpkoyXjA3-B8zvJZLxqgKzE4D-c/s400/DSC_0057.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This ride terrifies me. She loved it.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpg7h8Dy6fuHtoLmE3lLlA1kohG5tUZ6k3FTVWBIbtX7i-OgpCij4SE4tRZkvh4Wkzlm4RibeAiW0d7znP3JVSkk3SmKjayC2VoS4DY0pZAbrMK96taGvn0aZs2arfosQ0tmgurRpUTVg/s1600/DSC_0065.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1099" data-original-width="1600" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpg7h8Dy6fuHtoLmE3lLlA1kohG5tUZ6k3FTVWBIbtX7i-OgpCij4SE4tRZkvh4Wkzlm4RibeAiW0d7znP3JVSkk3SmKjayC2VoS4DY0pZAbrMK96taGvn0aZs2arfosQ0tmgurRpUTVg/s400/DSC_0065.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taking a little break in the mid-afternoon. this picture makes me sad when I see how skinny my little Ivan has gotten since learning how to walk. Those thighs aren't nearly as squishy now.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5XmA13zBdDTvaItINXN2EtLPck3oKFDYAm5EVfXIIRyI75qDkGFbgiIhInZI9AsV6RuFktJuTtAaKsXb7mslWo-Hjrv-eo9eJYoQtPpAbOhUmh2PF1kHfsqbqEhJGG1YE8c9BZI-9afw/s1600/DSC_0071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj5XmA13zBdDTvaItINXN2EtLPck3oKFDYAm5EVfXIIRyI75qDkGFbgiIhInZI9AsV6RuFktJuTtAaKsXb7mslWo-Hjrv-eo9eJYoQtPpAbOhUmh2PF1kHfsqbqEhJGG1YE8c9BZI-9afw/s400/DSC_0071.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB7FGY0yAJo7tBNxVT4uFB6n7z6cu4SygxubhBr_FHAWOTmpWo3zTmsjzv7hfyKqaEXatZMjo_inZIz5jPzKXxRg_v9tLvR0tt6SBgoDzN4ni_gdZ2JUrwMi4fOeglueLBb9xvGnAnnOQ/s1600/DSC_0078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgB7FGY0yAJo7tBNxVT4uFB6n7z6cu4SygxubhBr_FHAWOTmpWo3zTmsjzv7hfyKqaEXatZMjo_inZIz5jPzKXxRg_v9tLvR0tt6SBgoDzN4ni_gdZ2JUrwMi4fOeglueLBb9xvGnAnnOQ/s400/DSC_0078.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Some honorary citizen badge that a worker gave her. She still talks about it.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi27_hsETjZeBUI6ivTcmzgpCwbPvjB6RVo0PyT-fW9nl2YUtNX_poqPajAJ1MEzvCWXNmj5ECH0K4US9sycRvSZfqboeevvlh1tRkAsJgRH2Pmb3l4psswyakyHO80k1y3x5YJ_bhm598/s1600/DSC_0089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi27_hsETjZeBUI6ivTcmzgpCwbPvjB6RVo0PyT-fW9nl2YUtNX_poqPajAJ1MEzvCWXNmj5ECH0K4US9sycRvSZfqboeevvlh1tRkAsJgRH2Pmb3l4psswyakyHO80k1y3x5YJ_bhm598/s400/DSC_0089.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was them every night. Two out of the three nights there these two snoozed right through dinner and on into the morning.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjddkkD-QQs4Lg9VwCNZubnxrNofTi_PmOGGhQIFm_MPn3jDaLlnBXAwVXQ_JveVzo31kXiAhyRCp0CIckEOB34IbgsoqqU7UyLzQPJNiA4HdQChILCPTgqYUHjyktFvBcybhgy307wCpg/s1600/DSC_0985.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1454" data-original-width="1600" height="362" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjddkkD-QQs4Lg9VwCNZubnxrNofTi_PmOGGhQIFm_MPn3jDaLlnBXAwVXQ_JveVzo31kXiAhyRCp0CIckEOB34IbgsoqqU7UyLzQPJNiA4HdQChILCPTgqYUHjyktFvBcybhgy307wCpg/s400/DSC_0985.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She was unable to tear her eyes off of Moana, and completely unable to form words in her presence.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjErj_kmOPM-pPeYstESe71AjarH0ZZHix9Rm2zPqfQU_oAROnz9AjdN1RA09TRMH9Gntk_jU-StOVR-VJ6TiU4iidZ_LPHGKWUS4PAkTk11Y8ApbPjzh1LMXCZJ8MYX7F5avZLQXb5kzs/s1600/DSC_0994.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjErj_kmOPM-pPeYstESe71AjarH0ZZHix9Rm2zPqfQU_oAROnz9AjdN1RA09TRMH9Gntk_jU-StOVR-VJ6TiU4iidZ_LPHGKWUS4PAkTk11Y8ApbPjzh1LMXCZJ8MYX7F5avZLQXb5kzs/s400/DSC_0994.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She's never seen Dumbo, but she still talks about flying on an elephant with Grandma Goodale</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyphenhyphenGPoa4bhnnR4z-BXKHYYp057E_oZlyYNRashVh1tkCTQ2LpE4ugX7VLqOb2C_iHMugioxeADea7e6_n-wmEh-7KY1nO7qrPICR-wD5UL6kwFHJrfoSpTqf9eHupy8l5Ruf-CwFMEMDM/s1600/DSC_1002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1240" data-original-width="1600" height="308" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihyphenhyphenGPoa4bhnnR4z-BXKHYYp057E_oZlyYNRashVh1tkCTQ2LpE4ugX7VLqOb2C_iHMugioxeADea7e6_n-wmEh-7KY1nO7qrPICR-wD5UL6kwFHJrfoSpTqf9eHupy8l5Ruf-CwFMEMDM/s400/DSC_1002.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ8BBN1Qpa_Cl9Xd2tLiByMMhyUkr4MvSFUV7435_jF49oFvXjaSGMooZW2YsQSVXeabClj5PrVYBEwLhJbIbaey-WlI35AZjCFtsJKyovY1alApfuNYOrRCERlv43B_R79yDeWh3uMuQ/s1600/DSC_1005.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1546" data-original-width="1600" height="386" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQ8BBN1Qpa_Cl9Xd2tLiByMMhyUkr4MvSFUV7435_jF49oFvXjaSGMooZW2YsQSVXeabClj5PrVYBEwLhJbIbaey-WlI35AZjCFtsJKyovY1alApfuNYOrRCERlv43B_R79yDeWh3uMuQ/s400/DSC_1005.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another stroller day for Ivan.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjuNnppKGp5dnNMBs225J98c80Vw5ULPGr8Gi7oXBmNvdmUFoDnUwDr24oOJ0hJ5omgxDz_7uI3QsEZpz7UuKEc_Gt5NP6TlxkogUGAn28h2FbYA3sBH1Ev3aT-YI0eBpDoEsdJpzKXy8/s1600/DSC_1020.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjjuNnppKGp5dnNMBs225J98c80Vw5ULPGr8Gi7oXBmNvdmUFoDnUwDr24oOJ0hJ5omgxDz_7uI3QsEZpz7UuKEc_Gt5NP6TlxkogUGAn28h2FbYA3sBH1Ev3aT-YI0eBpDoEsdJpzKXy8/s400/DSC_1020.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdnoItGpaIJSqa2pVdFiYfl6pyJhLEr533U4PJXn_WKsauRLqlN1ZCg8abOOY7p17bpHxjk5M7ucHkW1Bx5222jNHglKpjOP2WZz-FulmjaZIvYj2ofPLYmwU80uEKOUmXzZ7ZzELfPJs/s1600/DSC_1024.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1326" data-original-width="1600" height="331" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdnoItGpaIJSqa2pVdFiYfl6pyJhLEr533U4PJXn_WKsauRLqlN1ZCg8abOOY7p17bpHxjk5M7ucHkW1Bx5222jNHglKpjOP2WZz-FulmjaZIvYj2ofPLYmwU80uEKOUmXzZ7ZzELfPJs/s400/DSC_1024.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love this picture. She was so excited about the bumper cars she just left her Grandma hanging out and joined the family behind them in line.</td></tr>
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This next picture might seem a bit odd, but it's one of my favorites from the trip. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_c_BX1OqmGZEkEoMgyzxSAmc5CZRGAxL9Ert1DgRwcwe9KWrq5N4Zb_lzTCli4OAImBBPJAtk20NjU2Wfju-OjTrDXNztKJoC4xZyHpUS2EKSP-XE8QNdZ-1h2p6aHOEi-yviYDMjDW4/s1600/DSC_0002.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1493" data-original-width="1600" height="298" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_c_BX1OqmGZEkEoMgyzxSAmc5CZRGAxL9Ert1DgRwcwe9KWrq5N4Zb_lzTCli4OAImBBPJAtk20NjU2Wfju-OjTrDXNztKJoC4xZyHpUS2EKSP-XE8QNdZ-1h2p6aHOEi-yviYDMjDW4/s320/DSC_0002.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Take note of how the straps on this guy's backpack are sort of soggy on the ends.</td></tr>
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There we were, standing in line to the Casey Jr. train, minding our own business...well, I thought that we were minding our own business, until I looked down and saw Vivian chewing on the backpack straps of the guy in front of us. I was kind of appalled, and told her to get it out of her mouth immediately, and then turned to Michelle to call her attention to what had just happened. When we turned back around Vivian had the backpack strap back in her mouth again. I laughed so hard that I cried. The guy never had any idea what was going on behind him, which made it all the more amusing to me. </div>
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All in all this was a great trip, and this was an exhausting trip. I would do it again in a heartbeat, and I am so grateful for a mother-in-law who willingly put herself through the experience to build memories with her tiny granddaughter. </div>
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After that our lives descended into the worst semester of Justin's undergraduate career. He was actually home quite a bit, he was rarely free to do anything but sit in the corner doing homework. The kids hated it, I hated it, and Justin hated it. He was always busy, we took no trips, and we hated that part too. It all sort of culminated in a horrible incident right before Thanksgiving. I woke up one morning at 5 am to Justin shouting my name at full volume from the bathroom. Clearly something was not right. I got out of bed, and as my feet hit soggy carpet I instantly had the thought that Vivian had for some reason had an accident next to my bed, which seemed very weird. Nothing was adding up. When I arrived in the bathroom where water was standing an inch deep I was instantly more awake, and instantly wished to be able to go back to bed and sleep through what was happening. The tank of the toilet had cracked and our toilet had run all night long. The entire upstairs was flooded, and when Justin went downstairs he found water pouring through the ceiling. The entire downstairs was flooded. Miraculously nothing of value was permanently damaged. However, we ended up sending Vivian off to Boise for a week in the aftermath since there was about 10 square feet of dry flooring in the entire apartment and she got pretty bored with standing in that after about 5 minutes. Fortuitously we had a trip booked to Colorado Springs that weekend to house hunt for a new home since Justin had finally received his official job offer. We found a home, we made an offer, our offer was accepted and we were back to our flooded apartment in Logan all within a matter of days. Our landlord decided to just leave it in it's water damaged state since we were leaving soon anyway. Our last month and a half in that apartment felt like a year. At long last Justin finished finals, and on the 15th of December he was commissioned a second lieutenant. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDC_wkhrEeO6gUQz6btaETisRRqVpxmcDYTdRi9eOIVa2kuVD8NZe6dbsYqBykSQUI3ilmgd3Q-3ngQnpPxRLSvz6n5TPzEqamJjauX-JSPhrIu5ESsEYftDI6lSEGe5g65kxCp60QCwo/s1600/25299185_10215384421705016_4401213953876403928_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="781" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDC_wkhrEeO6gUQz6btaETisRRqVpxmcDYTdRi9eOIVa2kuVD8NZe6dbsYqBykSQUI3ilmgd3Q-3ngQnpPxRLSvz6n5TPzEqamJjauX-JSPhrIu5ESsEYftDI6lSEGe5g65kxCp60QCwo/s400/25299185_10215384421705016_4401213953876403928_n.jpg" width="325" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Receiving his saber for being a distinguished military grad, ranked 81 out of 6,000 nation wide.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="628" data-original-width="960" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB8_nQNfuM3LmY-dXEYZQZ42B03It1Rg2Jb9YtZ-WGoWsIvVb65swjuDNNVYvOnWFV5x8Lo_EkYaIQi1_nhpbBOqMYnpWm9GAKNjwSDaVHUyvqek2l4J68dcOhyEqJEhEIkH1GxQIhTB4/s400/25299281_10215384421545012_6055205904341432319_n.jpg" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">His first salute, from his first platoon sgt back in Idaho guard.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB8_nQNfuM3LmY-dXEYZQZ42B03It1Rg2Jb9YtZ-WGoWsIvVb65swjuDNNVYvOnWFV5x8Lo_EkYaIQi1_nhpbBOqMYnpWm9GAKNjwSDaVHUyvqek2l4J68dcOhyEqJEhEIkH1GxQIhTB4/s1600/25299281_10215384421545012_6055205904341432319_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhB8_nQNfuM3LmY-dXEYZQZ42B03It1Rg2Jb9YtZ-WGoWsIvVb65swjuDNNVYvOnWFV5x8Lo_EkYaIQi1_nhpbBOqMYnpWm9GAKNjwSDaVHUyvqek2l4J68dcOhyEqJEhEIkH1GxQIhTB4/s1600/25299281_10215384421545012_6055205904341432319_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlSyTJD8XD8gwASFmPkyGmWc9k3S_sSEF5IZeAltbfYNEGMux6ZAj2sYQ9keLxwA0Xdowy8yipvt3nlIIighXACsgWjDmkc517zONXZmkrSC6IihpsS9-Mm-R8Hmf7OJWFDi-Z3Wgf8Dg/s1600/25348453_10215384420624989_4951044457992540477_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="661" data-original-width="960" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlSyTJD8XD8gwASFmPkyGmWc9k3S_sSEF5IZeAltbfYNEGMux6ZAj2sYQ9keLxwA0Xdowy8yipvt3nlIIighXACsgWjDmkc517zONXZmkrSC6IihpsS9-Mm-R8Hmf7OJWFDi-Z3Wgf8Dg/s400/25348453_10215384420624989_4951044457992540477_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">His mom pinning his rank on, and Vivian insisted on joining her on stage.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw5JpTqAqaSAJGLconxYZLlVMOmcc535BnQM0sY0u15mnbjP-BZqEjWsb86v0l4VI9z86Sq8ZIR-JZE_CbxvmBv73wOj-SemEiSHJcqJnjJs2Ipreip8IzH2RinvY3gnd7rKRlDEskLX4/s1600/25348590_10215384420584988_5773407442644190603_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="960" data-original-width="641" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhw5JpTqAqaSAJGLconxYZLlVMOmcc535BnQM0sY0u15mnbjP-BZqEjWsb86v0l4VI9z86Sq8ZIR-JZE_CbxvmBv73wOj-SemEiSHJcqJnjJs2Ipreip8IzH2RinvY3gnd7rKRlDEskLX4/s400/25348590_10215384420584988_5773407442644190603_n.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I stole these photos from his dad.</td></tr>
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So let me just take a minute to brag about my husband. I am super proud of him. He had one A- in a kind of nightmare Russian class that kept him from a straight 4.0. He was distinguished military grad, and spent his last semester as cadet commander of his program. He worked so hard for this, and it was more than a little gratifying to see him get some recognition for everything that he put himself through. I say put himself through, because he was never content with just the minimum. He was always trying to do just a little bit more and little bit better. So, in short, I'm lucky that he chose me to be his Mrs.</div>
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So after that we went into a packing frenzy. We loaded everything we owned into moving pods, had them shipped to Colorado Springs and after spending a few days in Orem with my family we went to McCall, Idaho for Christmas with his. I was instantly struck with an illness that eventually resulted in pneumonia, but despite that, we thoroughly enjoyed celebrating Christmas in McCall. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTujsBFfvRDnvzwZJI8a20Lulx1Dc5GqJ32z3uVM2UGoeev6JKLWIDn5X9s07sMGpn3zvqcAqgQJpfuFfaAr0BUkQKWhpjmvIUhHX3bC9i1rcpokJ_A5TLx3_hW66qWXUfN9YcevCsAqw/s1600/DSC_0278.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="722" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTujsBFfvRDnvzwZJI8a20Lulx1Dc5GqJ32z3uVM2UGoeev6JKLWIDn5X9s07sMGpn3zvqcAqgQJpfuFfaAr0BUkQKWhpjmvIUhHX3bC9i1rcpokJ_A5TLx3_hW66qWXUfN9YcevCsAqw/s400/DSC_0278.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Justin and I trying to teach Vivian how to make a snow angel </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1493" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigztjKBfFpZKZKE2De-IQB7mYcUhsYAOwoGqBTY0wu9JfEfidMwAaDhw21qj_Fzwv3KaQlhlT1FPduZzsuo0nPH0DC7wg81fxVo0GpKvNidDyJ8xQD4wZv3CetolBwsTb2tlOgIF9VYbE/s400/DSC_0339.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="372" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Moments before a crash turned her little smile to tears. She's pretty tough though, she eventually returned to the sledding hill.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigztjKBfFpZKZKE2De-IQB7mYcUhsYAOwoGqBTY0wu9JfEfidMwAaDhw21qj_Fzwv3KaQlhlT1FPduZzsuo0nPH0DC7wg81fxVo0GpKvNidDyJ8xQD4wZv3CetolBwsTb2tlOgIF9VYbE/s1600/DSC_0339.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEigztjKBfFpZKZKE2De-IQB7mYcUhsYAOwoGqBTY0wu9JfEfidMwAaDhw21qj_Fzwv3KaQlhlT1FPduZzsuo0nPH0DC7wg81fxVo0GpKvNidDyJ8xQD4wZv3CetolBwsTb2tlOgIF9VYbE/s1600/DSC_0339.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhByFmwgr6CFAsBfSj21tvWimGEdsOkfmqPVCUGs-N1srD293RGZC49u5j7QE9hNCzCJeYzai7bXD9bSwMFfivQKUJHT7nyiNEEx_WH0Lx9Q-OJN7DG67OU84dNvWHLB53Bg5NXXLqmmZc/s1600/DSC_0353.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1543" data-original-width="1409" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhByFmwgr6CFAsBfSj21tvWimGEdsOkfmqPVCUGs-N1srD293RGZC49u5j7QE9hNCzCJeYzai7bXD9bSwMFfivQKUJHT7nyiNEEx_WH0Lx9Q-OJN7DG67OU84dNvWHLB53Bg5NXXLqmmZc/s400/DSC_0353.JPG" width="365" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snowmobiling, note the big red scab on her cheek from the sledding incident.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3rvI33cCCvh47VhIGa31O7p8fwWb7-flimwAoeWBoT44QaLpMIYY_Ca0iL5yYB2BiKISCuJ7t63MYcYpmyEHqNqt4-qcywd5-0aHKWbYdku465O72d3_0ycnZZCgiiJLMViURcA8yeNY/s1600/DSC_0356.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="982" data-original-width="1600" height="245" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3rvI33cCCvh47VhIGa31O7p8fwWb7-flimwAoeWBoT44QaLpMIYY_Ca0iL5yYB2BiKISCuJ7t63MYcYpmyEHqNqt4-qcywd5-0aHKWbYdku465O72d3_0ycnZZCgiiJLMViURcA8yeNY/s400/DSC_0356.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ivan and I spent a lot of time just watching.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCLHiO8ylK3rH2_rku-OpNiQWIyXyp9IJ54d5oLDlDDPC5mcfU4pgCeqEwNUPUetIpcukGUFLHxcj2A0vfKuOuf_URPp2JIPqjl7NoVhzZ3vrajTNJHU-EBoQxc4BHCXAATkHEqjWPzng/s1600/DSC_0369.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCLHiO8ylK3rH2_rku-OpNiQWIyXyp9IJ54d5oLDlDDPC5mcfU4pgCeqEwNUPUetIpcukGUFLHxcj2A0vfKuOuf_URPp2JIPqjl7NoVhzZ3vrajTNJHU-EBoQxc4BHCXAATkHEqjWPzng/s400/DSC_0369.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From the snowmobile outing. It was so beautiful!</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvNCERTQoJ-TgGPGks6V1uGcaEk52A0uZe_Slo2GiHaycT5azboFTQREsxq9hz-vSbhCbLrDid_5dMFayo5hj0nLcJPEgrgsH-GGcnK4Psfplj4JAcF2QsXTJwpzN8txWYxoeWCg0I3WM/s1600/DSC_0516.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1084" data-original-width="1600" height="270" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvNCERTQoJ-TgGPGks6V1uGcaEk52A0uZe_Slo2GiHaycT5azboFTQREsxq9hz-vSbhCbLrDid_5dMFayo5hj0nLcJPEgrgsH-GGcnK4Psfplj4JAcF2QsXTJwpzN8txWYxoeWCg0I3WM/s400/DSC_0516.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwSyAjYB1IiVS5ZBx_us6MapKOJQbAWPoSGHwpgS4GS_nbJWo3lu7Lj7Zgw4h01u2tfiFngjeSM0dtBuJ1bTJ_ZE45c5GXx8xnQxfPa9YO0I6Cej6EgbaTr92mA1sperx1WEeNfahgX_M/s1600/DSC_0539.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="892" data-original-width="1600" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwSyAjYB1IiVS5ZBx_us6MapKOJQbAWPoSGHwpgS4GS_nbJWo3lu7Lj7Zgw4h01u2tfiFngjeSM0dtBuJ1bTJ_ZE45c5GXx8xnQxfPa9YO0I6Cej6EgbaTr92mA1sperx1WEeNfahgX_M/s400/DSC_0539.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They loved the tubing outing. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="957" data-original-width="1600" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdA4CegkPwTgJDXQ0eRtUKrMfVsQOH-thh9f1_3jZ2DJhllCLLr9EDowOF07GZL61AyfC3B05RnUwLob_DS5w9RUIwllWECwkiuBkwuV-m4Ksvjvd8ZxESWKjzXWjY8P3w6aZnOOlcCNQ/s400/DSC_0550.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A sleigh ride out to an elk herd. On this one the elk eat the hay that you're sitting on. It gets you an up close...at times uncomfortably up close experience with the elk. We loved it!</td></tr>
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As with all vacations, they do eventually seem to end. So off we went back to Orem to visit with my family again for a few days and then we made our way to Colorado Springs. On January 2nd we became homeowners. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMaz8iwXF6jSO9n-4lw8OQ0_58AsjKb_5DITU3AcWgHk1xRid7rZMRgJIghT0ljVEvU1RiQKQzirQrwB3oe14WG40KtI-W-s_-SuE-CC16UIFg8kfkAPcCC4tkBgP04byuRpkbz6K9cZA/s1600/DSC_0710.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMaz8iwXF6jSO9n-4lw8OQ0_58AsjKb_5DITU3AcWgHk1xRid7rZMRgJIghT0ljVEvU1RiQKQzirQrwB3oe14WG40KtI-W-s_-SuE-CC16UIFg8kfkAPcCC4tkBgP04byuRpkbz6K9cZA/s400/DSC_0710.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Prior to this Vivian, in all seriousness, did not totally understand what the word "home" meant.</td></tr>
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Since then Justin has started his new job, and we've been settling in here in the springs. Our house is still pretty empty since we had very little in the way of furnishings having just emerged from living in tiny student apartments. </div>
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We hadn't been here long when we received word that a close friend, Sharon Peterson had passed away in California. I wasn't excited about taking a trip to California, and I wasn't at all excited about why we were making the trip, but with a little help from the Hexbergs, the kids and I made our way to California to say goodbye. It was all going so well right up until her mom came over and thanked the Long Beach girls for being her friend. I found myself sobbing on the freeway on the way back to the hotel telling Justin about it, because it was all so very backwards. It was I who was lucky to have her as a friend, certainly not the other way around. I look forward to seeing her again some day on the other side, and enjoying her company again.</div>
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Justin flew in after the funeral, from a business trip to DC and got us back to Colorado Springs in one piece, just in time for me to get grounded with pneumonia (turns out coughing non-stop for three weeks is a bad sign.) Here we are now, healthy again, and looking forward to figuring out what little adventures we can create for ourselves locally since this homeowner thing is going to curb our travels for a bit. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01189144134384732232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076870301541451612.post-71190085195090158732017-09-06T20:24:00.000-07:002017-09-06T20:24:27.546-07:00Southern Utah to Boise Part IIOur first morning in St. George we got a very slow start. We had stayed up late the night before doing a mountain of laundry so that Vivian would have clean clothes and a clean carseat again. It was early afternoon when we finally made our way into Zion National Park. This is still my favorite place on earth. I've just never been anywhere that I love quite as much as Zion. We decided to start our day by doing a hike of a nice overlook on the other side of the tunnel. The views over there were outstanding.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF-co-JiA3lJ17iC2TL-KacU59iuBKxyOSDJ5Lhu5DsibhVDvwCc9bzp-VIVBm6sMVtWe3uF9JHTbrB7xILAQ2rABT9lBS4-cRCpnUe_rHXK0cdiM6FkB_nVGw0vSJrGobduhEhVOPOqw/s1600/DSC_0027.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1539" data-original-width="1600" height="383" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhF-co-JiA3lJ17iC2TL-KacU59iuBKxyOSDJ5Lhu5DsibhVDvwCc9bzp-VIVBm6sMVtWe3uF9JHTbrB7xILAQ2rABT9lBS4-cRCpnUe_rHXK0cdiM6FkB_nVGw0vSJrGobduhEhVOPOqw/s400/DSC_0027.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She ran ahead, and Justin had to yell at her to just sit down and wait for us.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCjRR1KJ3ZIygAS6gDJc0o1IQBW9VCBYGfuRauhvbMMbsT7xpu_AjgvLUMe8lGEpbstrmOrhOc-TrMVAVXKSVQNM2ZrNdKALn8JlCUAmV5HZZLeF8DZrDQ9yzL-X-R2N3v1R9pvaHt1cQ/s1600/DSC_0040.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1204" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCjRR1KJ3ZIygAS6gDJc0o1IQBW9VCBYGfuRauhvbMMbsT7xpu_AjgvLUMe8lGEpbstrmOrhOc-TrMVAVXKSVQNM2ZrNdKALn8JlCUAmV5HZZLeF8DZrDQ9yzL-X-R2N3v1R9pvaHt1cQ/s400/DSC_0040.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxh7MP62fSJohEkBkglalDQhMdzLVHkEGrKR1E2CeBC5Z0Eis3_KdS_UIskTdvOcGKO2W5EQ2EmRpKIo_gSurNomSdbPR0R5TOD5IUP_bwNHDhMDFBh8V_M_TTL0es_pIRN9YNPxsZ0ik/s1600/DSC_0047.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxh7MP62fSJohEkBkglalDQhMdzLVHkEGrKR1E2CeBC5Z0Eis3_KdS_UIskTdvOcGKO2W5EQ2EmRpKIo_gSurNomSdbPR0R5TOD5IUP_bwNHDhMDFBh8V_M_TTL0es_pIRN9YNPxsZ0ik/s400/DSC_0047.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE9kv2MXUkxogYPfXXX0gZUOzl7ApSN90LhCdlSN8V8TGzq7PirpDLnuESmskrgy2Gq7jYiYs1UOLknXHVy2ZiG-wl4J5KvrZae8qgwNdCjyHCA8cpjaOZEy3v4OtuREOc2ERlB4uFInY/s1600/DSC_0049.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1068" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhE9kv2MXUkxogYPfXXX0gZUOzl7ApSN90LhCdlSN8V8TGzq7PirpDLnuESmskrgy2Gq7jYiYs1UOLknXHVy2ZiG-wl4J5KvrZae8qgwNdCjyHCA8cpjaOZEy3v4OtuREOc2ERlB4uFInY/s400/DSC_0049.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beautiful, but terrifying views. I was pretty much a wreck until they were back down from there.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWGTGqivsF0t96pYF7tmn_Id226YZnIAxc-Jlj0ehhj2f0AkAFwtLh9qcjQTfKiChbjP-jXgqqBf1Ni0nfmqdfH16Z8onRQyEfX8sdfNLu7sSStgO6HX419hyBwFu1vBqbwmY3k9j5ATw/s1600/DSC_0055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWGTGqivsF0t96pYF7tmn_Id226YZnIAxc-Jlj0ehhj2f0AkAFwtLh9qcjQTfKiChbjP-jXgqqBf1Ni0nfmqdfH16Z8onRQyEfX8sdfNLu7sSStgO6HX419hyBwFu1vBqbwmY3k9j5ATw/s400/DSC_0055.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taking a break while Justin was fiddling with the camera </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjsw7agRhtOtQQc1c3nbQ0CihwG2L8h1Vcq5ztFDXJx8vX1LIN8rirZtIIsXEE2Sav8ClkDkp5b1Yia-TuFB4quHpY8C5pqz_x8ANHh4alYriVCxp0-OFF5emPRuFwO3uBAWIs9dwSnpKc/s400/DSC_0067.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This bridge made me kind of nervous too.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEyWb6L_UTNPBeQiy-FD0BMmy1x7iaB4BTNXCrxBI7N4Are_bq1WL5fgdk_Is98aMh-i3DCXCriS4WwNdhgdmo7GRHNDQwhFEyxlN9fMhs2LCjeSvE9dMUMv21dwvQYbD6_6xGlEcGx7c/s1600/DSC_0071.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1167" data-original-width="1600" height="291" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEyWb6L_UTNPBeQiy-FD0BMmy1x7iaB4BTNXCrxBI7N4Are_bq1WL5fgdk_Is98aMh-i3DCXCriS4WwNdhgdmo7GRHNDQwhFEyxlN9fMhs2LCjeSvE9dMUMv21dwvQYbD6_6xGlEcGx7c/s400/DSC_0071.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He just does this from time to time to amuse himself when he gets bored with the baby carrier.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg51BaDLfQyT1-Tf65VSNhfGe_pvwlXhWVK7yqrtC_FcSXvIo_6vY588XhTagSlBLkxS1IZJL_BO_dDt9Uxcv9kWM1Alzh_kQ99M79mM_4b2Av3xX2rnHdhvefzV2i70V3mffufNmw8fY/s1600/DSC_0083.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg51BaDLfQyT1-Tf65VSNhfGe_pvwlXhWVK7yqrtC_FcSXvIo_6vY588XhTagSlBLkxS1IZJL_BO_dDt9Uxcv9kWM1Alzh_kQ99M79mM_4b2Av3xX2rnHdhvefzV2i70V3mffufNmw8fY/s400/DSC_0083.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She somehow always winds up with dirt all over her face.</td></tr>
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It took us hours to complete that little hike. We spent a lot of time at the top, and then Justin was trying to teach Vivian about echos on the way back. She seemed fascinated, but absolutely refused to shout in the canyon in order to hear her echo. Very weird, considering we can't keep her quiet any other time. Maybe we should tell her that church chapels echo...<div>
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We stopped for lunch after that, and then made our way out of the park to ditch the car, ride the shuttle back in and head to the Narrows. I love the shuttle system, but it doesn't run to the other side of the tunnel so it makes doing that little hike kind of a hassle, but worth it. We knew we weren't going to be able to actually hike the Narrows with the kids, but the Riverwalk on the way out to the trail head there is pretty, and we figured that we could find a nice place along it where they could play in the river. These next pictures are some of my favorites that I think we've ever taken. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-8wDyaBYazdROM18fj0fygv5jAsFEA7gBJpszQxunzO0hEiw_qxpq7yM2DcqhqewB_EjRmvpuR2Ki3289zSbvUqf10r-ihycHbYkMvtj73gPcPLSnAVQHNKvwRnGV0gOgGtwNIQu1om8/s1600/DSC_0106.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1164" data-original-width="1600" height="290" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-8wDyaBYazdROM18fj0fygv5jAsFEA7gBJpszQxunzO0hEiw_qxpq7yM2DcqhqewB_EjRmvpuR2Ki3289zSbvUqf10r-ihycHbYkMvtj73gPcPLSnAVQHNKvwRnGV0gOgGtwNIQu1om8/s400/DSC_0106.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_M211U2tgZWpHPyEy4zMS4-E_s47IQQd1Yo30a_Mk2Ohpl-oZADg0wKeEjJmc0G5vgr70A5B_pPMS7PgNLvMarWDDlOgsSmngBsK1lfwJk4XVKn7oV1gEDvbQ4mIKVLlcggAYRgAs-5I/s1600/DSC_0261.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_M211U2tgZWpHPyEy4zMS4-E_s47IQQd1Yo30a_Mk2Ohpl-oZADg0wKeEjJmc0G5vgr70A5B_pPMS7PgNLvMarWDDlOgsSmngBsK1lfwJk4XVKn7oV1gEDvbQ4mIKVLlcggAYRgAs-5I/s400/DSC_0261.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9oP01-bf_UWp1CxMGMT99coi1vXE6oBgHSFWufZoKuNI6Fuz-wlQNrSDlOAiQH0yK63YGJLGxoyj2aQVfQlATfyYUbblnytJk7gFFQR1Ju8SpruU0Jr4JWNAVgL90_HfWtkA5Y-WGPMQ/s1600/DSC_0271.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1336" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg9oP01-bf_UWp1CxMGMT99coi1vXE6oBgHSFWufZoKuNI6Fuz-wlQNrSDlOAiQH0yK63YGJLGxoyj2aQVfQlATfyYUbblnytJk7gFFQR1Ju8SpruU0Jr4JWNAVgL90_HfWtkA5Y-WGPMQ/s400/DSC_0271.JPG" width="333" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love how fond they are of each other.</td></tr>
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We spent a couple of hours there, and predictably Vivian was soaked up to her waist by the time we left. They were both soaked and exhausted. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV7ty3F3rj2gszSQUUrrdc7lk1wjjIu_DlVe8j3RP5khmkixmsxqHa7wx_OCJgpSPsaYpAKPkRVQqBsDa0LuxrNc7P71VKMFD05DHXi5kCgHt-k33MtGC07Nzhbyf9HECtdlYt-Ms4m2w/s1600/DSC_0320.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgV7ty3F3rj2gszSQUUrrdc7lk1wjjIu_DlVe8j3RP5khmkixmsxqHa7wx_OCJgpSPsaYpAKPkRVQqBsDa0LuxrNc7P71VKMFD05DHXi5kCgHt-k33MtGC07Nzhbyf9HECtdlYt-Ms4m2w/s400/DSC_0320.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The expression of someone who has been vacationing too hard.</td></tr>
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That evening in the timeshare we determined that tomorrow needed to be a light day too. They were loving the park, but the exhaustion was showing itself on their faces, and behavior. The next day we decided to take them to Emerald Pools. Vivian hiked the whole way by herself. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivdi82IJpkx30Twk3Wsqn1HjvlfUE6Q1vbXyUgoBgE3qUcnswSftTKPIcvR3UrXAuhGKZvPyEknoLOdJPWvrylf8pslhHD1ouvOAqL2pazTPdcPOT4d6HyXh-QJCrEELexsJOWiAVip5E/s1600/DSC_0323.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1068" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivdi82IJpkx30Twk3Wsqn1HjvlfUE6Q1vbXyUgoBgE3qUcnswSftTKPIcvR3UrXAuhGKZvPyEknoLOdJPWvrylf8pslhHD1ouvOAqL2pazTPdcPOT4d6HyXh-QJCrEELexsJOWiAVip5E/s400/DSC_0323.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My people on the trail, nearing the end of the hike.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvFtYCFV5u3MwuF20wGGoyCd_flK0Kb2lpNam__7uh2Ufdkzj0cK4G3hOp4IBj-Pfkq1CFhzoiFNRJBwAo2-RoPLzVgoAqn50pMWojpZB2JQt7C2lkFc6zO0xdVOfZrCdsxl1wkwlNrYE/s1600/DSC_0325.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvFtYCFV5u3MwuF20wGGoyCd_flK0Kb2lpNam__7uh2Ufdkzj0cK4G3hOp4IBj-Pfkq1CFhzoiFNRJBwAo2-RoPLzVgoAqn50pMWojpZB2JQt7C2lkFc6zO0xdVOfZrCdsxl1wkwlNrYE/s400/DSC_0325.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We waded out to this little sandbar and Vivian spotted a little frog on our way out.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG8jSufldUjnRD49Z0nSZAJo6VJboCk5hdsU52zlG758VNIjlGRATnqrxNsRt7LYdbiK4Y1de44YpusNmXEghiIx9FzTz-4agIR2_lsTR083puHVpKlHdFY4tQ4sdsA_AlM-6SOYK8p8Y/s1600/DSC_0331.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhG8jSufldUjnRD49Z0nSZAJo6VJboCk5hdsU52zlG758VNIjlGRATnqrxNsRt7LYdbiK4Y1de44YpusNmXEghiIx9FzTz-4agIR2_lsTR083puHVpKlHdFY4tQ4sdsA_AlM-6SOYK8p8Y/s400/DSC_0331.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Holding her frog.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvS6d8IhhtH6KhDSEn8MffAjy_9ddOqKxgrLFfNRlV-6y8FjYJhelFyjUaJFSh7ReeEs0WuYe6NGMDBuJjqZfuivq6ztnXXZOEUCmpNQWvAVlwKu19Mrnoo4Z8DIkj7VZEPKj_N30uwDM/s1600/DSC_0337.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="818" data-original-width="1600" height="203" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvS6d8IhhtH6KhDSEn8MffAjy_9ddOqKxgrLFfNRlV-6y8FjYJhelFyjUaJFSh7ReeEs0WuYe6NGMDBuJjqZfuivq6ztnXXZOEUCmpNQWvAVlwKu19Mrnoo4Z8DIkj7VZEPKj_N30uwDM/s400/DSC_0337.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There's a no swimming sign up, but we were wading not swimming. Vivian always looks like she's swimming when she wades.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixdTWTFhBBBHqPwEgYIvNz6RCNzm9gO0Qw9DcuA09-ucV0E8exwGiBH04UiDhepVVGnl9QIsamWvYM5qdxH8_7gJhzHQVJokgDdvrsYo8GevAMKTrJWD4GM0OHQaZ9RJ8DOVV54W5yrww/s1600/DSC_0338.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="849" data-original-width="1600" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEixdTWTFhBBBHqPwEgYIvNz6RCNzm9gO0Qw9DcuA09-ucV0E8exwGiBH04UiDhepVVGnl9QIsamWvYM5qdxH8_7gJhzHQVJokgDdvrsYo8GevAMKTrJWD4GM0OHQaZ9RJ8DOVV54W5yrww/s400/DSC_0338.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
So there were a lot of people there who judged us for getting in the water. Justin heard one parent loudly teaching his son how "those people over there are damaging the fragile ecosystem by playing in the water." Maybe we were wrong, but I really don't feel bad about letting my kids wade around in the water for a few minutes, nor do I think that the ecosystem was permanently scarred.</div>
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We finished the hike and headed back to the timeshare. Vivian insisted that she could walk, but she was moving so slow that Justin finally insisted on carrying her the last mile or so down. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-SszXuKVORP88UoRt7RejDRMRBbnJ7aBjGriqfQ9MmJF9-v92JOxoapDZQEMoI6KGwTni58fmLmL4icfJz8fblt5khhfHUc2ijwX2pRzvMiO9-qTwgmogz-kuAWzRuC5FMIDxCEFTbkg/s1600/DSC_0349.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg-SszXuKVORP88UoRt7RejDRMRBbnJ7aBjGriqfQ9MmJF9-v92JOxoapDZQEMoI6KGwTni58fmLmL4icfJz8fblt5khhfHUc2ijwX2pRzvMiO9-qTwgmogz-kuAWzRuC5FMIDxCEFTbkg/s400/DSC_0349.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I've been here at least a dozen times and I'm still stunned with how beautiful it is there. I guess it caught Ivan's attention too.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyUebNlh_wEVEVHZdlQ7f_STbsrKgcEyf2h5_e3xdWZfej8HHch8dsnuFTxGRWdiAxcXWr_sfHouMUmIkUYDEZGPpWgm4pmY0PP9_EhM-qov9KE5AOMPz3Ket1gmGf0NGMMtIjfIfWKls/s1600/DSC_0355.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1337" data-original-width="1600" height="333" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyUebNlh_wEVEVHZdlQ7f_STbsrKgcEyf2h5_e3xdWZfej8HHch8dsnuFTxGRWdiAxcXWr_sfHouMUmIkUYDEZGPpWgm4pmY0PP9_EhM-qov9KE5AOMPz3Ket1gmGf0NGMMtIjfIfWKls/s400/DSC_0355.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vivian slept while he passed the time on the shuttle back to the car playing with his dad.</td></tr>
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We told Vivian on the drive back that evening that if she wanted to do something different the next day, instead of hiking that we could, and then we started throwing out options. We passed a sign on the freeway advertising the dinosaur track museum. I threw it out there as an option, not expecting it to stand up to the other fun things that were proposed. Naturally she latched onto that idea like superglue. We tried to persuade her to consider other options, but she can be very stubborn. We finally agreed that Justin would call and consult with Grandma Goodale about it (since she had taken their family when Justin was younger), and if Grandma Goodale said that it would be fun then we would go see the dinosaur tracks. Grandma Goodale said that next time we need to warn her before we ask, but we didn't. So the next morning we all headed out to see the dinosaur tracks.</div>
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The museum was very small, and truthfully it was kind of interesting. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcBJGs3Wv_mLHgvHX29rJnql0geLq7HGM_aRo13Sk-unwTS0cD_q-lZQ8uuDJSfeP6pcLVAdD0r0Ujv0rEPsWIDryb_B0oEw66TGSGICGcPa1W2CLdKrKBEj1pVhLqultyBvp4uW0a62E/s1600/DSC_0368.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcBJGs3Wv_mLHgvHX29rJnql0geLq7HGM_aRo13Sk-unwTS0cD_q-lZQ8uuDJSfeP6pcLVAdD0r0Ujv0rEPsWIDryb_B0oEw66TGSGICGcPa1W2CLdKrKBEj1pVhLqultyBvp4uW0a62E/s400/DSC_0368.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She wanted to sit as close to the TV as possible for the introductory video.</td></tr>
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The museum started out with an introductory video, that Vivian found to be very interesting. Justin made fun of it a lot because a cartoon dinosaur in the video was named Dill, and apparently Justin felt that they pronounced it in such a way that it was obvious to him that Utahns made the video.<br /><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8l0783ArsvRwX49cVm2h1Lq6dVW6NoR3ZWxRjfcm2wjBNLwXHkT3xll8RlGa6OmwUS57_G9zXiMz1cuyGY3craQRAtJbzl_o8ScvW3v2gztKl861YuVcUlhADr7nLCKdA00pHSFJspBs/s1600/DSC_0375.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8l0783ArsvRwX49cVm2h1Lq6dVW6NoR3ZWxRjfcm2wjBNLwXHkT3xll8RlGa6OmwUS57_G9zXiMz1cuyGY3craQRAtJbzl_o8ScvW3v2gztKl861YuVcUlhADr7nLCKdA00pHSFJspBs/s400/DSC_0375.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Her favorite part was actually running laps around the museum on these ramps.</td></tr>
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After the museum our kids got a much needed nap. We spent the remainder of the day in the pool, relaxing.<br /><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglJv6t2MdaK7W1o86BA2Ekcblp-GWcKmZSLJXY_4cXbn45yGGeDcOzyGuyfjsMZT6g29jjZ2I5mYOk11J0yoo3eD6ho_9pAOXiPoGtId5oJGpnbj48Y4POQxXVXdDB0w6s0rUtmnRB85M/s1600/DSC_0397.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEglJv6t2MdaK7W1o86BA2Ekcblp-GWcKmZSLJXY_4cXbn45yGGeDcOzyGuyfjsMZT6g29jjZ2I5mYOk11J0yoo3eD6ho_9pAOXiPoGtId5oJGpnbj48Y4POQxXVXdDB0w6s0rUtmnRB85M/s400/DSC_0397.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJKs1Rb4yShhpb19ygb_xAIxlxtgp-vVLQPbP656vCrrymAGZnhAljYwJHVpovjDfFTN0QpDSb5kdX2AbQNe-tbZsVp96tW6nDYV-U-fcwoZc741V9Tso9i13EQT29b8IMTnylJjtBvcU/s1600/DSC_0404.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="697" data-original-width="1600" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJKs1Rb4yShhpb19ygb_xAIxlxtgp-vVLQPbP656vCrrymAGZnhAljYwJHVpovjDfFTN0QpDSb5kdX2AbQNe-tbZsVp96tW6nDYV-U-fcwoZc741V9Tso9i13EQT29b8IMTnylJjtBvcU/s400/DSC_0404.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They were happy to just hang out in the kiddie pool with their dad most of the afternoon.</td></tr>
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That was our last day in St. George. The next morning we set off for Boise. We decided to drive straight up through Nevada, rather than back through Utah on I-15. This seemed like a great idea to us at the time. It could have been a great alternate route, had it not been for all the construction. There were three different spots where the two-lane highway was narrowed to one lane, and you had to wait up to 30 minutes before proceeding. We hit all three delays. When we finally arrived in Wells, Nevada the one road that goes north into Idaho was closed for an accident. Instead we went further west to Elko and then up to Idaho on a very remote road that seemed to truly define the "middle of nowhere." After 12 solid hours on the road we were finally back in cellphone coverage and able to contact Justin's mother who had been expecting us to arrive hours earlier and was experiencing some level of concern about our whereabouts. For the record, we had also experienced some of those same concerns. Ivan was sick of the whole thing and for that last couple of hours in the car he let us know that we had pushed him too far. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAwukqcdt85t5Cwox11_x8sLHVCw1mn6vz5mfp9lT1BW0wa18Lja9By66dbGNNWxev9AuXFdIVqeGMgcdEJf4WyQAw-ZzDhF5bB3DFaC4EvwIWHMkK2mTh0EYSbr3phwNlyprblw2sDac/s1600/DSC_0440.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAwukqcdt85t5Cwox11_x8sLHVCw1mn6vz5mfp9lT1BW0wa18Lja9By66dbGNNWxev9AuXFdIVqeGMgcdEJf4WyQAw-ZzDhF5bB3DFaC4EvwIWHMkK2mTh0EYSbr3phwNlyprblw2sDac/s400/DSC_0440.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I had to spend part of the drive in the backseat trying to keep this little one happy.</td></tr>
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Thirteen hours after departure we finally arrived in Boise, tired and frazzled, but excited for the next phase of our vacation.</div>
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The next day we went to the Idaho State Fair. I was really excited about it this year because I wanted to test Vivian out on a few of the rides, and see how she liked them. Justin's family works for one of the food vendors, so our first stop was to visit them at work, and then we met up with some of the rest of the family that wasn't working the fair. We watched the splash dogs first, which were sort of interesting, but would have been more so with more dogs, less talking. Then we visited the petting zoo portion. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhjZ85sMmnsnMlbZWB6eoRdiAhhwZZn1jN6vZ1aSrhkq7rOmlJRUD2dRRNRzZDE9UI1ORXEpDnurrjVfr0kNoxUT7OHibvbXpgpISFhU-rA1OUHB38UTt1HAoocHO9xcWDJN5NJCnkpBQ/s1600/DSC_0450.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhhjZ85sMmnsnMlbZWB6eoRdiAhhwZZn1jN6vZ1aSrhkq7rOmlJRUD2dRRNRzZDE9UI1ORXEpDnurrjVfr0kNoxUT7OHibvbXpgpISFhU-rA1OUHB38UTt1HAoocHO9xcWDJN5NJCnkpBQ/s400/DSC_0450.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimRaKoEnVKa_jeHzhRqBbC5S600o1i6xaOJcDJ_Ujtile1lNDHLbWyIIIA6Bg_a7xm2O7dwvY4AIK9p6VuhXTFk_aR6mQXXazgqmWZfTLtihUEtSebhckp-O8kLLyKKUUTaBWWcqoVeEY/s1600/DSC_0456.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimRaKoEnVKa_jeHzhRqBbC5S600o1i6xaOJcDJ_Ujtile1lNDHLbWyIIIA6Bg_a7xm2O7dwvY4AIK9p6VuhXTFk_aR6mQXXazgqmWZfTLtihUEtSebhckp-O8kLLyKKUUTaBWWcqoVeEY/s400/DSC_0456.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This huge pig kind of freaked me out, but the sign said that it's a domesticated pet.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjaWoXIXcikQYCijntMDlIIoukT043VcV1ydxstaKBsk_xPuCTqKDs_4jGIXZplnRlJaF0zjHlPtyCLaz6Rsu0j9MiJAI2vRXGv3QQaZj0DIcfN-F8OeGajcaBD0c1TsBH1n3-TR69q34/s1600/DSC_0464.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjaWoXIXcikQYCijntMDlIIoukT043VcV1ydxstaKBsk_xPuCTqKDs_4jGIXZplnRlJaF0zjHlPtyCLaz6Rsu0j9MiJAI2vRXGv3QQaZj0DIcfN-F8OeGajcaBD0c1TsBH1n3-TR69q34/s400/DSC_0464.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After this picture I watched a few other people walk over and try to get their kid to hug the goat too, but the goat wouldn't cooperate. Apparently it was just particularly fond of Vivian.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTwRfli2ODaNmQ-11lY7nlgCd3ZwRLxVFqz_3L6ev8GcnIGE_IhaN-JujFuXWbLYF4le5TPBr0wSX8kaTU8NsDB5Cp-5VFtkQ584OMZYYAX_Dx3f4XzeoDKyE0N4EuQVAbFTWQTdbBXyI/s1600/DSC_0466.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTwRfli2ODaNmQ-11lY7nlgCd3ZwRLxVFqz_3L6ev8GcnIGE_IhaN-JujFuXWbLYF4le5TPBr0wSX8kaTU8NsDB5Cp-5VFtkQ584OMZYYAX_Dx3f4XzeoDKyE0N4EuQVAbFTWQTdbBXyI/s400/DSC_0466.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We stopped in at the medical station to get a bandaid for a little blister on her finger, and the EMT's there said she could hop in and check out the ambulance. At first she didn't want to lay on the stretcher for the picture. Justin had to drag her up off of it when it was time to leave.</td></tr>
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Brooke and Christopher were there with Caroline for the animals, but they had to head home, so we continued on to the rides without them. Caroline is still probably too small for most of them anyway, but hopefully next year they can ride something together.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggL4LAqhKm6klrlFU7vf0G7sXHTcsF54rZwUUOLHwy5H3iZmUy9ObmKFMGX8-7426E0Yk8vcOYyYLnaQfoQvs0TSJveTBJ6u9fhyphenhyphen7B-s7G4_Pr7QbPafJFHQkTDWUpsJI5Bmfss073lmQ/s1600/DSC_0484.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1586" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEggL4LAqhKm6klrlFU7vf0G7sXHTcsF54rZwUUOLHwy5H3iZmUy9ObmKFMGX8-7426E0Yk8vcOYyYLnaQfoQvs0TSJveTBJ6u9fhyphenhyphen7B-s7G4_Pr7QbPafJFHQkTDWUpsJI5Bmfss073lmQ/s400/DSC_0484.JPG" width="396" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We started her off on the ferris wheel, and she LOVED it!</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4juHmoLoYcW39EJjEu7-MFULfAqaLSpJeShko9ldZuvitVgcYv1t3q5hyO5xdnY73OaZfr3-nkg0XDQ_X7rAOxJIqPjrKqivmQoRmztB45ikh6ZkWl-ogreZBkUTP4WsxFT7kVyOoCxk/s1600/DSC_0486.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4juHmoLoYcW39EJjEu7-MFULfAqaLSpJeShko9ldZuvitVgcYv1t3q5hyO5xdnY73OaZfr3-nkg0XDQ_X7rAOxJIqPjrKqivmQoRmztB45ikh6ZkWl-ogreZBkUTP4WsxFT7kVyOoCxk/s400/DSC_0486.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She also road the pirate ships, but these seemed significantly less interesting than the ferris wheel. We probably should have done them in reverse order.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQVyumzPA_huHE20PcyCi_kmNBdaT9qb413xvp7ityZkGczV5kZy5vPByy59Sw1B2zPk477ZRS7QSf4NXcjXRGIA8FQNbPfrlBHlNld1TjETfM3-dp_nIjNu_zaYMjM4h54Ui7keu4rxs/s1600/DSC_0537.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1290" data-original-width="1600" height="321" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQVyumzPA_huHE20PcyCi_kmNBdaT9qb413xvp7ityZkGczV5kZy5vPByy59Sw1B2zPk477ZRS7QSf4NXcjXRGIA8FQNbPfrlBHlNld1TjETfM3-dp_nIjNu_zaYMjM4h54Ui7keu4rxs/s400/DSC_0537.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">And last but not least the pony ride.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDGVxYlgGhu82dG661L8-NZAaq4RtQjvLejoeen2I1ovACi1kqGxchVMQGStRyAzdAbFDbFnDVRNicMQHIw6bVWe5pEFv5G4_sdXITw1lWGKKDMSO3Wyl6B4jFjcscED2w_C9j_Gv9mDY/s1600/DSC_0547.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1090" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDGVxYlgGhu82dG661L8-NZAaq4RtQjvLejoeen2I1ovACi1kqGxchVMQGStRyAzdAbFDbFnDVRNicMQHIw6bVWe5pEFv5G4_sdXITw1lWGKKDMSO3Wyl6B4jFjcscED2w_C9j_Gv9mDY/s400/DSC_0547.JPG" width="271" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I'm not sure that I've ever seen her more thrilled.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbsRJ7yNGU_CSP6m4odJY_tw3Vxc1y_U6JBdDNWnSVBUfPT3HCJebmjAjQp4_OirkbNwMhv4Yw4X6N83UC_4OFx8rHp8QeFIoHZJLpYGRrtfons4K_579XFp-08PfoiA0MS1M5tTpqjEg/s1600/DSC_0554.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1398" data-original-width="1600" height="348" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbsRJ7yNGU_CSP6m4odJY_tw3Vxc1y_U6JBdDNWnSVBUfPT3HCJebmjAjQp4_OirkbNwMhv4Yw4X6N83UC_4OFx8rHp8QeFIoHZJLpYGRrtfons4K_579XFp-08PfoiA0MS1M5tTpqjEg/s400/DSC_0554.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">she still talks about riding the pony all by her own self.</td></tr>
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We left before the sun was down, but our kids were already worn out. The next morning we met up with Vivian's cousin Caroline again at the aquarium. It's a very little aquarium, but we were super impressed. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVqUG6kVDw68o6EQB2QUyvD9Uz7IptSBBV6Mw75ZpUEI7we-GhsuzhPwgiYW24iZ_X0LLVDyfpo4gE-p1nCUOkydHaDjIEta4xxJSIH_KjPG46IBMGrhL_ztfn7VWMERzUGoxEVqjOI1Q/s1600/DSC_0574.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVqUG6kVDw68o6EQB2QUyvD9Uz7IptSBBV6Mw75ZpUEI7we-GhsuzhPwgiYW24iZ_X0LLVDyfpo4gE-p1nCUOkydHaDjIEta4xxJSIH_KjPG46IBMGrhL_ztfn7VWMERzUGoxEVqjOI1Q/s400/DSC_0574.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Feeding the tropical fish</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqREgBf2kN65DIdHyP8z9u9L6S88cDFKknPkqFq9bD0_cRrGinhsDdkKHe_qRffveZbLaTG6wqHHS4y7LJ0sP2D5xYzHwEfvQel8KjWCR25JTahL1j_hd1kkqE3ZrSrFuBTKJRhH9mBow/s1600/DSC_0590.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiqREgBf2kN65DIdHyP8z9u9L6S88cDFKknPkqFq9bD0_cRrGinhsDdkKHe_qRffveZbLaTG6wqHHS4y7LJ0sP2D5xYzHwEfvQel8KjWCR25JTahL1j_hd1kkqE3ZrSrFuBTKJRhH9mBow/s400/DSC_0590.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Petting stingrays. These ones legitimately seemed to like it.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwp4yGX7V80JyNxOOJ68tqC26To7rK6cwiRENokYH9AbY21rQeob3b-kb3NNknFqaZI5Kf6-yBkrXF6gjZirIO3MgPuXkN3Kz98RsBtLN4yQ-xjvltfEi23pyTKvxN6kdAMlT-gCypq1A/s1600/DSC_0602.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1047" data-original-width="1600" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwp4yGX7V80JyNxOOJ68tqC26To7rK6cwiRENokYH9AbY21rQeob3b-kb3NNknFqaZI5Kf6-yBkrXF6gjZirIO3MgPuXkN3Kz98RsBtLN4yQ-xjvltfEi23pyTKvxN6kdAMlT-gCypq1A/s400/DSC_0602.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This big puffer fish was very curious about the girls.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKjbij0zwxWgjlC6Z8A_j30i1b7801UFEUNzUMkTMqG79XpkunEwR0IN3aVzcP235XBqB1FzjekYYTAwzX0YLnJZJiyG1asCbf_k_5MFgdTaZJl8ypDw2oFJlyQb3bwcRyfmVrNdN32YI/s1600/DSC_0603.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgKjbij0zwxWgjlC6Z8A_j30i1b7801UFEUNzUMkTMqG79XpkunEwR0IN3aVzcP235XBqB1FzjekYYTAwzX0YLnJZJiyG1asCbf_k_5MFgdTaZJl8ypDw2oFJlyQb3bwcRyfmVrNdN32YI/s400/DSC_0603.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Feeding the koi fish</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ2-45fl0d8SQ59GHhTsE5pGhcAt_fYRuIERQ1ZmWlclIis_ltT_HYGTo_geBVMByDNiNU38NUQaf54jFeqnM4-Z0Hy1KfI1eV5ITfMn4d7nijQOS_T6FB4wk-_o7XlDdujEF4_o6RfSI/s1600/DSC_0618.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1132" data-original-width="1600" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZ2-45fl0d8SQ59GHhTsE5pGhcAt_fYRuIERQ1ZmWlclIis_ltT_HYGTo_geBVMByDNiNU38NUQaf54jFeqnM4-Z0Hy1KfI1eV5ITfMn4d7nijQOS_T6FB4wk-_o7XlDdujEF4_o6RfSI/s400/DSC_0618.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caroline decided to taste the fish food. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxzjWMlEoN7XaWpqbukZp3UCYat3dljyFp-u1UheG-Ley7RumBeqWo8xvlYWw9BurffNDdF9V1qHxN9ElgnwdHfScxESGQV3zrHSeKa2xxmsfDxOuqtlbB3MK0fl69HvjMzJHLwYE9_JM/s400/DSC_0621.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Petting some sort of lizard.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caroline feeding the Lorikeets. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNCzHJst-W49vQSPzvt3N8egCDEM_Sia6rPm0kHm5J5oeSjh_XWh9e95JSdDwVyE2fc3BRfQBK97b_j_uYh8BEnV1bpK5IevJslO7hcAx36muaP2k837vfi9ZwveY1IutJ5I-mTW7o9xM/s1600/DSC_0645.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNCzHJst-W49vQSPzvt3N8egCDEM_Sia6rPm0kHm5J5oeSjh_XWh9e95JSdDwVyE2fc3BRfQBK97b_j_uYh8BEnV1bpK5IevJslO7hcAx36muaP2k837vfi9ZwveY1IutJ5I-mTW7o9xM/s400/DSC_0645.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Justin had to take the pictures through the fencing, so the pictures have some weird spots in them.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvpQAfH1HfEoimaff0_ne0XGU4-hn1qF2Dg0k4ebSr1tlWAh8w5wdtShjJj7YwzeMADyATpvVKJ0vW1ukiwgA0wwcExKVjybSVVo36u_x2jc3M9Yor9GnHEelzaJQsytiYIAbzvCWsoQk/s1600/DSC_0654.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1497" data-original-width="1600" height="373" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvpQAfH1HfEoimaff0_ne0XGU4-hn1qF2Dg0k4ebSr1tlWAh8w5wdtShjJj7YwzeMADyATpvVKJ0vW1ukiwgA0wwcExKVjybSVVo36u_x2jc3M9Yor9GnHEelzaJQsytiYIAbzvCWsoQk/s400/DSC_0654.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Caroline had better luck attracting birds than Vivian and I.</td></tr>
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We went from the aquarium to the mall and rode the battery operated animals there. To our surprise the biggest fan of the animals was Ivan. He seemed to love every second of it. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqeuaZ2iXyp6hvMRWIgnNnj3g5AyNq1uJ_7Nasg8lywmb9imMF_m2-LBq9lZKvgqYREfM8Kz6VbrdTGqujltwfR8mBkWaLO0_SKriXiVJqQNW5A7FAMfBSnu0eV1Hb1mDddhX2lMRToPc/s1600/DSC_0668.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1589" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgqeuaZ2iXyp6hvMRWIgnNnj3g5AyNq1uJ_7Nasg8lywmb9imMF_m2-LBq9lZKvgqYREfM8Kz6VbrdTGqujltwfR8mBkWaLO0_SKriXiVJqQNW5A7FAMfBSnu0eV1Hb1mDddhX2lMRToPc/s400/DSC_0668.JPG" width="396" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He kept reaching over and patting his lion's head. </td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk4G7bPMfj0QJdJ2uV0dRlJtrG0mgH2wBYLuEfhBy1jTmxRGqM9HbFNljlxnxZXo4syVXXH2QPAuZ4ialdf07KZdNl5yOF3oT61HUzLhWRcOLYHAQXEYU_s9s69XkQDnnP0FQpK5VAww0/s1600/DSC_0677.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" data-original-height="1235" data-original-width="1600" height="307" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgk4G7bPMfj0QJdJ2uV0dRlJtrG0mgH2wBYLuEfhBy1jTmxRGqM9HbFNljlxnxZXo4syVXXH2QPAuZ4ialdf07KZdNl5yOF3oT61HUzLhWRcOLYHAQXEYU_s9s69XkQDnnP0FQpK5VAww0/s400/DSC_0677.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
After that Grandma took the girls to build-a-bear, an experience that I missed because Ivan wanted to eat. We went to lunch, fed ducks at Grandma Cotter's and then home for naps. I have no more pictures from the vacation, but we spent the rest of the vacation swimming, watching Moana on Grandpa Goodale's enormous new TV, and visiting with the family. Neither Vivian or Ivan were excited about getting back into the car again to go home, but Justin had his first day of school the next morning. Our vacation finally ended when we pulled up outside of our own home 10 days after we left, still feeling like our summer was ending too soon.</div>
Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01189144134384732232noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076870301541451612.post-33176668308348561472017-09-05T20:22:00.001-07:002017-09-05T20:22:13.166-07:00Southern Utah to Boise Part I<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Thirty days without Justin wasn’t
very fun, but thankfully it was only thirty days. He was home before we knew it. We filled our time with family visits, a trip
to Bear Lake, and potty training. A previous
attempt at potty training had proven disastrous. Vivian hated it, and became completely
resistant. I abandoned the project on
the advice of more experienced mothers.
Since then she had shown zero interest in repeating the effort. I had tried every bribe I could think of,
stickers, books, toys, a trike, candy, movies, trips to playgrounds and swimming
pools, French fries…nothing worked. She
steadfastly maintained that she would “when I am bigger Mom.” One night as we were getting ready for bed, I
was talking to her about it again, and getting nowhere, when I mentioned that
“if you could learn to use the toilet before Dad Bug gets home he would be
really impressed.” Her interest was
instantly piqued and she parroted the statement back to me, presumably to check
for accuracy. I affirmed that she had it
right, at which point she announced that she would be using the toilet
now. Not tomorrow, not later, but
immediately. She stood up, stripped her
own diaper off, strolled into the bathroom, sat down on her training potty and
did her business. Seemingly just like
that it was a done deal, because who doesn’t want to impress their dad bug I
guess. We had a few bumps in the road
over the next few days while she learned how to manage her newly acquired skill
of using the toilet. She had no major
accidents, and she insisted on teaching herself how to hoist herself on and off
“the big toilet,” an accomplishment that she was eager to brag to Justin about
the moment he arrived home. He was
adequately impressed, surprised, and flattered.<o:p></o:p></div>
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We only spent about 36 hours back
in Logan before we packed up and left on a family vacation. While it seemed that the rest of Utah was
headed North to experience a total eclipse, we drove south and secured
ourselves a campsite for two nights at Capitol Reef National Park, and had four
more nights booked into the timeshare in St. George. <o:p></o:p></div>
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We were so excited to have the
family together again, and even more excited to be camping again. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdj5KiIjGq2i0gfnmV3KDmj97flaapecVGu1zDMfb25gBsj_DN0pQv9aWqW2K6w7jC8OoEOpXPtp0i_qTudP2rUlOgn_hdCOFXpPHTs5xHqoDipEjeUO1JhW96iHCheGnZXg9bQ-R9O6U/s1600/DSC_0699.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhdj5KiIjGq2i0gfnmV3KDmj97flaapecVGu1zDMfb25gBsj_DN0pQv9aWqW2K6w7jC8OoEOpXPtp0i_qTudP2rUlOgn_hdCOFXpPHTs5xHqoDipEjeUO1JhW96iHCheGnZXg9bQ-R9O6U/s400/DSC_0699.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">More excited than we seem to be in this photo</td></tr>
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We hurried and set up camp, and decided to go to the visitor's center to pick up a map of hiking trails so we could plan out our next day in the park. I had noticed a little marked trail from the campground to the visitor's center, and that said it was only 1.5 miles or something, so I talked Justin into leaving on foot. About halfway there I think that Vivian wanted to trade me in for a new mom. The trail that had started out looking deceptively shady and pleasant as it ran next to the river, was now a dirt path running next to the road in the blazing hot sun. Naturally we hadn't brought any water. A quarter of a mile out or so she was looking bright red, and whining for water, so Justin was forced to pack her the rest of the way to the visitor's center. On the way back the sun was lower, it was cooler, and we stopped in one of the orchards in the park to pick free apples to eat. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIoR1zXDqDtAuxVDzPxc0caBlxEAhA-8yfpD-rXQntzIqUb7J7sCTulN6R6nQqA2sd70njc5yY2yyxGKrnwAY-6YMW9twZYUit0jcGDk-AUnv9XWOKb5ApCq6Mp4LsxuHLDjOoIhAL7PE/s1600/DSC_0713.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1594" data-original-width="1600" height="318" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhIoR1zXDqDtAuxVDzPxc0caBlxEAhA-8yfpD-rXQntzIqUb7J7sCTulN6R6nQqA2sd70njc5yY2yyxGKrnwAY-6YMW9twZYUit0jcGDk-AUnv9XWOKb5ApCq6Mp4LsxuHLDjOoIhAL7PE/s320/DSC_0713.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Enjoying her free fresh apple. They were actually pretty amazing.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLcFx9DpC4v_qkrGOQqaCfhPhitJ6DsNakTu5uCH5ii3uDvCqEIBsZj6b_wtsfkPkhMx4oUsOEYxIRktrXfvVARoRq45WXmkiNYAFWwyOvfndqCspZtZMkSXmf-rkYFH-Q08MG_xxBx6w/s1600/DSC_0715.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiLcFx9DpC4v_qkrGOQqaCfhPhitJ6DsNakTu5uCH5ii3uDvCqEIBsZj6b_wtsfkPkhMx4oUsOEYxIRktrXfvVARoRq45WXmkiNYAFWwyOvfndqCspZtZMkSXmf-rkYFH-Q08MG_xxBx6w/s400/DSC_0715.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The fruit orchards are really beautiful</td></tr>
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The walk back was much better than the walk out. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEE8HFlnPGWCLlTTTWs5QVkQLGN6foVx-8Sj9lHHsU4bkioy31rzXQEGzIwHLw0m4wsFUpjPqPRuyuB7FMw2EUpvSa8HJImM3_7rwzexALeu_NH7g8CF-Rgi90f5AmPsxN6bV4pnoQKfs/s1600/DSC_0727.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEE8HFlnPGWCLlTTTWs5QVkQLGN6foVx-8Sj9lHHsU4bkioy31rzXQEGzIwHLw0m4wsFUpjPqPRuyuB7FMw2EUpvSa8HJImM3_7rwzexALeu_NH7g8CF-Rgi90f5AmPsxN6bV4pnoQKfs/s400/DSC_0727.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the midst of telling her dad about the lizard that just darted across the trail.</td></tr>
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We got back to camp, and were greeted by this:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY-nnWWtzmV82qzUb1N4wGG0X_tReGltgF_hc4D5vawO26cD3XVDx-jkZRcdaLn9vHXEdxSP1dyZBulCdBSvnWNEPIOLs3-GksLT36G77ZBmnYR4B9noyOdhJ7Fact37j11SRtr9ayftU/s1600/DSC_0745.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiY-nnWWtzmV82qzUb1N4wGG0X_tReGltgF_hc4D5vawO26cD3XVDx-jkZRcdaLn9vHXEdxSP1dyZBulCdBSvnWNEPIOLs3-GksLT36G77ZBmnYR4B9noyOdhJ7Fact37j11SRtr9ayftU/s400/DSC_0745.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Half the campground was out taking pictures of our campsite</td></tr>
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At the campground Vivian insisted on shouting everything she said at us like we were deaf. So it was at high volume that she shouted "I am peeing my pants Mom!" She was too. She claimed that "well Dad Bug says that sometimes he pees in his pants," something that Dad Bug vehemently denied ever saying, but conceded that he may have been asked this question and responded in the affirmative because he wasn't really listening. I had no idea how to handle the situation. I wasn't sure whether or not she should be punished, since it was intentional. I told Justin that I didn't want her to feel like she was being shamed, and then two seconds later turned around and...well, let's just say that for me that was easier said than done, and Justin had to kind of take the reigns for a bit. She and I ended up in the bathrooms where I conducted a thorough wet wipe bath before we returned for dinner. Our dinner went pretty well, although Vivian refused to eat most of hers, and the nearby campers stared at us like we were abusers while she wailed at us that she "hates dinner," midst our idle threats designed to get her to stay at the picnic table, stop throwing dirt, and put the rocks down. They all failed, and by the end of dinner she looked like we had served her a plate of dirt. We cleaned up and as soon as it was really dark she and Justin left the tent to lay out on the lawn and look at the stars. She was mostly quiet for the first time that night, completely captivated by the milky way. The stars out there are truly spectacular. <br />
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The next morning we decided to try out a wide slot canyon called Grand Wash. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPr_E3e2T-oAq6Qvs2bXaBlIKiy86hYJ0Bf0eOD1tyrmGQGkg0T26HkHVFpT97VUN1bupOn2F-dJSfSwqgn38YhoeReKsVWYgcOlNzyL08raKKn33OwSsvg30W_JvfcP9vsTY9UvZY7cE/s1600/DSC_0755.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgPr_E3e2T-oAq6Qvs2bXaBlIKiy86hYJ0Bf0eOD1tyrmGQGkg0T26HkHVFpT97VUN1bupOn2F-dJSfSwqgn38YhoeReKsVWYgcOlNzyL08raKKn33OwSsvg30W_JvfcP9vsTY9UvZY7cE/s400/DSC_0755.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is Vivian playing around on the rocks in the parking lot.</td></tr>
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Because it was slightly overcast, we were happy that a park ranger showed up to say that the forecast didn't call for enough rain to be a problem, and encouraged people to continue with the hike and just exercise common sense. We set off on the hike, and it was really slow. Vivian wanted to stop at every rock for a photo op. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMEWys5cbYrIxrfmnpVUUguxLD4ntzRvLP2OhkYjNC1dYT8Yd4Wiv2q2H2NwdhAGQOPPVyOkc0qF8bIx0fU2ZK0Yq9WEA3gR4VNdl33r4jOg4SORqG4n2DL-Tz_zCPsyP1vqBff7WAvwE/s1600/DSC_0760.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMEWys5cbYrIxrfmnpVUUguxLD4ntzRvLP2OhkYjNC1dYT8Yd4Wiv2q2H2NwdhAGQOPPVyOkc0qF8bIx0fU2ZK0Yq9WEA3gR4VNdl33r4jOg4SORqG4n2DL-Tz_zCPsyP1vqBff7WAvwE/s400/DSC_0760.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My people waiting for me to catch back up after we realized that I left the keys in the car and had to run back to lock up.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf2W99Q3ey8_lrJIkfGkKw3LS_Cko6SJ5LeIbTDsYb_sOoYFJ43-PsM8bbWgPsSXpj5oE6jLS4amrvX58iCMSLr1R88jR2Xsz7am4T4_51hEEPTgQN4PY2IvzMky-_F_NTCFm07vr57Nw/s1600/DSC_0764.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgf2W99Q3ey8_lrJIkfGkKw3LS_Cko6SJ5LeIbTDsYb_sOoYFJ43-PsM8bbWgPsSXpj5oE6jLS4amrvX58iCMSLr1R88jR2Xsz7am4T4_51hEEPTgQN4PY2IvzMky-_F_NTCFm07vr57Nw/s400/DSC_0764.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA4uXl6m2W8KgNhbCrYaJPSHsGAa8fpIUF7vdo3Kdud7Wy-FIx_IkDyzHv3YfE9ZgLYoaPytlJxbwVMzfBHVJf6Wo-xZyXD3w16E1NkPF-wNzYF3VfpVLbmtJXKDbsMCXNfkDwRIPu7Co/s1600/DSC_0773.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjA4uXl6m2W8KgNhbCrYaJPSHsGAa8fpIUF7vdo3Kdud7Wy-FIx_IkDyzHv3YfE9ZgLYoaPytlJxbwVMzfBHVJf6Wo-xZyXD3w16E1NkPF-wNzYF3VfpVLbmtJXKDbsMCXNfkDwRIPu7Co/s400/DSC_0773.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIzYmpBWK0d2eRvzufRzV-3MFmqG8qk8IgJo6CcSTW6mv_3qXbjfJ1uqcBjo7-E2qt17qVLgR5aW9_rfNBrwcnB8jwu2GgzCPLSC04EnC8lMGj1iQ5RsfoiUMgNG_nNvLXz3n1TIh5RP8/s1600/DSC_0779.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIzYmpBWK0d2eRvzufRzV-3MFmqG8qk8IgJo6CcSTW6mv_3qXbjfJ1uqcBjo7-E2qt17qVLgR5aW9_rfNBrwcnB8jwu2GgzCPLSC04EnC8lMGj1iQ5RsfoiUMgNG_nNvLXz3n1TIh5RP8/s400/DSC_0779.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZsb9HjwajUSCh6vmt2KZXwTfrWZXammEMzuUomSTe1uC1FwGy-sXeb3GDAtC0TVWT-jchraGI9YD-H2HXWJtESk-MTLkjq1CCpi9HHuE248wMvE5vUBbTggYDegQoKGtPLu3jAieQJb8/s1600/DSC_0783.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZsb9HjwajUSCh6vmt2KZXwTfrWZXammEMzuUomSTe1uC1FwGy-sXeb3GDAtC0TVWT-jchraGI9YD-H2HXWJtESk-MTLkjq1CCpi9HHuE248wMvE5vUBbTggYDegQoKGtPLu3jAieQJb8/s400/DSC_0783.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trying to pose just like me.</td></tr>
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Eventually the inevitable happened, and Vivian announced that she had to go to the bathroom. My previous attempts to get her to learn to do her business outdoors had been entirely unsuccessful. I had done some reading online and read several mothers recommend turning that task over to dad. It worked like a charm. For some reason dads have the gift of making peeing on rocks and dirt seem fun I guess. After that she wanted to stop and take a bathroom break around every corner. These are pictures that we took during one of them:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCwxDfRKHW2QUvDqvKXjrRqrb4y-xrjyT30cMs3fbNfsuV-Iyr1KyyR2d04jQFsIVl8tfLAQjjYqmINnFDe-Y2OhKgWGSw_-VfxdD-5E_SovkWXL9_rWeC4lmrJIG0o5bzb2Ud_y7FeO4/s1600/DSC_0787.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1075" data-original-width="1600" height="267" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCwxDfRKHW2QUvDqvKXjrRqrb4y-xrjyT30cMs3fbNfsuV-Iyr1KyyR2d04jQFsIVl8tfLAQjjYqmINnFDe-Y2OhKgWGSw_-VfxdD-5E_SovkWXL9_rWeC4lmrJIG0o5bzb2Ud_y7FeO4/s400/DSC_0787.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinl1F_2AYlutRWk3xWKDaZRYd23UKrX4HbipB4yWEHruIyvr6tkaH-cCHaGzYSwkkAXz1UBvltdXOKJ23HupN471Uv4RYgWnnMvquJJeVsJx_8T0KWNphtPVPqbVgH-OhoVmPn9slRCw0/s1600/DSC_0791.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="775" data-original-width="1600" height="193" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinl1F_2AYlutRWk3xWKDaZRYd23UKrX4HbipB4yWEHruIyvr6tkaH-cCHaGzYSwkkAXz1UBvltdXOKJ23HupN471Uv4RYgWnnMvquJJeVsJx_8T0KWNphtPVPqbVgH-OhoVmPn9slRCw0/s400/DSC_0791.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I was frantically yelling at him to stop eating the dirt.</td></tr>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlnWcTTRbJKNGdYuCJcFqC00S0YqTWrZEM0de_J3U2th8_-WjyoDDjCNNvUJjzryw66HHwzHIkgDiedbpdjk_CgqRmPmNQcw8rHbY0DOCJ5y7DXMcOSqZwewW6avOU8vfW9YnEqBHbsa4/s1600/DSC_0792.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1048" data-original-width="1600" height="261" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlnWcTTRbJKNGdYuCJcFqC00S0YqTWrZEM0de_J3U2th8_-WjyoDDjCNNvUJjzryw66HHwzHIkgDiedbpdjk_CgqRmPmNQcw8rHbY0DOCJ5y7DXMcOSqZwewW6avOU8vfW9YnEqBHbsa4/s400/DSC_0792.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still ignoring me...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC3qZBb4cmgs9UctFpOahloRIUtJe3FVBAnVu6hVQWKwIgZ0mRcT6ybP2IjpuxxBWr2vkriVU1keCyzlOCtfD5CTkurn_NZ7nMkgBz7Q64DpbpZyfIvlplyXHtRRUBIeMmb_sxeVzTPNo/s1600/DSC_0797.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="696" data-original-width="1600" height="173" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC3qZBb4cmgs9UctFpOahloRIUtJe3FVBAnVu6hVQWKwIgZ0mRcT6ybP2IjpuxxBWr2vkriVU1keCyzlOCtfD5CTkurn_NZ7nMkgBz7Q64DpbpZyfIvlplyXHtRRUBIeMmb_sxeVzTPNo/s400/DSC_0797.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and now laughing about it.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8FFhcaOrj4C19PcYlykVv_woEsWnys_-FZu1phltOwSh565yP33uVuNG8oL2alRP7VulZrLHBpbtXCh35VF-p_2tq2YpYWfC0zbKj04D82tDYv0X-ZF8G5iTFVTfmTC8F7ArQuPuWZgw/s1600/DSC_0801.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1294" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8FFhcaOrj4C19PcYlykVv_woEsWnys_-FZu1phltOwSh565yP33uVuNG8oL2alRP7VulZrLHBpbtXCh35VF-p_2tq2YpYWfC0zbKj04D82tDYv0X-ZF8G5iTFVTfmTC8F7ArQuPuWZgw/s400/DSC_0801.JPG" width="322" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Tell me that this picture doesn't make you want to squeeze those thighs...his, not mine.</td></tr>
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It went on like this all day, and we really covered very little ground, but we were definitely having fun. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYeV0QecZHrW1JhCpnxvrp84yOcMsrqUxkeOyIyappFSqG5AerZKcpsNdPN_jR47YM1ngLkJMi1Mb0wQ7kBkAHkSUJZ1-c2xJcBGSOh1z9LwdlAxPFj8Kdyw2GK-TLYRnk7Q6X8SVcqvE/s1600/DSC_0821.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYeV0QecZHrW1JhCpnxvrp84yOcMsrqUxkeOyIyappFSqG5AerZKcpsNdPN_jR47YM1ngLkJMi1Mb0wQ7kBkAHkSUJZ1-c2xJcBGSOh1z9LwdlAxPFj8Kdyw2GK-TLYRnk7Q6X8SVcqvE/s400/DSC_0821.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love how he looks in dad mode. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitwyYPosypwmxIdJDjqzreploCNPbuqMya5ucSHWcXCfOwA84Z6Ate6LRZqQvuYImvTF7n_e2CumCqshInAY6NyzoDXqwSwtB0XAP_YuOMfMFV6sK9lw6zCMOWxbWO2S2Z9lqsUYwg0_c/s400/DSC_0825.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She never misses an opportunity to get as grubby as possible.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitwyYPosypwmxIdJDjqzreploCNPbuqMya5ucSHWcXCfOwA84Z6Ate6LRZqQvuYImvTF7n_e2CumCqshInAY6NyzoDXqwSwtB0XAP_YuOMfMFV6sK9lw6zCMOWxbWO2S2Z9lqsUYwg0_c/s1600/DSC_0825.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEitwyYPosypwmxIdJDjqzreploCNPbuqMya5ucSHWcXCfOwA84Z6Ate6LRZqQvuYImvTF7n_e2CumCqshInAY6NyzoDXqwSwtB0XAP_YuOMfMFV6sK9lw6zCMOWxbWO2S2Z9lqsUYwg0_c/s1600/DSC_0825.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipdzM_obU7P8xA7klXlJtk75P229m_FDIc_jzej5MGCMp48PCgMaa2jIrp0zITkyoJ3XFPZNl5diIJOlXmIb8-nFM-fGjyk4wO_7GSkceLPBv6GW4N4LkQQP9q_oj7fXKc6ezDHgZyi4w/s1600/DSC_0834.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipdzM_obU7P8xA7klXlJtk75P229m_FDIc_jzej5MGCMp48PCgMaa2jIrp0zITkyoJ3XFPZNl5diIJOlXmIb8-nFM-fGjyk4wO_7GSkceLPBv6GW4N4LkQQP9q_oj7fXKc6ezDHgZyi4w/s400/DSC_0834.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is our favorite picture from the day. What must it be like to see the world through the eyes of a 3 year old...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK1_iS8Mh4EycGmGmYA_kbFFUlAbyFfluI0DhyKW6VTacqlxzDRbFXglphc751RAL20Y0kQv1vAOP5g4MiQ4dskfqldCKw0EF_N7JMhLyon6rJ6wKLjkH58mvI3yIO4PGJW6lBU2AYCQQ/s1600/DSC_0839.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="658" data-original-width="1210" height="217" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgK1_iS8Mh4EycGmGmYA_kbFFUlAbyFfluI0DhyKW6VTacqlxzDRbFXglphc751RAL20Y0kQv1vAOP5g4MiQ4dskfqldCKw0EF_N7JMhLyon6rJ6wKLjkH58mvI3yIO4PGJW6lBU2AYCQQ/s400/DSC_0839.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">On the hike back out we were excited to see a little herd of bighorn sheep running through the canyon.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsU-L-hU4-NYEM53I-KBYNrEGCFPuceGz0oCHSTPpO5OC_n6ccXVOA6AiC3S-3xbyGeuS6KfQYAzp1BSV8XTmZkEV3pVPb1cSEsLm7I18L82RRNv7HBcMVBWBoTDqSd4G25aDKw7y1kZo/s1600/DSC_0873.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsU-L-hU4-NYEM53I-KBYNrEGCFPuceGz0oCHSTPpO5OC_n6ccXVOA6AiC3S-3xbyGeuS6KfQYAzp1BSV8XTmZkEV3pVPb1cSEsLm7I18L82RRNv7HBcMVBWBoTDqSd4G25aDKw7y1kZo/s400/DSC_0873.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Her last photo before we made it back to the car.</td></tr>
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After that we drove around the park looking at scenery while Vivian took a much needed little nap in her carseat. When she woke up we found a place where it seemed like we could go wading in the river. We were in the river for all of about five minutes before one of Vivian's flip flops got washed downstream and I got sent downstream after it. This is when it became clear that perhaps the current was a bit much for wading. I couldn't really make it back upstream, I had to get out and walk back. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVMUIPZ07I5jcHLfiq1OXIuRAk5VWdOiBi-bhvaOtjU_Agczi73q8ltQkafa3weEPEg3t7meRCCXcLGvG5Ri7CLK8DUDAxVS9l7mqUE14cjpF7fkvCQbkaq2jgnDL8Ai9IbSqp35nekjg/s1600/DSC_0899.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="940" data-original-width="1600" height="235" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVMUIPZ07I5jcHLfiq1OXIuRAk5VWdOiBi-bhvaOtjU_Agczi73q8ltQkafa3weEPEg3t7meRCCXcLGvG5Ri7CLK8DUDAxVS9l7mqUE14cjpF7fkvCQbkaq2jgnDL8Ai9IbSqp35nekjg/s400/DSC_0899.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ivan loved splashing in it.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzIHaAnmlM5PypiB6ZPIapErugBcx-IAxDAbqCVVj5rQ1zDfrzhJhi-QAOObskdOeRnMEtGIkrgXyS2675r6kyvHNEj0mFmjGis0naiF5OnbqBHEHAasotZE3P_iePaXXgLQsXTL3RiDw/s1600/DSC_0900.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzIHaAnmlM5PypiB6ZPIapErugBcx-IAxDAbqCVVj5rQ1zDfrzhJhi-QAOObskdOeRnMEtGIkrgXyS2675r6kyvHNEj0mFmjGis0naiF5OnbqBHEHAasotZE3P_iePaXXgLQsXTL3RiDw/s400/DSC_0900.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Thanks to Justin who captured these unflattering moments. The worst will not be made public.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUld3wIzuhrj4r-CLiIfDoXKbzOBdmllVgr8zwENRvAuDlVaerJN_jyNFwCI2hYxo1m6fCpY65mVhe8OcI9BPkofyR6tQ1_fCWlf-n9shxcTggv3gdI3So9wE3B7N64FXWYefdsnAcZqk/s1600/DSC_0909.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiUld3wIzuhrj4r-CLiIfDoXKbzOBdmllVgr8zwENRvAuDlVaerJN_jyNFwCI2hYxo1m6fCpY65mVhe8OcI9BPkofyR6tQ1_fCWlf-n9shxcTggv3gdI3So9wE3B7N64FXWYefdsnAcZqk/s400/DSC_0909.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can't see the little waterfall in the picture, but I couldn't get back up to it. The flip flop was caught in a whirlpool, it's the only reason it wasn't washed away forever.</td></tr>
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We called it a day after that, and returned to camp for dinner. We had chili for dinner. Ivan got his hands on Vivians bowl and dumped the entire contents out all over the picnic table. Vivian thought it was hilarious, and Ivan was thrilled that he had done something to amuse her. She still periodically laughs about the day that he ate dirt and dumped out her dinner. Sometimes the future with these two feels scary. The rest of the evening was mercifully uneventful. <br />
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The next morning we woke up, packed up camp and set out for St. George. We decided to go through Grand Staircase Escalante National Monument. It was a really beautiful drive, but we found ourselves on several stretches that seemed alarmingly desolate. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The colors out there are amazing.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I did not love this road.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We're headed right into that storm</td></tr>
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The drive was going so well, until Vivian announced that she had to go to the bathroom, and then less than a minute later, before I could even get her out of the car and to the side of the road, that it was too late. Very frustrating. Turns out that potty trained at home doesn't fully translate to potty trained on the road. We had a talk about advance notice, and thankfully there has not been a repeat incident. However, a little further down the road and we got advance notice, but the squatting wasn't great, so we were down one more outfit. Sometimes it wasn't clear to me who was actually doing more learning here, her or us.</div>
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Regardless we continued on, and decided to stop in at Bryce Canyon for a family picture at the Amphitheater there. It's amazing, and a couple of years ago we had attempted a family picture there that had failed because the camera battery died. So this was our chance. We drove into the park, and first went to a few other scenic overlooks. There was a lightening storm in the area, but it seemed far enough away that we weren't terribly concerned.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The amphitheater.</td></tr>
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We finally arrived at the amphitheater, and immediately Vivian had to go to the bathroom again, no bathrooms there, we found a spot, her squat was anything but a squat, and we were down one more outfit. It was a very frustrating scenario, but we finally got her in her last remaining clean outfit and hustled out to the amphitheater. We located a nice British couple and asked them if they wouldn't mind snapping our picture. We were preparing our pose. The storm was off in the distance, but probably a little closer than I would have liked. Suddenly the woman's eyes got huge, and in a panicked voice she said that Vivian's hair was standing on end. Then she looked at me, and said mine was the same way. No picture. We packed up and ran for the treeline. We didn't get our picture in front of the amphitheater, but we also didn't get struck by lightening, and we're super grateful for that. This is the family picture we got instead, it wasn't quite what we had in mind, but hey, at least we're all still in it:<br />
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After that we stopped for our sign picture and then got back on the road before our luck ran out.<br />
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We checked into the timeshare in St. George with a heap of dirty laundry, super glad to see the washer and dryer in our unit. I'm going to break it into parts here, in the interest of keeping this from being too enormous. <div>
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Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01189144134384732232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076870301541451612.post-1699230668315071922017-08-31T16:15:00.000-07:002017-08-31T16:15:55.535-07:00Wrap up of Colorado<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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I got behind on this thing, so apologies for being so late getting this one out, and hopefully I didn't forget anything too interesting while I'm catching up.<br />
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As our time in Colorado started to wind down Justin and I found ourselves cramming in everything we could in the time we had left. I'm just going to throw some pictures in here from our last few trips since this has largely kind of turned into my travel blog. The first is a hike we did at the Air Force Academy. It was allegedly only 5 miles roundtrip, but then our GPS said it ended up being more like 7. When we got to the trailhead we discovered that we had forgotten one of the baby carriers. So Ivan rode in the back pack, and Vivian hiked. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She was uncertain about doing this hike until I told her she could use a pole. Game changer.</td></tr>
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She had to be carried part of the way, but for the vast majority of the this hike she was on her own two feet. We were very impressed.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This hike was a lot harder than we had expected.</td></tr>
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There was a portion where we had to climb up a waterfall, and since I had previously put a little fear in her about staying away from rivers, she was kind of a mess, terrified of being washed away, but we managed to get her through it. She's an amazing little hiker, and her dad was beaming with pride by the time we made it back to the car. She was asleep before we made it out of the parking lot.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFo7CVeJJJAlANdFWWKjfj3Z-6dyn8oUTL3T2L3USVBs_FRMz-GgnEyKwQR06XmZVUdS4nDpKcTt8lpJgn6so1gKp85zSdWSgbnMPcygk-7AwLCgc08zLeF-HleCbkiXhQv0pTxLqJoSQ/s1600/DSC_0078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFo7CVeJJJAlANdFWWKjfj3Z-6dyn8oUTL3T2L3USVBs_FRMz-GgnEyKwQR06XmZVUdS4nDpKcTt8lpJgn6so1gKp85zSdWSgbnMPcygk-7AwLCgc08zLeF-HleCbkiXhQv0pTxLqJoSQ/s400/DSC_0078.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The first part of the water fall we had to climb</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At the top. It wasn't a huge deal, but she hated it.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ivan, trying to block it all out.</td></tr>
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Our next hike was Pancake Rocks, and the name alone had Vivian completely sold. I was a lot less interested in this hike. It was long, I was tired, and feeling kind of lazy that day, but thankfully my alternative was the couch of a 1-bedroom extended stay hotel, so off we went. This hike went up over 11,000 feet, so I was huffing and puffing quite a bit. Justin hauled Vivian in the backpack to get in his practice for ruck marching. It was a fun outing, the best part was watching Vivian play on the rocks with her dad. We returned to our car in the middle of a rainstorm, wet and tired, and happy to have spent the day outside together.<br />
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We decided to skip 4th of July festivities, and were feeling sort of Grinchy about the whole thing, what with crowds and clogged freeways. We left town and spent the day exploring the Spanish Peaks. On the way home we decided to stop in Pueblo for dinner on their river walk. Turns out they do a fireworks show there, so we ended up doing fireworks after all, and it was perfect.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We want to camp here some day when I learn how to fish.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I tried to squat down next to her standing, but she copied my pose.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It wasn't the biggest or best fireworks show out there, but we loved it.</td></tr>
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Our last outing in Colorado may have been our most memorable. We threw together a last minute plan to visit Rocky Mountain National Park. For some reason my expectations for this park had been pretty low. I was sure that it wouldn't live up to the hype. It did. Our first stop was at a lake that was so beautiful that I felt like pinching myself to make sure it was real. We visited a few other lakes, and then made our way from the east side of the park to the west over a mountain range that climbed to 12,000 feet in elevation. At the peak I made an idiot decision to run stairs to the very top. Run them, not walk. I only made it halfway, and even then I felt all weird and sick for a good 45 minutes afterwards. Aside from that we had a great time, and enjoyed a weekend in a park that we rank in our top five favorites.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was at the top of the stairs that I ran up, halfway.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The stairs, don't run them. Turns out that whole business about just taking it easy at high altitudes is wise.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Justin got so much closer to this cow and her calf than I would have liked, he even admits it was making him nervous. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A huge herd of elk.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My cute baby boy.</td></tr>
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After that our time ran out. We packed up, and without even a little bit of remorse, vacated the extended stay hotel and headed for home. We split the trip up into two days, and spent the night in Granby, Colorado. We squeezed in a little hike early the next morning. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She wanted to wade. Justin said the water was miserable cold.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting for their feet to dry.</td></tr>
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We found ourselves back in Logan late Thursday night. Friday we spent the day unpacking and recovering, and Saturday we spent the day packing. Early Sunday morning we drove Justin to the airport and dropped him off for a month long training in Ft. Knox, Kentucky. I continued on to Orem with the kids for a visit with my family.<br />
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Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01189144134384732232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076870301541451612.post-23284074735082256432017-06-22T18:25:00.000-07:002017-06-22T18:25:02.178-07:00A Return to Pagosa SpringsLast year we were able to take a trip to Pagosa Springs, and we were so smitten with the area that when a weekend in the timeshare opened up again this summer we jumped on it. To be honest I remembered loving it there, and wanting to stay longer, but I really couldn't remember exactly why. I was half wishing that we hadn't signed ourselves up for another weekend there when we left late and found ourselves in a little town about halfway there, frustrated with the toddler in the backseat crabbing for food. A visit to Sonic made it seem fun again. Nothing like milkshakes to make everyone happy. We continued on our way, but noticed some strange dust clouds on the road...dust clouds that turned out to be bug clouds. We arrived at the timeshare after dark, and discovered the bug clouds circling around the porch light of our unit, and then in our unit once we had opened the door to drag us and our belongings inside. Pretty gross. Fortunately, I love those little pamphlets you get in hotel lobbies that advertise things to do in the area. The selection there was pretty bleak, so I just snatched a few things, and one of them was for bike trails...and that turned into our fly swatter. Justin spent a fair amount of time conducting a massacre of the mosquitoes before we felt like it was safe to go to bed. He earned the admiration of Vivian, who confided in me that "Dad is a great killer Mom." Immediately the next morning I knew why we had done this again. It's beautiful there. BEAUTIFUL. <br />
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We initially thought that we would use this weekend to ride the Durango Silverton Railroad. However, it would have taken all day, and we decided that we would rather save that for another trip when we could be there a little longer. Instead we struck out for a guided tour to Chimney Rock National Monument (if you ever get a chance to do this you <i>must </i>take the guided tour to actually hike up to the Chimney Rock, the self-guided tour is reportedly kind of lame). We arrived out there at 10:15 and Justin requested tickets for the 11 o'clock tour. I stayed in the car with the kids. He came back to the car with tickets, but said that the people in the ticketing cabin were panicking that we would miss it, and acting like we were really cutting it close. We were very confused since it was a 2 mile drive to the trailhead, and we still had 45 minutes. When we arrived it turned out that they just assumed that we wanted to join the 9 o'clock tour halfway through. We still don't know where they got that idea. So we sat out there in a shady spot for 30 minutes or so battling swarms of bugs, and trying to keep Vivian from jumping off the nearby ledge.<br />
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At 11 o'clock it was still just us, so our tour started with a rather elderly volunteer docent named Nancy. Nancy was very nice. Nancy was veeeerrrryyy ssssslllloooowww. She would elect to randomly stop in the middle of the trail to slowly dispense information to us, that we didn't care about, while we stood in the blazing hot sun, and then march past the shady areas as though she hated us. I felt like the 30 minute tour with Nancy should have really only taken 5-10, in fact I saw another guide conduct it that quickly. Not Nancy. She took her time, and she was brimming over with all sorts of speculative "facts." A sideways glance at my husband almost sent me into a fit of laughter. Fortuitously a young Forest Ranger named Rachel relieved Nancy for the "upper" portion of the tour.<br />
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Rachel was much more of an archaeological skeptic, which I very much appreciate. She also moved a lot faster, something else that I appreciated. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlwmhlNPGI7rMIHStf4vsMVCGdEHsJ9iHrvUpmksXF4UDHoK6sZF9-4Qp3yHvFCaGbrgD377TkYdWlnP1x9A2AYOrxkA0YBW94_-ljt0hNxgXCIbYSbIxCbJ-Mtx-l0U2D65utCtVdtg0/s1600/CR1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlwmhlNPGI7rMIHStf4vsMVCGdEHsJ9iHrvUpmksXF4UDHoK6sZF9-4Qp3yHvFCaGbrgD377TkYdWlnP1x9A2AYOrxkA0YBW94_-ljt0hNxgXCIbYSbIxCbJ-Mtx-l0U2D65utCtVdtg0/s400/CR1.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's Rachel off to the right</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's Nancy on the left. She did accompany us on the upper hike, but wasn't in charge.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clearly Ivan found this to be riveting.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Really beautiful view from up on top</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Indian ruins that you visit on the way up.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chimney Rock</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This sign up there cracked us up since it wasn't really a very hard hike at all.</td></tr>
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It was very fun, the views were great, and we aren't sorry that we chose to do it. Vivian was kind of a basket case by the time we got down. Justin tried to get a picture of her in her giraffe shirt for Grandma Goodale. Sorry, this is the best he could manage: <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRYmCv-kIpyPYKHg2QffrNgfehq2JGLC0L_WB-xWZa2I_VCDgO8IB6PAb6xtnX5FAquOERappjBltSLATJaHaswFVqJ-rn82XJHQ2Poi1_Hm-D2zBWlqtJPbtAT31gVa0i4FlgVM6bCwE/s1600/CR13.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjRYmCv-kIpyPYKHg2QffrNgfehq2JGLC0L_WB-xWZa2I_VCDgO8IB6PAb6xtnX5FAquOERappjBltSLATJaHaswFVqJ-rn82XJHQ2Poi1_Hm-D2zBWlqtJPbtAT31gVa0i4FlgVM6bCwE/s400/CR13.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She really loves this shirt</td></tr>
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After the hike we took a lunch break, and then loaded up the kids and decided to do a scenic drive while they napped. It was great, they napped, we saw beautiful scenery. Finally Ivan woke up and we needed to pull over for a nursing break. I picked a random little park by the side of the highway. We noticed when I pulled over that there was a stream there. It was perfect for wading and the water was calling my name. I couldn't pass up the opportunity, and eventually Justin was coaxed out of the car to join us. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-fayKaECsoHHSfgglB10EAucAoHMjWDdDwqV9dP8h48mrsL_-deRRhK8xrIJl72EwNLpRD1i17LH61nnc4tncagF0CSrpt1RZPyXWlVXg-qeTf8VSALI_azFrCB94dE7NwbXVfv4IJWg/s1600/UC.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1080" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj-fayKaECsoHHSfgglB10EAucAoHMjWDdDwqV9dP8h48mrsL_-deRRhK8xrIJl72EwNLpRD1i17LH61nnc4tncagF0CSrpt1RZPyXWlVXg-qeTf8VSALI_azFrCB94dE7NwbXVfv4IJWg/s400/UC.JPG" width="270" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ivan seemed a little uncertain about this at first.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_kPBrarb_MWJY7Wrymhz2plN5TipdMmNBX3RnTUi4l4t1XSCPDDJTh4q8ngA7NIcCzQ_P0ZOkPVHkNCt1f4HPAaG9uE5jbzd5U0MBu5BlVTSYlwjRP_FBVodq5JmY0QrhlR9A-4G9BSE/s1600/UC1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1143" data-original-width="1600" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_kPBrarb_MWJY7Wrymhz2plN5TipdMmNBX3RnTUi4l4t1XSCPDDJTh4q8ngA7NIcCzQ_P0ZOkPVHkNCt1f4HPAaG9uE5jbzd5U0MBu5BlVTSYlwjRP_FBVodq5JmY0QrhlR9A-4G9BSE/s400/UC1.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It starts out as wading...</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFtNzhYTnkGgacdj6_3mE4WJ4-j0C1HXoBCElAdCxTDuWAcpC3CbczMPVF956YY7YSS67mxqTuQBsR5kItOgRbZCeOolaJ_c8FEYlbyP6Vz77rkinq_B6Yu9hitHfnPSqh1-vajavRHjM/s1600/UC2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1143" data-original-width="1600" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFtNzhYTnkGgacdj6_3mE4WJ4-j0C1HXoBCElAdCxTDuWAcpC3CbczMPVF956YY7YSS67mxqTuQBsR5kItOgRbZCeOolaJ_c8FEYlbyP6Vz77rkinq_B6Yu9hitHfnPSqh1-vajavRHjM/s400/UC2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">inevitably looks more like swimming.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJiHWKDlxzaiD3u4rLN-a6DqjN9N2uExmHOaLfSyQNa3RUKSyVyyXXtno5Ye2WvzTutT5rx3Bs5gqs3RsPS9qeDWleUc1N6HuUZSGYHjELr5VmdaOeyyDPIqFCAIerw-xQ8Zpk7IxGYsg/s1600/UC3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1143" data-original-width="1600" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJiHWKDlxzaiD3u4rLN-a6DqjN9N2uExmHOaLfSyQNa3RUKSyVyyXXtno5Ye2WvzTutT5rx3Bs5gqs3RsPS9qeDWleUc1N6HuUZSGYHjELr5VmdaOeyyDPIqFCAIerw-xQ8Zpk7IxGYsg/s400/UC3.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whatever you call it, she loved it.</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt3nugZs3rgZ9lFraIJEjx7O4x65oEoqoJZNdqQYvMbfLYcAEz_hvOyNUcbi97WLtp6F3mOHSfrB-ie2_PJSiraPKhCNUbS8cbS0ONy_0DZc1l1ZzeSg1jWyFZ5zJpXk8rBReps7UTLcc/s1600/UC4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1143" data-original-width="1600" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjt3nugZs3rgZ9lFraIJEjx7O4x65oEoqoJZNdqQYvMbfLYcAEz_hvOyNUcbi97WLtp6F3mOHSfrB-ie2_PJSiraPKhCNUbS8cbS0ONy_0DZc1l1ZzeSg1jWyFZ5zJpXk8rBReps7UTLcc/s400/UC4.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1HAbktZ45SjR48m_7za9Jp9QlDiTeIay-oId3DDY1XHnZx03d7ruYMIHuvqroNLI_LFtOoJ_WlBdTgKFbD9rhevncV5BQZsyT8xzHdxEFvQjcZQgyR2FzRFEaM8G-q8LEP99pClC2laI/s1600/UC5.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="836" data-original-width="1170" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1HAbktZ45SjR48m_7za9Jp9QlDiTeIay-oId3DDY1XHnZx03d7ruYMIHuvqroNLI_LFtOoJ_WlBdTgKFbD9rhevncV5BQZsyT8xzHdxEFvQjcZQgyR2FzRFEaM8G-q8LEP99pClC2laI/s400/UC5.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Showing off his new little teeth</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5iGhQuEI1QlTcqpNu6BEEV0meNSgF64b2lc-F8skEV2uefYLbQYJ9CRktA_nc4BXcDsySZ5xPx5KdxPthn6aD7xwP8h_aHrzPeCB0IByfAwhuNPlX5N_d-Wze3v0W5IYoBPtnukPqg6A/s1600/UC6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5iGhQuEI1QlTcqpNu6BEEV0meNSgF64b2lc-F8skEV2uefYLbQYJ9CRktA_nc4BXcDsySZ5xPx5KdxPthn6aD7xwP8h_aHrzPeCB0IByfAwhuNPlX5N_d-Wze3v0W5IYoBPtnukPqg6A/s400/UC6.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFsMI_-xtuXkFlDIdXg1JBMrGM-lF9LZhW74-R2KtVbhY9pngUojIMA2Pl78ziVX5G1t8mT45MgKR5jbtTbNV8ga6u37uDupaWUwZwXrOLoJkYPjbfgdnX1ghoLmlJhdk4bV6NiHOiVE0/s1600/UC7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1143" data-original-width="1600" height="285" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFsMI_-xtuXkFlDIdXg1JBMrGM-lF9LZhW74-R2KtVbhY9pngUojIMA2Pl78ziVX5G1t8mT45MgKR5jbtTbNV8ga6u37uDupaWUwZwXrOLoJkYPjbfgdnX1ghoLmlJhdk4bV6NiHOiVE0/s400/UC7.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Swinging his feet through the water was his favorite.</td></tr>
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We're so glad that we did this. It was a short stop, but the water was perfect and it was really fun. Vivian told us later that night that it was her favorite activity all day. It's always the simple stuff that we just throw in and don't really plan that she loves the most. <br />
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We wanted to cram in one more hike, but thought better of it, and instead we took the kids swimming in the timeshare pool, and were planning a trip to the Pagosa Springs Riverwalk for after dinner. After dinner the mosquitoes were back, and Vivian and I appeared to be covered in bites from the previous night and Chimney Rock (despite wearing bug spray). Justin and Ivan don't seem to attract them the way Vivian and I do. We decided that maybe a trip back down near the water wasn't the best idea for the evening hours. Justin ventured out on the balcony for pictures of the sunset, and we rescheduled the riverwalk for the next day after church. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9RNSaW-Y6bMmlajd5gcrkN3yN8F0Hc4_ZvQOk1EzsDvaWWjZQ3px9dgFTRBYoChaSII9sVcDCAwouHPxFK85XpVQBBWryXe_x5j8RXmHkPHtfiRWUnvBRq_y1TnQHRm8liaFesHvACEk/s1600/SS1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1054" data-original-width="1600" height="262" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9RNSaW-Y6bMmlajd5gcrkN3yN8F0Hc4_ZvQOk1EzsDvaWWjZQ3px9dgFTRBYoChaSII9sVcDCAwouHPxFK85XpVQBBWryXe_x5j8RXmHkPHtfiRWUnvBRq_y1TnQHRm8liaFesHvACEk/s400/SS1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT4OHmLF8O4W1-Ti8jxVVxDmt2-TtOUCAymCBsR5yBSSFNK9gK980TP5A-0i1zlxrsEFg-56qN4asIx3Wtb2_pTmWmkpUDD1pPFSOBwo54LTorwlNeGtkqOQr08266G2JldS6uy2U07Fw/s1600/SS.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1102" data-original-width="1600" height="275" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhT4OHmLF8O4W1-Ti8jxVVxDmt2-TtOUCAymCBsR5yBSSFNK9gK980TP5A-0i1zlxrsEFg-56qN4asIx3Wtb2_pTmWmkpUDD1pPFSOBwo54LTorwlNeGtkqOQr08266G2JldS6uy2U07Fw/s400/SS.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Speaking of church the next day, we met a man there who introduced himself, and asked how we were liking the area. He then announced that he and his wife loved their first visit there so they ended up purchasing land during their vacation and eventually made the move. We're not quite there yet. Vivian was a huge hit in the ward, so much so that the nursery leader told Justin that she would like us to move there, and told me that "she's such a doll. You're lucky that I gave her back to you." She's been on a terrible naughty streak lately, so we were a little relieved that things had gone so well. We got it out of her later on that day that they fed her cupcakes. That kind of explains things. We did not buy property, but we did visit the riverwalk before we left town. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM9zKdZgI4AU2EJ7XOdBpIZORfNHDHH3kPUeLFAzBXX2DYN1UzNtX1u1eSYAN29NvUkzIXXaTUhmwoADFRxvEZGyBKWhvlF3knzB7AlYGLIUpajKxb342T8wtogsQP4imgYQT_Q-Q4Vbk/s1600/RW1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="993" data-original-width="1600" height="247" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjM9zKdZgI4AU2EJ7XOdBpIZORfNHDHH3kPUeLFAzBXX2DYN1UzNtX1u1eSYAN29NvUkzIXXaTUhmwoADFRxvEZGyBKWhvlF3knzB7AlYGLIUpajKxb342T8wtogsQP4imgYQT_Q-Q4Vbk/s400/RW1.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No idea what she's doing here, but definitely enjoying herself. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL86c-2g-lKFRwnBsY5WRkpbfp9HryFqRmYPfVgrShfMcXoxgRMVJLxWJz_BeiQc04oshT7B0lM_ntNrVx-gVBp8T7agtN3zLei2QRJbORxv0gYCGVdl_Rw4HO4YlHv5FaRx8HWB40M84/s1600/RW2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1300" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL86c-2g-lKFRwnBsY5WRkpbfp9HryFqRmYPfVgrShfMcXoxgRMVJLxWJz_BeiQc04oshT7B0lM_ntNrVx-gVBp8T7agtN3zLei2QRJbORxv0gYCGVdl_Rw4HO4YlHv5FaRx8HWB40M84/s400/RW2.JPG" width="323" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She loves dandelions</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCwoxiCipNXFy5XILNxn3cDr8ePxHVhWwUMxrHQGk7Kcx7l48v5h-RKRzWeMV9YHMJJyAYPZxESoWGHxFisfKUTSK92iRyezi4JIw6zdMvAR9kby_MffyM9c0cpoQ9ROc2jDC5WzEcMXY/s1600/RW3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCwoxiCipNXFy5XILNxn3cDr8ePxHVhWwUMxrHQGk7Kcx7l48v5h-RKRzWeMV9YHMJJyAYPZxESoWGHxFisfKUTSK92iRyezi4JIw6zdMvAR9kby_MffyM9c0cpoQ9ROc2jDC5WzEcMXY/s400/RW3.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's beautiful, and later on in the year, when the water isn't running so fast people float it.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMytv8YyCjLyLTjH7mPW9qb_wQ27P6DnpaW28hupDcV4GE1ikSglny9uGr1G1lU9_6GsJ28SCehICNAgNNIADteug8Nr8RLAmLb_geRwcBdwRh7YEhzfCsiKPGZ7gH6IW1a1TSuVM-Mj8/s1600/RW.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMytv8YyCjLyLTjH7mPW9qb_wQ27P6DnpaW28hupDcV4GE1ikSglny9uGr1G1lU9_6GsJ28SCehICNAgNNIADteug8Nr8RLAmLb_geRwcBdwRh7YEhzfCsiKPGZ7gH6IW1a1TSuVM-Mj8/s400/RW.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The resort on the right is a hot springs resort. The hot water drains into the river, so allegedly the river is fairly warm.</td></tr>
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The San Antonio Riverwalk it is not. It's very pretty, and interesting, but mid-day isn't the best time of day to walk this thing. There is next to no shade, and it was blazing hot. it's a 1.7 mile loop if you do the whole thing. We did not. It was just too hot, and not interesting enough once you got into the "wetlands" area to entice us to continue. We cut it short loaded up, and started our drive home.</div>
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We stopped on the way out to see Treasure Falls. We've read that the falls are really beautiful, but since you can also see them from the parking lot they didn't seem that interesting. When we got there we realized that there are some trails that appear to go up to the top of the falls that seem like a decent hike, so maybe next time. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHXS0Pi-iD0aobB9dFWjkUmo11hBZvI-EEUxsfuKItvgLxWh_qwm5KPxT3NNx6musvLS3PY9LwrM-bgz4KfX_Uw1ovDIKibImWbnl3ju0FrUjtdDu7lyeRawnucew6XRbXxNE4TmbM1vU/s1600/RW4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhHXS0Pi-iD0aobB9dFWjkUmo11hBZvI-EEUxsfuKItvgLxWh_qwm5KPxT3NNx6musvLS3PY9LwrM-bgz4KfX_Uw1ovDIKibImWbnl3ju0FrUjtdDu7lyeRawnucew6XRbXxNE4TmbM1vU/s400/RW4.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Treasure Falls</td></tr>
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We also stopped at a scenic overlook on our way out, for one last look into that valley: <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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We loved this little weekend vacation, and who knows, maybe some day we'll buy our own little patch of land there. </div>
Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01189144134384732232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076870301541451612.post-53549940850723680432017-06-22T13:20:00.000-07:002017-06-22T19:47:05.979-07:00San Antonio, Black StyleThe Kerry Black family reunion this year took place in San Antonio, Texas. Maybe I was the only one that was a bit astonished that all of the kids managed to make it out there? We did though, and it was my misfortune that the only member of the family that couldn't attend was actually Justin. <br />
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At first I decided to sit this one out, but after a fair amount of deliberation I determined that these reunions are just as important, for all of the cousins as they are for their parents. Justin and I decided that I should take the kids and go without him. I wanted to drive, but I was apparently the <i>only </i>person who thought that was a good idea. Flying alone with a toddler, a baby, two car seats, and our luggage could be done, but I felt all panicked and anxious just thinking about it. Thankfully Andrew stepped up and volunteered to fly to Denver first so that he could accompany me and mine to San Antonio. I'm so glad he did. I would have made it, but my kids might have wound up permanently less happy people had I been forced to tackle that one alone. It went pretty smoothly with him along to help me out. <br />
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So San Antonio...I guess I just didn't know anything about that place. In my mind I had pictured a burned off kind of desert. In retrospect I have no idea why, because it's not like I hadn't heard that it was going to be humid there. The Alamo just always looked so deserty in pictures I suppose. Before we even made it outside the humidity hit me and I realized my error. That being said, it was really beautiful and green, so nothing like the image I'd had in my mind. <br />
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I think that Andrew and I were the last ones to arrive. We drove straight to John and Michelle's house where a lot of the family was meeting up to wait for check-in time at the New Braunfels timeshare. Our timing is terrible. We arrived just as everyone else was preparing for departure. We spent only a few minutes there greeting people and getting our first introduction to the latest family addition, Atlee Michelle Black:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyoS-kuSX4BaahUPGUdeENMuWy6djKd606Dod4teTLmsPVtb-uCpG_IrRExree94CPxTmBJJFHUogLOCsE6lOtLV5E0TbOyNAuGi6VJvGaZeCPgzBsBLRsJKG8VQe6GQTxF1MYvq8cANU/s1600/DSC_0954.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyoS-kuSX4BaahUPGUdeENMuWy6djKd606Dod4teTLmsPVtb-uCpG_IrRExree94CPxTmBJJFHUogLOCsE6lOtLV5E0TbOyNAuGi6VJvGaZeCPgzBsBLRsJKG8VQe6GQTxF1MYvq8cANU/s400/DSC_0954.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This seems to be her most of the time. She's still tiny, and very laid back when she is awake.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John loves his boys, but he's a total marshmallow with his two daughters.</td></tr>
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From there, Andrew left me to join back up with his wife, and was replaced with Neal. (Since I don't have a smart phone, and Justin has still not followed through on his promises to buy me a GPS, I had to have a smart phone person with me every time I drove somewhere.) We stopped in for our first visit at Whataburger. I still haven't figured out why everyone in Texas seemed to pronounce it "Water Burger," but it was delicious. Add the jalapenos for $.50, totally worth it. <br />
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We checked in at the timeshare and after settling in for a bit the family congregated at one of the units for a family dinner. We planned together that night to leave the next morning for downtown San Antonio to visit the Alamo and the riverwalk. </div>
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The next morning we left to follow through on that plan. Unfortunately, my dad had a bad fall a few days prior to departure, and while we had hoped that he would be recovered and ready to join us, he was still in a great deal of pain (subsequently it was discovered that he had fractured his back in the fall) and elected to stay behind. Jared volunteered to stay behind with him. </div>
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The Alamo...it's tiny, and to be totally honest, not that interesting. So other people have said this to me, but I've disregarded them, because people also told me that Mt. Rushmore was just kind of not that interesting, and I thought that Mt. Rushmore was fantastic. The Alamo is really not very interesting though. Sadly, it's true. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Congregating across the street from the Alamo</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Alamo</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These two hit it off</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Always a fan of Aunt Kate. This is in line to get into the Alamo</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Apparently you aren't supposed to take pictures inside of the Alamo...oops.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Waiting outside for everyone to finish up so that we can move on to the riverwalk.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This would have been a cuter picture if they weren't afraid of me, and therefore pretending to not see me. I guess this is why we do reunions. They hugged me goodbye when we left.</td></tr>
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Next we walked from the Alamo to lunch at Whataburger again. There's one around every corner. It's like Texans version of In N Out, only sorry, I still think In N Out is better. From there we continued on to the Riverwalk. Somewhere in there Meredith and her people got separated from the group. I'm not entirely sure when or how that happened. All I know for certain is that they ended up on a different boat than the rest of the family that departed from a different port. John started shouting "Jake!? Jake!? Jake!?" Every time our boat passed another boat. The younger brothers followed his lead. At some point we actually crossed paths with the boat the Partridge's had boarded. This is a picture Jake took of our boat:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The tour guide on our boat was openly irritated that he'd been interrupted.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The riverwalk is really green, and really pretty, but the water does look very dirty</td></tr>
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After the trip downtown we returned to the timeshare for naps. I have a love/hate thing with naps. I love how happy they are afterwards, and it's great to get a break sometimes, but most of the time naps just get in the way. That killed the rest of the daylight hours for those of us with nappers. We made an evening visit to the timeshare pool with the Hexbergs after late naps and dinner.<br />
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The next day we set off for Schlitterbahn. My dad again had to remain behind, alone this time. For anyone reading this who doesn't know (because I didn't know, but maybe because I'm oblivious), it's a water park. A huge water park. It sounded so fun. It will probably be fun for us when our youngest hits maybe 5. I've taken to occasionally teasing Vivian by telling her that we're going to go back to Schlitterbahn. Partly because the way she enunciates Schlitterbahn is hilarious to me, and partly because I'm amused by her look of concern. I'm a great Mom. So anyway, we all went to Schlitterbahn, and we got the group discount which is great because the place costs an arm and leg (but we all loved that it's a one flat fee and none of this nickel and diming business that you encounter at other parks, so tube rentals and life jackets are included). There are some members of the family that loved this day. Loved it. Then there are some of us that spent a lot of time in the picnic area with small children. People like me and my two pregnant sisters, and Michelle with her newborn. My mom took Vivian, Jill and Fox over to the kiddie pool for a while, and they legitimately seemed to be loving it over there. The water was a little cold though, and Ivan crabbed when I tried to put him in it...so back to the picnic area for us. Finally he dropped off for his morning nap and with Atlee napping my mom agreed to watch our sleeping babies so that Michelle and I could take Vivian on a slide. It seemed like it was going to be a great time. It wasn't. The line was super long, she got impatient, it was nap time and she was crabby by the time we got to the front of the line. So parenting fail here, they loaded her up sent her down the slide without me, and I let them. I was so stunned that they were sending a 2 year old alone and holding me back that it didn't really register that the life guard person was a high schooler and I should have just shoved past her. I should have, but I didn't. So Vivian braved a rather lengthy water slide alone in her tube, and by the time we got to the bottom she was a bit hysterical. For the next 24 hours she would rub it in by periodically asking me "why did you let them send me alone all by myself Mom?" So shortly after that we packed up and went back to the time share for naps, and she spent the evening hanging out with her Hexberg cousins. Apparently Devon and Annette made Colton tough it out on his own all day. I imagine he handled it a bit better than my Viv. This wasn't my favorite day of the reunion. I saw the male members of my family only in passing, which I found to be quite annoying. From what I hear they all loved it and thought that it was a great time. So I'm sure their take on this day is a lot different than mine. </div>
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The next day we spent the morning at the pool with all of the cousins, and even Dad was able to make it down to the pool area to watch all the little cousins playing in the water. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj81rnhmlXRlBQBIVGCBX3v89tkPXQnEFwRmBBB6j6Jv1Bw6cxTpk1YuZVR_chPS0WdkhFk3dhvyv8KH6Gee-tGjAgobaOOLoaFaVp92_3cOdggCY2MMlFQgdMRLIR1_g5OtwoapuFKXgA/s1600/Screenshot_2017-06-16-21-14-01.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj81rnhmlXRlBQBIVGCBX3v89tkPXQnEFwRmBBB6j6Jv1Bw6cxTpk1YuZVR_chPS0WdkhFk3dhvyv8KH6Gee-tGjAgobaOOLoaFaVp92_3cOdggCY2MMlFQgdMRLIR1_g5OtwoapuFKXgA/s400/Screenshot_2017-06-16-21-14-01.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There was one other family at the pool, pretty sure that they hated us.</td></tr>
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After that there were again naps, and in the evening...to be honest I have no idea what we did that evening. It must not have been terribly eventful because I really can't remember. </div>
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However, the next morning Paige joined me in my car and some of us set off for the Natural Bridges Wildlife Ranch. I think that this actually might have been my favorite activity. It's one of those drive-thru zoos. This one they provide you with a little baggy of food for the animals at the entrance, which kind of instantly makes it more interesting. There are multiple signs and flyers that tell you to just drop the food out of the car window and DO NOT feed the animals from you hand. Right off the bat we saw the lady in the car in front of us dangling her arm out the window trying to lure the animals closer. Paige and I were joking around about how they couldn't read instructions, and then we turned around and saw her mom doing the same thing out of the car behind us. I guess we're the nerdy rule followers. So initially it was just a lot of deer, and that wasn't terribly exciting. I mean foreign deer. You know, like African deer. They have different names, and different antlers, but let's be real, these are really just deer. Then we looped around and saw some giraffes and ostriches. You're not allowed to feed the giraffes, and the ostriches were just chilling under some trees and didn't seem at all interested in the pellets of food we hurled out of the car in their direction. Next we passed the Rhinos, which obviously you're not allowed to feed, and some camels that kept their distance, and then there were zebras, that apparently approached the other vehicles, but didn't have much interest in our car. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjAP-03UT6mJJ0opfj9JDsDE05zxm79xGJ7pMKAqsyuJ-ZAp2vd0LwD_E6MvBv3fRpUpKtX6Diyf7KQfiJFT10nbo6KnHU3XkKgVpiVeSEPI0eE6vr6f4qpZSxE49ABT86cX-R_MJ_UCY/s1600/image6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhjAP-03UT6mJJ0opfj9JDsDE05zxm79xGJ7pMKAqsyuJ-ZAp2vd0LwD_E6MvBv3fRpUpKtX6Diyf7KQfiJFT10nbo6KnHU3XkKgVpiVeSEPI0eE6vr6f4qpZSxE49ABT86cX-R_MJ_UCY/s400/image6.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John and Michelle had better luck with the zebras than we did.</td></tr>
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We were pretty okay with that though since according to a lot of signage in the area they bite. Then we continued on to these weird deer animals that unexpectedly shoved their ENTIRE head into the car! <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDfA_xwM1mSCVHCeRIo5snpVLLN52_EQ6W1_ilZmb_MCnnxu3g4KMpjFcVqgZMFSKxbRsQH8EqhEouVId_KOOKW38nf3nR6wtkm16e8l1fe2Q1zluVLKfrNQCrAwoJrkXxt2VBdOYPHmY/s1600/image2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDfA_xwM1mSCVHCeRIo5snpVLLN52_EQ6W1_ilZmb_MCnnxu3g4KMpjFcVqgZMFSKxbRsQH8EqhEouVId_KOOKW38nf3nR6wtkm16e8l1fe2Q1zluVLKfrNQCrAwoJrkXxt2VBdOYPHmY/s400/image2.JPG" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This thing was fearless, we were not. We were kind of freaking out</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi11EUs7duK39ZCMmJUSKTgCHMT9vWoSEWVh6y4IMtvME7DII2B-uws2XXHd552A4otzZ0aexGaW6oFKqgs8Rodl4bdYGIyGJ-9FMShzL0wRQU7FTzsq8jqZYW0QmQYSa3OljRhKSyizv8/s400/image5.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="225" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Her favorite, and simultaneously not her favorite moment.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFPBHjwyrvDlqNxAf0lekrPZl4OmQD8UTqOUq0jeb7YcDjzhD0k_TBwHpIEwq5YHBq5n46Zj9dOpZ-zoG0t-gk2fUNUXgfLx3PwKxV3y058ZRwzOwVt4BL8APXkRewCn6Ll-2L6gEnoSI/s1600/image7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhFPBHjwyrvDlqNxAf0lekrPZl4OmQD8UTqOUq0jeb7YcDjzhD0k_TBwHpIEwq5YHBq5n46Zj9dOpZ-zoG0t-gk2fUNUXgfLx3PwKxV3y058ZRwzOwVt4BL8APXkRewCn6Ll-2L6gEnoSI/s400/image7.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neal figured out a way to feed them, get the close encounter, and keep them from shoving their head in your car. Genius.</td></tr>
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So next up were more ostriches that still seemed to be entirely uninterested in us, but chased each other around in what was oddly one of the most ridiculous, yet graceful things I've ever seen. Their legs are scary strong. The emus on the other hand...I think that's what they are anyway, were very eager to be fed, and like the weird aggressive deer animals would shove their heads all the way into your car. Their entire head, in your car. I freaked out and spilled the little animal pellets everywhere, and then was nervous to roll the window back down lest I get pecked to death by one of them trying to get the little pieces of animal food all over Vivian and I. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRskBUh8oCVXYPkdQieu7j0iy9XanEEoCMcv868Iz3IoB2iiMxkF2kD7bHDGmyktIjuXopXjM-hm2h_7ekqDMsWwDl5Ymx02I-VpmLNe3lG1pMm1pxnDQogP59-7i9aPEQxRGAxo6ecpQ/s1600/image8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRskBUh8oCVXYPkdQieu7j0iy9XanEEoCMcv868Iz3IoB2iiMxkF2kD7bHDGmyktIjuXopXjM-hm2h_7ekqDMsWwDl5Ymx02I-VpmLNe3lG1pMm1pxnDQogP59-7i9aPEQxRGAxo6ecpQ/s400/image8.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John and his little buddy. The have a distinctly crazy look about them.</td></tr>
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We finished the drive and then went to lunch in the cafeteria. After that most everyone else left, but Neal switched cars to mine, Paige went back with her parents and I took mine to see the monkeys, the goats in the petting zoo (short-lived experience since my favorite pants got chewed on by a tiny baby goat), and fed the koi fish that were huge and kind of gross. We still had some leftover animal food so we drove through the zoo one more time (you can drive through as many times as you'd like) and got rid of the rest of the food before we headed back to the timeshare for abbreviated nap time. </div>
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Following the zoo the majority of the family congregated at a big park nearby and let the kids get out and enjoy some time together on the equipment there. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTWOrVqz-6wDS-C5HTeq3DrTtRyprWGM1_mHtRPV3S09XnKQv4uREFPNxozw5WEUhLmo65NF6qyBrye500GqVdby0fa6ABsnaQDtQaU6wyQrOkpHdUQUtjaeLJKyelRqBsBKyeldwzBmc/s1600/IMG_0355.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTWOrVqz-6wDS-C5HTeq3DrTtRyprWGM1_mHtRPV3S09XnKQv4uREFPNxozw5WEUhLmo65NF6qyBrye500GqVdby0fa6ABsnaQDtQaU6wyQrOkpHdUQUtjaeLJKyelRqBsBKyeldwzBmc/s400/IMG_0355.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vivian and Fox. They all took a turn on this slide set I think.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vivian and Winnie</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Bn7FPO4hcAZQTwy01wh0KHXE78X_GxKsTbuoK_qO38ZQbCBZmyuOMXqlnpytuhrB1ekofCGNedlf4kkkWXm947LhEila5Oc_kNDZcbXRpNLxedPZ75s1P-z9Ga-qixIIgR8EyqOe6KE/s1600/image4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3Bn7FPO4hcAZQTwy01wh0KHXE78X_GxKsTbuoK_qO38ZQbCBZmyuOMXqlnpytuhrB1ekofCGNedlf4kkkWXm947LhEila5Oc_kNDZcbXRpNLxedPZ75s1P-z9Ga-qixIIgR8EyqOe6KE/s400/image4.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vivian and Jill </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiNKdoGCuYFx2HWlgQI5JRlOMiI8ZrsP5VDdr1-v-dmxhAHcLMRxiwD9i8dy-Nkd9fvMIPqg93BDIM4YIZrZ3dneLU2T1T-G40NuKxJZTuy07jy3kVQ6bCLycsTAQBJ-RKem80Ne3ZNs0E/s400/IMG_0344.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="300" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These little bouncy animals were really cute, and they seemed to love them. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkGo5veuPQPvIp26o5uGH4iCzv56S2BOZT2n3KOPn8iR8pC5aP21UooVabBiCbdgfSeVqiexNahirNJaf1w7VIE56fcMDfRVRBUUW9_yF_FeqVxbbK6ys-GXZvcSpCy0d5I0rU_VEuJoo/s1600/IMG_0345.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkGo5veuPQPvIp26o5uGH4iCzv56S2BOZT2n3KOPn8iR8pC5aP21UooVabBiCbdgfSeVqiexNahirNJaf1w7VIE56fcMDfRVRBUUW9_yF_FeqVxbbK6ys-GXZvcSpCy0d5I0rU_VEuJoo/s400/IMG_0345.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Fox and I</td></tr>
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After everyone was sufficiently hot and sweaty we went to dinner at a place called the Gristmill. The food was delicious, but it was outside, and unbelievably hot and sweaty. Furthermore, it was such a huge group that there was no mistaking our waiters dislike for us. We were polite and all, but he was just not thrilled with us and our herds of children who were all rather unruly after a long day without naps. </div>
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Following dinner we saw some fireflies, which is exciting. I thought that it was exciting. Vivian seemed to not really grasp what was so interesting, but that's okay. We drove home and found a toad sitting in the road that Neal caught, and took to show his nephews, which I gather was pretty interesting. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwSekBQgfvC37SlTg0XcoRfNw1rBkRusa0Ggkp6yBLCK5mw-sFxkFiEWYTOzrEOYN9AISDY1u3m7BT5t8awheIMDVxj3iSLRfxyRe-nIhazjqe-pvTQ0r8Z8ktB9pLuPiAc28ZNQGF218/s1600/20170607_211221.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwSekBQgfvC37SlTg0XcoRfNw1rBkRusa0Ggkp6yBLCK5mw-sFxkFiEWYTOzrEOYN9AISDY1u3m7BT5t8awheIMDVxj3iSLRfxyRe-nIhazjqe-pvTQ0r8Z8ktB9pLuPiAc28ZNQGF218/s400/20170607_211221.jpg" width="225" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Showing it off to West and Colton. I wasn't there, but West doesn't look terribly impressed.</td></tr>
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The next morning we got up, checked out and went to John and Michelle's house. Although the reunion was scheduled to end on Friday, nobody actually scheduled a flight out that day because the flights the next day were so much less expensive. So we hung out there for the day, and then I left with my kids to go check into a hotel for the evening Paige agreed to come along, much to Vivian's delight. I gather that the others stayed up late playing card games. My kids aren't so good about late nights, so we got ruled out for that fun. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkEFzjp4CgDzfsp30xo6Sqz5ghYGT_pCgO1y5PmNJDPb1oiAcNDac1-_j_wfHC0rA6LbRYOEWgXWItCcWOtY124Xoq3m_inu8qNKzq0L6plKc2jkmYosCPqsQJrxz4iwLq38a_el6vAxM/s1600/IMG_0392.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkEFzjp4CgDzfsp30xo6Sqz5ghYGT_pCgO1y5PmNJDPb1oiAcNDac1-_j_wfHC0rA6LbRYOEWgXWItCcWOtY124Xoq3m_inu8qNKzq0L6plKc2jkmYosCPqsQJrxz4iwLq38a_el6vAxM/s400/IMG_0392.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Whatever he was saying I know it was funny, and I'm sorry that I missed it. I think my brother John is hilarious. Hilarious.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It looks so serious.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Very serious.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">No idea why Mom chose not to participate</td></tr>
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So there you have it. The next day I brought Paige back, picked up Andrew, and we made our way back to the Denver airport. We said our goodbyes to Andrew (amazing travel buddy, thanks again Andrew) and waited TWO HOURS at baggage claim for the car seats and bag. We actually spent more time at baggage claim than we did in the air. Very annoying, but we spent the two hours with Justin, and it was great to be with him again. After that we stopped at Smashburger for much needed food on the way home and that experience left me wishing that it had been a Whataburger. I don't know that I'll do a reunion without Justin again, so hopefully he'll be able to attend next year, because it's always good to spend some time with my siblings!<br />
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Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01189144134384732232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076870301541451612.post-171423845153385452017-06-15T13:32:00.001-07:002017-06-18T23:25:22.091-07:00Funny Things That My Toddler Says She loves the story of Moses, but for a while she couldn't pronounce his name, so she would ask me to tell her about "Morsel." Now she <i>can</i> say "Moses," but for some reason she prefers "Morsel."<br />
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"I like that part of the fish movie when Nemo says 'Yep.'" (We have no idea during what part of the movie this memorable line is uttered.)<br />
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After Justin has asked her to do something for him: "Well, that's not my responsibility." (Looking forward to the teenage years with this one.)<br />
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"I'm just all about my Dad Bug." I get to be treated to this announcement several times a day.<br />
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In our hotel room, I asked her if she'd seen the room key. "Let me just get it out of the refrigerator." Then she walked over, opened up the mini fridge and produced the key card. "I just didn't know where else to put it." <br />
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When her pant legs were riding up "Dad can you please fix my pant sleeves?"<br />
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"How do my lips look? I just want to look pretty for Dad."<br />
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Mumbling to herself about checking on something as she walked across a waiting room to the candy vending machines, then turned and announced "Yes, that candy is good for me. I just checked and it is good for me Mom."<br />
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While "helping" me with laundry she pulled out one of my shirts "WOAH!!! This is a BIG, BIG shirt." Thanks Viv.<br />
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"I just gave Ivan a kiss. Wasn't that so nice of me?"<br />
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As she completely ignores my request to leave a sleeping Ivan alone "Well he likes it when I mess with him." The worst part about this is that he woke up and started laughing hysterically at her so I couldn't even argue the point with her.<br />
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Trying to get her to eat her dinner: "Well I'm just feeling nervous about this chicken."<br />
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She was in the bedroom and sent to stand in the kitchen as a sort of time-out scenario. "I don't <i>see</i> a kitchen around here."Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01189144134384732232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076870301541451612.post-68809655458007930322017-05-30T17:08:00.000-07:002017-05-30T17:08:41.495-07:00Vacationing in the Land of EnchantmentBecause we're living in Colorado this summer, and last summer I felt like we did a lot of exploring in the mountains, this summer I wanted to explore the plains. So we decided to head to Oklahoma City for Memorial Day. We could visit the bombing memorial, attend a Memorial day celebration to watch mid-westerners in their natural habitat, and also head east while the rest of Colorado flooded west into the mountains. There was just one little thing that we hadn't counted on...the weather. So the tornado warnings threw a bit of a wrench into those plans. We woke up Friday morning cancelled all of our reservations, and while Justin was at work emailed each other back and forth about alternatives. Since we live in an extended stay hotel Justin said it wasn't an option to stay home, and I kind of agreed. We decided that the least expensive place with the fewest crowds, warmest weather, and greatest appeal was New Mexico. I had us packed and ready to go when Justin got home. <br />
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The Friday night drive there was completely uneventful. It was a beautiful drive, and what we saw before it got dark reminded us that we loved our last visit to Northern New Mexico. We weren't at all sorry to be back. Saturday morning we got up early and left for Bandelier National Monument. Our last visit to Santa Fe was two years ago, and we elected to go to Tent Rocks National Monument instead of Bandelier. We loved Tent Rocks, but we heard a number of people at the timeshare afterwards talking about how Bandelier was beautiful and amazing, and we felt a little like maybe we had missed out. (Having been to both now I can say that it's hard to go wrong with either one of them. They're very different, but both of them are amazing!) </div>
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One of the things that I really liked about Bandelier is that you aren't allowed to drive your car into the park. They have a free shuttle that you catch in Santa Fe that takes you up to the monument. It's not unlike the one at Zion. I love the whole shuttle idea so that I don't have to worry about trying to find parking in the monument, especially on a busy holiday weekend. Vivian loves riding buses, so it was a win with her too. Our plan was to first hike out to the cliff dwellings and then double back to the other side of the park and hike out to a waterfall. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6iZKw98Z2zfUgfeC9NddA9ENoYCvKyKXmY1nhnMzVhMqKYCrrR95WkMQOFlC0b9AgUw64z5r6x3QCsWjGwh5dXGq-678OhYzlxYpey-jTc4p7b1PHDpt-TztJb8QucS1OwA1DkDlzJ4w/s1600/Bandelier4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1067" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6iZKw98Z2zfUgfeC9NddA9ENoYCvKyKXmY1nhnMzVhMqKYCrrR95WkMQOFlC0b9AgUw64z5r6x3QCsWjGwh5dXGq-678OhYzlxYpey-jTc4p7b1PHDpt-TztJb8QucS1OwA1DkDlzJ4w/s400/Bandelier4.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I have no idea what this is, but it's part of the ruins there.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vivian loved the ladders</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She had no desire to be carried in the backpack.</td></tr>
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So the first set of ruins were actually not that spectacular. They were fun, especially for Vivian, but if you've been to Mesa Verde, these don't compare in size or complexity. They are however, in my opinion, just as interesting, with the added bonus that you are allowed to crawl around in them. That's something that's largely prohibited at Mesa Verde. The hiking was not particularly hard at all, but it was slow getting through everything. I think it would have been faster on any other weekend, but we had to wait in line at every ladder, and every "house" along the trail. It wasn't exactly crowded, but the monument was definitely busy and there were lots of families and groups, so it was a little slow getting through all of it. At the end of the first trail there were a bunch of petroglyphs.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGaVPtN-l5_PhiBl2H4BFEqBsqiTY9FQRx0rDjUy36z8fR5M5T6Qy_PudzAz7LgHj7CES0F5cMHvx-4S6ZLgyp52exadLz5gm89oOcaO8N_XQS6DPmMhYJKal3xpazf92eWuPT_wBXWSs/s1600/Bandelier10.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1136" data-original-width="1600" height="283" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGaVPtN-l5_PhiBl2H4BFEqBsqiTY9FQRx0rDjUy36z8fR5M5T6Qy_PudzAz7LgHj7CES0F5cMHvx-4S6ZLgyp52exadLz5gm89oOcaO8N_XQS6DPmMhYJKal3xpazf92eWuPT_wBXWSs/s400/Bandelier10.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This one looks like a dinosaur to me.</td></tr>
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Justin and I joke around sometimes about how petroglyphs must be remnants of the kids doodling on the walls. I always feel a little like I'm in the Emperor's New Clothes when someone references petroglyphs as amazing art...am I the only one that thinks stick figures aren't impressive artistic renderings? Don't get me wrong, they're kind of interesting, but I've never felt blown away by them. I certainly can't stand their staring at them for hours. So we hung out in front of the art wall there for a second and then headed down the trail to find ourselves a shady spot where we could take a nursing break. </div>
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I'm not sure who enjoyed this break more, Vivian or Ivan. Vivian loves dirt, <i>Loves </i>dirt. She loves to throw dirt. I do not love it when Vivian throws dirt, but Ivan does. She started just sprinkling it around, and noticed that Ivan kind of giggled about it. The next thing we knew handfuls of dirt were flying through the air and Ivan was doubled over laughing so hard that he could barely breathe. It was messy, and kind of gross, and she got dirt in her eyes, but the both of them were so happy that I just couldn't see any reason to stop her. I mean she was getting a bath that night either way, now it was just making more sense to make it a shower, which is faster anyway. So we let them have their fun. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8v3XuQe77UcXYo_GJz78QSWh2v8KUrfGIOo2ea8RUU9KtBdQGP5bguRgODCiimz-YYCPsA8odFUwHUpbnclwD_XFbmfSgmj0m93HRJik9NJbxAQjcRh7K-crFfsB9eRubIXH0FjtZyhQ/s1600/Bandelier11.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1475" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8v3XuQe77UcXYo_GJz78QSWh2v8KUrfGIOo2ea8RUU9KtBdQGP5bguRgODCiimz-YYCPsA8odFUwHUpbnclwD_XFbmfSgmj0m93HRJik9NJbxAQjcRh7K-crFfsB9eRubIXH0FjtZyhQ/s400/Bandelier11.JPG" width="368" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She hadn't really let loose and started tossing it over her head yet. Justin had the camera out just to capture her grubby face.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHI13UarDLHXFFQ6mwoSpUca2m1TYPC0TzJuxJNm4J-fExOqi4CvieCaoKV7Hk1aObsWBMjBb0fqfOX9f7JOlmfQjxjCpv1k09Jo5msHbF8y2xgZmlpjj2NF7poqNW8gdPX3h_LhRNW6g/s1600/Bandelier12.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="974" data-original-width="1323" height="293" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHI13UarDLHXFFQ6mwoSpUca2m1TYPC0TzJuxJNm4J-fExOqi4CvieCaoKV7Hk1aObsWBMjBb0fqfOX9f7JOlmfQjxjCpv1k09Jo5msHbF8y2xgZmlpjj2NF7poqNW8gdPX3h_LhRNW6g/s400/Bandelier12.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That's sincere happiness right there. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXxQAEZ6ZkF3z31eH_qpMw_8FYCEplb8GvzGIij9GBdmQ47Lxg6YMxXIkFR84EwX42E0_5aUHcxNJDta7VBiXdCMEp1cfRmd26AJUmjZhKXKdjxFi8juq7ctM4Wn3bmUY0TWg28QT5nj0/s1600/Bandelier13.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1460" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjXxQAEZ6ZkF3z31eH_qpMw_8FYCEplb8GvzGIij9GBdmQ47Lxg6YMxXIkFR84EwX42E0_5aUHcxNJDta7VBiXdCMEp1cfRmd26AJUmjZhKXKdjxFi8juq7ctM4Wn3bmUY0TWg28QT5nj0/s400/Bandelier13.JPG" width="363" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and here we have her biggest cheerleader.</td></tr>
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After wiping her down the best we could with baby wipes we decided to continue on to a dwelling at the end of the trail that was supposedly a little more intense, rather than follow the loop back like the majority of people seemed to be doing. It was about 2 miles roundtrip, so really not very far, and as we were nearing the mile mark a guy coming down the trail told us that "it gets a little sketchy up there guys." I know he meant that we shouldn't do it with the kids, but Justin and I weren't super worried about it. Justin maybe should have been since he had Vivian strapped into the backpack, which gave him about 40 pounds of extra dead weight. I just had this little pack to get up and back:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKySnYCm_7z3t2aZd1IyZBafHg_J8B5imFROFSoV8JT3o-h-OXdvNAmt0GRJ4dFs1P4W81A7THjqsYUZggUDva7u3Ooh3VPouk-kE5jqHPc6EZ5H2XYhXTHuFwFp7DB7ycqU07VMStvAE/s1600/bandelier14.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1317" data-original-width="1600" height="328" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKySnYCm_7z3t2aZd1IyZBafHg_J8B5imFROFSoV8JT3o-h-OXdvNAmt0GRJ4dFs1P4W81A7THjqsYUZggUDva7u3Ooh3VPouk-kE5jqHPc6EZ5H2XYhXTHuFwFp7DB7ycqU07VMStvAE/s400/bandelier14.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He's little, and he's cute, and it's kind of nice just having him strapped onto me.</td></tr>
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So we continued on, and we only had moments where we wondered if it was a stupid idea. Mostly when we both witnessed the rungs on the ladder bend significantly as the person in front of us stepped on them. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXIhjAECH210xxkcQHGB8PUjIgdHwMFPWH3HtUUf1mKXoMe_Cm1_pIgP5p7Xq6vO1ZK0w3ZLjYk2aySfuIVkg-Y-QZIi6YWrEgK-JHX_8k7wiJ6k4BYQ8smkRkgKo_L9QJW_9orytrA4A/s1600/Bandelier15.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXIhjAECH210xxkcQHGB8PUjIgdHwMFPWH3HtUUf1mKXoMe_Cm1_pIgP5p7Xq6vO1ZK0w3ZLjYk2aySfuIVkg-Y-QZIi6YWrEgK-JHX_8k7wiJ6k4BYQ8smkRkgKo_L9QJW_9orytrA4A/s400/Bandelier15.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I did move super slow, because as it turns out Ivan doesn't care for ladders. He crabbed a little bit going up, but he just let loose and screamed the entire way down. There were four ladders (140 ft of ladders) like this, so it was really good times coming down.</td></tr>
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We made it though, and were fine. There was a lady there who apparently hadn't been drinking water. She also made it to the top, and then collapsed in a heap. Hopefully her trip down went a little smoother. It really wasn't that bad, and the view up at the top was very nice. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgACjhT1NPHssHNU2dMtAvsGd9jlDXUWy6Kd4I2CbjsvAyREhDk8PRWhU_Ek4_62owriBsK_QwS1DA9UpowAet5dLXrvTXL6vCAugtzGTYXlTs1RxvA6CV8wlNiDVAefjx1gg4MJ3OASeo/s1600/Bandelier16.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgACjhT1NPHssHNU2dMtAvsGd9jlDXUWy6Kd4I2CbjsvAyREhDk8PRWhU_Ek4_62owriBsK_QwS1DA9UpowAet5dLXrvTXL6vCAugtzGTYXlTs1RxvA6CV8wlNiDVAefjx1gg4MJ3OASeo/s400/Bandelier16.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyfAuOnWcVCBgSGqvVCuYMRpFC6BoQ749bSf2QU3CK2lizeWh2BVC6Qny7rXdj52gO2eRr6IeLSUOoDJzkNyJHpxTppIg2yFEcmdoLYpMBzAhqlTxk-0pdv_PKrUE-caUEl27o-ruVJpw/s1600/Bandelier17.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyfAuOnWcVCBgSGqvVCuYMRpFC6BoQ749bSf2QU3CK2lizeWh2BVC6Qny7rXdj52gO2eRr6IeLSUOoDJzkNyJHpxTppIg2yFEcmdoLYpMBzAhqlTxk-0pdv_PKrUE-caUEl27o-ruVJpw/s400/Bandelier17.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A view of the cliff dwelling at the top.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd_HZ-RTXQbF5J0gFRmHZHWJDt8UxtzYuWF9TSd0auSKxZTWEbqZRAnerUQP-dXkxJPzPr-Wda-AKg7sbPvw4NB-EeyQTQH3oTLG6wS_LWs2aTfkNunchcvDUwBzSQ6wLQex4aQAFgFe4/s1600/Bandelier18.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhd_HZ-RTXQbF5J0gFRmHZHWJDt8UxtzYuWF9TSd0auSKxZTWEbqZRAnerUQP-dXkxJPzPr-Wda-AKg7sbPvw4NB-EeyQTQH3oTLG6wS_LWs2aTfkNunchcvDUwBzSQ6wLQex4aQAFgFe4/s400/Bandelier18.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Another view from down below again.</td></tr>
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The trip down was pretty slow since we couldn't afford a misstep while carrying two little kids with us. By the time we were down and had eaten lunch we felt like the kids were tired, we still had a long drive to the hotel for the night, and time was running short. So we scratched the hike to the waterfall, and caught the next shuttle back to the visitor's center. </div>
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The hotel we had reserved was in Moriarty, which is just outside of Albuquerque. We planned on eating dinner there. That turned out to be a terrible decision. So...there's nothing in Moriarty that doesn't look scary from the outside. Okay, one Mexican place named Nachos looked like it might be okay, but it was also closing. We ended up paying an arm and a leg to eat at a truck stop diner. The food was just kind of okay. Next time we decide to say in the middle of nowhere we need to research food options in advance. After dinner we checked into our hotel and let Vivian have a very brief dip in the freezing cold hotel pool before we called it a night. </div>
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The next morning we attended church in a ward in New Mexico that was so friendly that they had Justin and I both thinking that maybe we'd like living there. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYmG_xratvpioUGfv_CePa7yseOvAvsQlZZpNmuFr4aVbLH8Dn9RCW_smnH1KL4v3Xtuboe2p-_I3sGLT0ILnsLeoGyU3gqyLAyvPp8IkcAbLtPO2ihgadOFJgkraZtV0usdxzD05RrR0/s1600/VandI.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1533" data-original-width="1600" height="382" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYmG_xratvpioUGfv_CePa7yseOvAvsQlZZpNmuFr4aVbLH8Dn9RCW_smnH1KL4v3Xtuboe2p-_I3sGLT0ILnsLeoGyU3gqyLAyvPp8IkcAbLtPO2ihgadOFJgkraZtV0usdxzD05RrR0/s400/VandI.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunday outfits, just because they look cute. Ivan had pants on, but he blew them out before sacrament meeting even started. They also weren't super cooperative for this picture, but I still think they look so cute in their little matching outfits!</td></tr>
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We were even more convinced later as we drove around Albuquerque, just checking things out. I've had Albuquerque on my bucket list for as long as I can remember. I think the name made it sound interesting, and that whole "Land of Enchantment" thing just made it seem even greater. Albuquerque didn't disappoint me. I mean it's a big city, so there were parts that I didn't love, but there were nice parts that were what I had always pictured. After our driving tour of Albuquerque we checked into our hotel and enjoyed some much needed time out of the car for the kids before we went to dinner at a restaurant across the street from UNM named Frontier. It's was definitely a win. We loved that one. <br />
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The next morning we got up early because we wanted to attend Memorial day services at the National Cemetery in Santa Fe. We'd left this day kind of open when we first decided to come to New Mexico. We formulated the idea of attending services there while perusing through things to do Friday night in our hotel room. I'm so glad that we did this. I'm glad despite the fact that the freeway was closed for an accident that morning and that Justin and I had a little bit of an exchange about how to navigate around the closed portion of freeway and back on again. I'm glad we did this despite the fact that we were late and therefore forgot sunscreen. And I'm glad that we did this despite the fact that we almost got in an accident parking the car, and that we had to hop a cemetery wall to get to the services. <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3VOKIaWNmHD1IiiMCZix2sEpiAJyfseg454MDNf6peLPm1Sc3uuoAu1v8hjiAm_d-bi1cmMmry1wNtr8CFyxVmsBnllpQNKGpuvdmktwN6A6ETNwSU9WmG5yF6xWfwzKkNSrc7gWNdZc/s1600/DSC_0837.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3VOKIaWNmHD1IiiMCZix2sEpiAJyfseg454MDNf6peLPm1Sc3uuoAu1v8hjiAm_d-bi1cmMmry1wNtr8CFyxVmsBnllpQNKGpuvdmktwN6A6ETNwSU9WmG5yF6xWfwzKkNSrc7gWNdZc/s400/DSC_0837.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT-G4JRxxZwlrkQeV2vu-OTsBcSx0lqrMCEhmwMAucKUe2K3PrrBGrhVYkLhr63S4rxJN7oLuI5_Fpn4H6Fhv6LXb9OQ88VjQdbaTIPPuKH8MpViT4v3MnNox-vsns-cZnZbQSc7MlF3w/s1600/DSC_0841.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjT-G4JRxxZwlrkQeV2vu-OTsBcSx0lqrMCEhmwMAucKUe2K3PrrBGrhVYkLhr63S4rxJN7oLuI5_Fpn4H6Fhv6LXb9OQ88VjQdbaTIPPuKH8MpViT4v3MnNox-vsns-cZnZbQSc7MlF3w/s400/DSC_0841.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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We missed the opening flag ceremony. The rest of the ceremony was great. I've truthfully never done anything to actually observe Memorial Day before now, so I don't know how the experience would compare. I just know that I found it to be very appropriate, touching, and inspiring. After the formal event we wandered around a bit looking at various headstones, and then set out on foot to the far reaches of this cemetery (that was way bigger than we initially realized) to the grave of the last of the original Navajo code talkers. We were tired, we were a bit sweaty, and were totally thrown off when we awkwardly arrived at the grave just a few seconds behind a woman who we assumed to be a relative. We retreated to give her a moment, but when she seemed like she was going to hang out there for a while I went and introduced myself to his granddaughter. She was very nice, and told us that "Grandpa always loved his visitors!" We had a nice little conversation with her, and she thankfully didn't think it at all odd that I wanted to snap a picture of her grandpa's grave. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOrMgHQJHmsV4MJWA0SmdYgZ_wJQZpCMgS-Hl_H91u_JK1ciTuPegNfziS1xeFNG1QmKi2YKy8Yd0gg2CFaeDRtRSGD_dfK9uKKS_XrFbAn1RAcecoP1-qKe_BBAHDZW4Nn_vngqAg7DU/s1600/DSC_0855.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOrMgHQJHmsV4MJWA0SmdYgZ_wJQZpCMgS-Hl_H91u_JK1ciTuPegNfziS1xeFNG1QmKi2YKy8Yd0gg2CFaeDRtRSGD_dfK9uKKS_XrFbAn1RAcecoP1-qKe_BBAHDZW4Nn_vngqAg7DU/s400/DSC_0855.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Unfortunately we were about three years too late. I would have loved to have met him in person.</td></tr>
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After that we spent a few hours wandering around the cemetery looking at other graves. We found a few other interesting ones: <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjBNMrEYtqfib4Vhc8qNoKK4V3AGMbWBY6cZJe6OSVv9jfSn6AdY3eAlfpIz_vVmLUI-f54dZZml97u9zYUK4v3fmbhI2_SrQlmQ2oTDdCGMkR7g09JNNTmgg1gxpdoFzgV_i-tIJ0tUU/s1600/DSC_0847.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1068" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgjBNMrEYtqfib4Vhc8qNoKK4V3AGMbWBY6cZJe6OSVv9jfSn6AdY3eAlfpIz_vVmLUI-f54dZZml97u9zYUK4v3fmbhI2_SrQlmQ2oTDdCGMkR7g09JNNTmgg1gxpdoFzgV_i-tIJ0tUU/s400/DSC_0847.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's not marked on his headstone, but he was also one of the original Navajo code talkers.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDjSMXuRRTSPocVu-uhFCXT1_h9xU8wikpuUzBxGW9VVwJQp1NDyCZ6CQ4IFgebKmt7scx7qxjgseFy9qvVi100VEPQij4dH-aPdbBLUFbcvVVXPZwaK5ZFe2Y6VHxSjVtKgudhqBHMf0/s400/DSC_0859.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I pray that I never experience anything like what this man did.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3kpVBPUQWOkay9AHRyosiJJBrQxdXxP4QwGXgyNBca3ahDl2xY-LHFuPNnq-LyCB-1X5KoXLqv8cUgdAYGP6CfucA5SuzTtPxCCxHi4E06UxI-71rGHXNr_YheShP8cBt9NRBvKwmYhs/s1600/DSC_0862.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3kpVBPUQWOkay9AHRyosiJJBrQxdXxP4QwGXgyNBca3ahDl2xY-LHFuPNnq-LyCB-1X5KoXLqv8cUgdAYGP6CfucA5SuzTtPxCCxHi4E06UxI-71rGHXNr_YheShP8cBt9NRBvKwmYhs/s400/DSC_0862.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...or this one.</td></tr>
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This cemetery has 10 medal of honor recipients in it as well: <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyYVKg4LUY7NggbOtEym82peaiv-BbCZzVHvjsggfcgDlBKKAEoJTd1U-JZSuLxtIuLMDu3yiPfChSgdSenNTQPpubgn8v_X0bzRi_kHFkqUivYiP5H3rqQcfb4VuSB3ZIspYFjG74BD0/s1600/DSC_0864.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyYVKg4LUY7NggbOtEym82peaiv-BbCZzVHvjsggfcgDlBKKAEoJTd1U-JZSuLxtIuLMDu3yiPfChSgdSenNTQPpubgn8v_X0bzRi_kHFkqUivYiP5H3rqQcfb4VuSB3ZIspYFjG74BD0/s400/DSC_0864.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcg-8gTGP36_juSk43QIfUIKUb34Of2nRzcvIvslJFRToPcyd2Gv8HdKu-xadSbiJqLvWxhzhKR4nReQoIqhRlywJ76HVMa6NRdduSoCRqER8wVOCBZu-wKHhDqtlVgnkntR0m9GG073E/s1600/DSC_0867.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcg-8gTGP36_juSk43QIfUIKUb34Of2nRzcvIvslJFRToPcyd2Gv8HdKu-xadSbiJqLvWxhzhKR4nReQoIqhRlywJ76HVMa6NRdduSoCRqER8wVOCBZu-wKHhDqtlVgnkntR0m9GG073E/s400/DSC_0867.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We intend to read more about these people later. This is when it would have been handy to have had a smart phone I guess.</td></tr>
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If you've never had the opportunity to visit a national cemetery, don't ever pass it up. I find these places to be really interesting, but there is also a really different, peaceful feeling in them. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji7d5b2185cuTniiX-36yGlZgEg82f2RHgrkJWAUUpxdjr3aHbejt10owB_f2qxt-mczfKzYHlDZEGUXqLbhtaSi6pW0NRRJaHGXQ7TXQdXKvop7f7IJ4hihbu1sn7yF_J0dAVLFlKxDU/s1600/DSC_0845.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEji7d5b2185cuTniiX-36yGlZgEg82f2RHgrkJWAUUpxdjr3aHbejt10owB_f2qxt-mczfKzYHlDZEGUXqLbhtaSi6pW0NRRJaHGXQ7TXQdXKvop7f7IJ4hihbu1sn7yF_J0dAVLFlKxDU/s400/DSC_0845.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7pISAq3QMF7N-s15cNR74fTdUHYFZETkSloE_nEOMu1eTz0rzwguvUDR6MOUEwN6J7QC30ptkIYVJr6ClF7-YdZXcD8SCrRseFH5ckdIsFU7ut257PgArY6tRvm1eSZDihQq3NzrfQVE/s1600/DSC_0849.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7pISAq3QMF7N-s15cNR74fTdUHYFZETkSloE_nEOMu1eTz0rzwguvUDR6MOUEwN6J7QC30ptkIYVJr6ClF7-YdZXcD8SCrRseFH5ckdIsFU7ut257PgArY6tRvm1eSZDihQq3NzrfQVE/s400/DSC_0849.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The grounds here were super nice</td></tr>
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When we were done here we got in the car and started the drive back to Colorado. We wanted to avoid traffic, so after having braved a little hailstorm that damaged our car (nothing too terrible though) we switched gears a little and headed out onto the plains in Eastern Colorado. We definitely avoided all the holiday traffic, and we thoroughly enjoyed our drive through the vast openness of the plains. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBCzxgWmo5jkQSorQfC7yA4YZq42Dpv7ohU_m1_uu106BCbp5l4Hspvyd7L5HZiSxttRQG8zyNvfbxFxK7RfXxnZ8GqPh4_8Y11aDJSuvExFlBvyetPz0UEobBwaSfhUDq_3T6PJH6Snc/s1600/DSC_0877.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBCzxgWmo5jkQSorQfC7yA4YZq42Dpv7ohU_m1_uu106BCbp5l4Hspvyd7L5HZiSxttRQG8zyNvfbxFxK7RfXxnZ8GqPh4_8Y11aDJSuvExFlBvyetPz0UEobBwaSfhUDq_3T6PJH6Snc/s400/DSC_0877.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">At a site for the Santa Fe trail</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrhdWFUL4LAjO3HRrUGOHclQGt6wnQsKk_1G1tbuTEiyiFgrDpvvKITooDGPgCrmy9VhVPNW-Eaod9_wdmDPPmNGu825HfLC3MRWKWWBE5R6OQ9nodVMjuLZJIm-knT2_q25QuIj1W7nc/s1600/DSC_0882.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgrhdWFUL4LAjO3HRrUGOHclQGt6wnQsKk_1G1tbuTEiyiFgrDpvvKITooDGPgCrmy9VhVPNW-Eaod9_wdmDPPmNGu825HfLC3MRWKWWBE5R6OQ9nodVMjuLZJIm-knT2_q25QuIj1W7nc/s400/DSC_0882.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He's still a momma's boy, but liking Dad more and more all the time.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFgbCt-B5DhoVUPiKPf3ldDTL3Hzo-WGraTXT6yhzCvhfBJquiWMCnLCQBhJfZPvjGFohVPTxqXOuTobpSeSYlrdhwuf0Pzp1sdUPtZk0bxWjVAjway9iH2K1Ty8sqYSj5T-sNjuWztHQ/s1600/DSC_0899.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1068" data-original-width="1600" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFgbCt-B5DhoVUPiKPf3ldDTL3Hzo-WGraTXT6yhzCvhfBJquiWMCnLCQBhJfZPvjGFohVPTxqXOuTobpSeSYlrdhwuf0Pzp1sdUPtZk0bxWjVAjway9iH2K1Ty8sqYSj5T-sNjuWztHQ/s400/DSC_0899.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I love my people</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She loves my wearing my shades</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">You can just make out a little bit of rainbow underneath the clouds</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunset on the plains</td></tr>
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We got home later than Ivan would have liked (he detests the car after dark), but we had a great Memorial day weekend in New Mexico, the land of enchantment!<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01189144134384732232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076870301541451612.post-75902972495637653652017-05-16T19:03:00.000-07:002017-05-16T19:03:20.384-07:00An Extended StayJustin got invited back to his internship in Colorado Springs again this summer. We were pretty excited about it, because we thought that for sure we'd get enough notice to find a nicer apartment than where we lived last year. We were wrong. His internship is getting cut short this summer for some additional Army training, so he requested to have the dates of his internship adjusted, allowing him to start earlier. It took <i>forever </i>to get them approved, and by the time they were actually finalized we were looking at the same kind of timeline we dealt with last summer. I will make a long story very short, and just say that after a <i>lot </i>of searching we are spending the next sixty days in an extended stay hotel. It's an interesting little adventure to say the least. More on that later though.<br />
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We left our apartment in Utah Friday afternoon after taking way too much time searching high and low for Justin's phone, which we never found. We decided to take it easy getting to Colorado Springs, and do some exploring on the way. Our first day of driving was the longest, and we decided to head towards Vernal, and camp in Dinosaur National Monument. There is a really beautiful campground there right next to the Green River. We stopped along the way to get a picture of Devil's Slide. I've seen pictures of it before, but I wanted to get a good look at it in person. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjercmD11IgP1BcJjnk-sLYSQMusWdKe8vGv-L99JdGewz2-SY3_TkkNcZzZikXPJO2M9l7X5ofI9y_HP70YonROEjOf8g1_nCTP1tNxU4fZ0fL9W2EGRMM8fQRIqAp7JS_NIWNVhReknE/s1600/DSC_0526.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjercmD11IgP1BcJjnk-sLYSQMusWdKe8vGv-L99JdGewz2-SY3_TkkNcZzZikXPJO2M9l7X5ofI9y_HP70YonROEjOf8g1_nCTP1tNxU4fZ0fL9W2EGRMM8fQRIqAp7JS_NIWNVhReknE/s400/DSC_0526.JPG" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It looks man-made to me, but allegedly it's not</td></tr>
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We should have stopped to take a picture of the wild horses that we saw out by Flaming Gorge, but that thought only came to me after I'd driven past them, so no pictures. Sorry, but they were beautiful, and there was something a little bit captivating about their wildness. We finally got to the campground that evening, and selected a site that was mercifully away from the river. I love the river, but I love my kids more. The night before we left Vivian and I had a little talk about staying away from it without Justin or I, and she seemed to get it, but what if she didn't? I don't want to be on the news sobbing about my missing toddler that got swept downstream in the spring runoff. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3QCH2PZMi8hOWMsw-aVzlY0v8cOwl2hRa_dNb3P6derzwtynHzluHBMD4D4c9f2Ed9dVm82jm4r0TUDA4rYyTOh6IgcvDi0J9Mz_CdwHRp1PyT95qI1ytbe2ZAWi0JVKdVlJ60_uNFWc/s1600/DSC_0531.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3QCH2PZMi8hOWMsw-aVzlY0v8cOwl2hRa_dNb3P6derzwtynHzluHBMD4D4c9f2Ed9dVm82jm4r0TUDA4rYyTOh6IgcvDi0J9Mz_CdwHRp1PyT95qI1ytbe2ZAWi0JVKdVlJ60_uNFWc/s400/DSC_0531.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view from our campsite</td></tr>
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Justin took Vivian down to the river as soon as we got there. Get the curiosity out of her system kind of approach. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It's really pretty down there, and some day when the kids are older and it isn't spring runoff I want to float it.</td></tr>
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While they were off doing that I had told Justin that I wanted to set up the tent alone, to see if I can so that I can take the kids camping while he's away at training. I'm pretty sure that two old guys lounging around in a nearby campsite got a good laugh watching me battle it out with the rainfly, but I eventually won out. So camping without Dad is an option this summer!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbjdCxzbvEwU_KkoDm656eupldh3PPEa_wu8dToE_hnDL4R3K3Wfy3Qs9TpCsF7eQhfrakggU4zscK2HmXEvZynvibRNdS4Pu5fka-JO7uox3XZc_dGHqzgTg4j6zSmISLuoMecTE6zAE/s1600/Vivianstickers.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbjdCxzbvEwU_KkoDm656eupldh3PPEa_wu8dToE_hnDL4R3K3Wfy3Qs9TpCsF7eQhfrakggU4zscK2HmXEvZynvibRNdS4Pu5fka-JO7uox3XZc_dGHqzgTg4j6zSmISLuoMecTE6zAE/s400/Vivianstickers.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She was repeatedly asked to stop laying in the stickers. She was covered in them.</td></tr>
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We had dinner and called it an early night, going down with the sun. We no longer all fit on the queen air mattress. I can sleep on the ground, but I've done that enough with the Army, so when I camp on my own I prefer to do it comfy style with an air mattress. Justin offered to take the ground, and weirdly Vivian insisted on joining him. We really didn't expect her to last down there very long, but she spent the night on the ground cuddled up to her dad. You won't ever find a bigger daddy's girl. It's very cute. The next morning Justin woke up in time for sunrise and snuck out of the tent early for some pictures. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The rest of us still woke up pretty early and we had camp packed up and were at the visitor's center by 0900. We initially wanted to do a little bit of hiking. We drove both cars here, so I left Justin in the parking lot with both kids in his car and ran inside for a map. While I was in line waiting for a ranger to assist me a man came through the front doors, walked up to me and asked if I was the owner of the CRV out there. I answered that I am, and he told me that it's unlocked and that he knew that it was unlocked because he was parked next to me, forgot something in his car, turned around and opened mine on accident. I told him that my husband is sitting in the car right next to it, and his response was "well he didn't say anything to me when I opened it." Justin reported that he did watch the whole thing happen, and his only remark was "yeah, it was weird." Glad he wasn't a thief I guess. </div>
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As it turned out the wind was kind of a problem that morning. It was so strong that just walking through the parking lot I could hear Ivan struggling to catch his breath, so hiking was ruled out. We settled for riding the little tram up to see the bones. Vivian loved it. She loved riding the "bus." She loved touching the dinosaur bones, and well...she played with the rocks in the exhibit. I'm pretty sure that's not something you're supposed to do in the exhibit, but she did. She wasn't hurting anything, so the only person that said anything was her dad when he spotted her creating a mound of little rocks on the walkway.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ivan struggling to get in his morning nap in the ergo.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The area where you're invited to touch a real dinosaur bones. Those rocks she is standing on are the ones that got piled onto the walkway.</td></tr>
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After that we returned to the visitor's center where I was again subjected to an odd conversation with the guy who got into my car. He approached to tell me that the first clue he had that he was in the wrong car is that my camelback is green, and his is blue. I would think that his first clue would have been the fact that my car was packed to the brim with stuff for the move, not that the camelback was the wrong color. Either way, I didn't really know what to say to him about it, so the conversation went nowhere. </div>
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We left the visitor's center and drove into the Colorado side of the monument. There are some really nice overlooks into a pretty spectacular canyon on that side. We've attempted to see it before, but we were turned around by the craziest lightening storm that either of us have ever seen. I was frankly nervous about repeating the experience this time, but aside from the ridiculous wind, the weather was fine. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlgDUaJDRoYVSHyFehg0HtQU6bxcXRSCmXymrShCMWeQa7sZb0CdAT_hbJSSd_xCOM-J2lIvWQorc1iV4GtQJIWW7khN1i_4cFotxIziHSCl9iVBgVtMHspHMqC3e3XB8qySAW91Or2a8/s1600/CoDNM2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlgDUaJDRoYVSHyFehg0HtQU6bxcXRSCmXymrShCMWeQa7sZb0CdAT_hbJSSd_xCOM-J2lIvWQorc1iV4GtQJIWW7khN1i_4cFotxIziHSCl9iVBgVtMHspHMqC3e3XB8qySAW91Or2a8/s400/CoDNM2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWPHp8PZqfI7LnmZ_Rv3auyOxpzQeikFWS5tYTetgYtCzIiUn0rJKsESL4XdgnVDhH1mNhDIbpWCDisOE4IDHuw3eX9pKT9LNBvw6Qn_xzmUUIdcdvnZlIP7gDKloKVLMOMh_7stU7gTk/s1600/CoDNM.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWPHp8PZqfI7LnmZ_Rv3auyOxpzQeikFWS5tYTetgYtCzIiUn0rJKsESL4XdgnVDhH1mNhDIbpWCDisOE4IDHuw3eX9pKT9LNBvw6Qn_xzmUUIdcdvnZlIP7gDKloKVLMOMh_7stU7gTk/s400/CoDNM.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vivian and I at the second overlook.</td></tr>
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That took up a huge chunk of our day. We ate lunch and then set off for Eagle, Colorado where we had a hotel booked for the night. On the way there we took a very little detour to Rifle Falls State Park. It was beautiful. You can tell that the area around the falls has been groomed and cleaned up a lot, but I think it's well done, and we enjoyed the break from the car. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQCbsqbT1djbGu0NwKQYq1eQ3U7QK5UMdtqXx5DnZyOVCeJOsXU5bhKhItqetlU9Wnae8xr83TY7i-_E0m0QNrpRfYYZn8MU8maPBzolRrtDMRd37eRF8M45J5SJ6QyTifdAyOO-J3Upw/s1600/RFres.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjQCbsqbT1djbGu0NwKQYq1eQ3U7QK5UMdtqXx5DnZyOVCeJOsXU5bhKhItqetlU9Wnae8xr83TY7i-_E0m0QNrpRfYYZn8MU8maPBzolRrtDMRd37eRF8M45J5SJ6QyTifdAyOO-J3Upw/s400/RFres.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We drove by this reservoir on the way out to the falls. The water color was really amazing.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There's a hike up to behind the falls</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOTh4gXa3XSI7ql6mKs-fy0iAU412v3I9Om_NWl1SkbTlQRMZg81sr9AdVWxlNEbYtqx9AesyWV1x0MjxkUjSERF1vKvPiWvwF-zqVV8Z9sPp7_neWsBQFWheP9_bVKnLjZIIM_PcBWO8/s1600/Rifle+Falls2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOTh4gXa3XSI7ql6mKs-fy0iAU412v3I9Om_NWl1SkbTlQRMZg81sr9AdVWxlNEbYtqx9AesyWV1x0MjxkUjSERF1vKvPiWvwF-zqVV8Z9sPp7_neWsBQFWheP9_bVKnLjZIIM_PcBWO8/s400/Rifle+Falls2.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUn1DUPG3DFyU1Rm75p1NbL_Infwp2hVJ848HuA9QzgV4WwjnJLNUVKbcmjS-ObA9U_0AYgOAKz6GnH6Ckdyk6cOeBcy85RMhCXIVl_v6IuZet-M5XGyFNUOPEOv2pzgEMkpKVSvNQLgc/s1600/Rifle+Falls3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="325" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgUn1DUPG3DFyU1Rm75p1NbL_Infwp2hVJ848HuA9QzgV4WwjnJLNUVKbcmjS-ObA9U_0AYgOAKz6GnH6Ckdyk6cOeBcy85RMhCXIVl_v6IuZet-M5XGyFNUOPEOv2pzgEMkpKVSvNQLgc/s400/Rifle+Falls3.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ivan found the water to be captivating</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmbmh9mrkh036H_i_q4QHzaDsZHGywOqZHdCCiDXBc-ciw3Tg1T95wdnNU8AbtkIHYYY_HhY3SSnOLlE1E7FQ32qr_oGZszuSNKgl4yttqNe59X24eV3z3HAsW07v9dd1CU1rOMf8HhI4/s1600/Rifle+Falls4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhmbmh9mrkh036H_i_q4QHzaDsZHGywOqZHdCCiDXBc-ciw3Tg1T95wdnNU8AbtkIHYYY_HhY3SSnOLlE1E7FQ32qr_oGZszuSNKgl4yttqNe59X24eV3z3HAsW07v9dd1CU1rOMf8HhI4/s400/Rifle+Falls4.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">There was also a hiking trail to the top of the falls where Justin practiced with different camera settings.</td></tr>
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We stopped for dinner, and rolled into Eagle, Colorado just after sunset. It was supposed to be a 3.5 hour drive from Dinosaur National Monument to Eagle. It took us all day. At that point we'd been in the car long enough to have driven to Colorado Springs and halfway back again. We knew that we were pushing our luck with the kids. We agreed that night that the next morning would be a straight shot to our extended stay hotel. </div>
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So that's what we did. We took our time getting out the next morning. Maybe that wasn't a great idea. We got stuck in traffic between Denver and the springs. All the same, we arrived late in the afternoon, and pulled into our home for the next 60 days. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpw9-8OPPXutuVxaFxglwxR828B0PQtA1CkwEFg32ufoVrCzyID9IlaKxwxsxZ7N8Sz5jdBZIIhkg8BAxz7NnPC5-P2SkbCuhbTiY2XaFMdqeYthwpvnpyL5-ORJ0jHNPZHLKnlcJUSTo/s1600/DSC_0736.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjpw9-8OPPXutuVxaFxglwxR828B0PQtA1CkwEFg32ufoVrCzyID9IlaKxwxsxZ7N8Sz5jdBZIIhkg8BAxz7NnPC5-P2SkbCuhbTiY2XaFMdqeYthwpvnpyL5-ORJ0jHNPZHLKnlcJUSTo/s400/DSC_0736.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Home Sweet Home</td></tr>
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The dirt parking lot (not sure that's really visible in the picture), and the sign from the fifties had Justin and I feeling a little uncertain about things. We kept kind of repeating back and forth to each other that it had great reviews online while we sat outside waiting for someone in the office to show up (they're closed on Sunday, so we had to call and wait for someone). The office did nothing to reassure me. When someone did arrive we were greeted into a dimly lit office that appeared to have a makeshift partition put up to block a view into a private residence. The guy behind the counter was bundled in a winter coat (it was probably 75 degrees outside), and the maintenance man could play a convict on TV with no problem. However, the "suite" is small, but super clean, and the maintenance man was extremely nice. One amusing feature is that our suite is equipped with only one knife: <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-aAKpwBj1mH4EuhVzTHcUWgABXBnfQd_2grACjTuo9WG_2kiHsHNorpwI4TpVnbPfZz2wfzZNRPvBl9BNc4WOKOHAauJZNQAIh9vxBJ206Q1YQc6oqEGmLbbOMpPqaVCAAMMli-XLcak/s1600/DSC_0734.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-aAKpwBj1mH4EuhVzTHcUWgABXBnfQd_2grACjTuo9WG_2kiHsHNorpwI4TpVnbPfZz2wfzZNRPvBl9BNc4WOKOHAauJZNQAIh9vxBJ206Q1YQc6oqEGmLbbOMpPqaVCAAMMli-XLcak/s400/DSC_0734.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I feel like a grill should be included if this is the knife that's being supplied</td></tr>
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My suspicion is that they bought one knife set and each suite gets one knife from the set. Lucky us, we got the meat cleaver! Thank goodness for the kitchen section of the Dollar Tree! Justin is outraged that their cable package does not include ESPN, but on the whole we're liking our extended stay.</div>
Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01189144134384732232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076870301541451612.post-208815195164958182017-05-05T18:23:00.002-07:002017-05-05T18:29:16.283-07:00Finals Week!This week was finals week at USU. However, thanks to Justin's choice in majors he had a bunch of papers to write, and only two actual finals. One final was Monday afternoon, and the last one was Friday morning. Justin repeatedly reassured me that the Friday final would be no big deal, and once he was done on Monday we could, and really <i>should</i> take the opportunity to go to Yellowstone and try and spot some baby animals. Ordinarily I would never agree to go further north this time of year and vacation in a place that still hasn't completely emerged from winter, but I have a weakness for baby wildlife, and so does Justin. <br />
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We arrived late Monday night in Gardiner, Montana during a little snowstorm and were optimistically planning for better weather the next day. We had already agreed that Tuesday morning there would be no alarm clocks, other than the two built in ones that we call "Vivian" and "Ivan." Thankfully they tend to be late alarms.<br />
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After an uneventful morning we left the hotel around 9am Tuesday morning and headed out to Lamar Valley. All of our research had directed us there for the best animal viewing. We've been there before with no luck, but this time our reading told us the earlier the better and to look for the wolf watchers. So we weren't especially early, and we really didn't know how to spot wolf watchers, but we were eager to learn. Our first stop turned was to watch a couple of baby buffaloes. We were thrilled to already be seeing baby animals.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihecU1m_252lo_XOh2AQ_SOBa3-W3AZaUEQGRXDNNFzzwNJgioasHRPPKEjxMusxfMWU1zgH4Fwn3L59gfRgCSYtdM_2cdeAgVzGcsLsyYA_OvGZobt3IEEu2o5WzUV8hUm1oKUuGrS0w/s1600/Baby+Buffalo1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="282" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihecU1m_252lo_XOh2AQ_SOBa3-W3AZaUEQGRXDNNFzzwNJgioasHRPPKEjxMusxfMWU1zgH4Fwn3L59gfRgCSYtdM_2cdeAgVzGcsLsyYA_OvGZobt3IEEu2o5WzUV8hUm1oKUuGrS0w/s400/Baby+Buffalo1.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We realized pretty quickly after this that you would almost have to try to NOT see baby buffalo in the park right now.</td></tr>
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Our next stop was to check out a park ranger with a spotting scope. It turned out that she was looking at some big horn sheep. However, while Justin was out there trying to ascertain what there was to see some guy drove up and reported that a grizzly bear had killed an elk "just a little further up the road." So we continued down the road to a spot that was crowded with people, unloaded the kids and found ourselves viewing a mother black bear with her two tiny cubs.<br />
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This clearly was not the grizzly bear feasting on a freshly killed elk, so we only watched for a few minutes, snapped a bunch of pictures and continued down the road. That man who first told us about the grizzly bear was sort of prone to exaggeration. It was miles further down the road before we saw the bloody elk remains laying by the river. A few people were still there chatting about the thrill of the sighting that we had allegedly just missed. We were quite disappointed. We spent a little while waiting to see if the bear would return for the rest of the carcass, but we weren't particularly patient and after a while we continued down the road again.<br />
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After a short drive we came across a group of people with spotting scopes out staring at a hillside that appeared to be pretty empty, but for a few buffalo. Justin got out of the car and inquired with the owners of the scopes. We had stumbled on the wolf watchers, and we discovered immediately that these are generally an extremely nice group of people. There's always at least one that will let you take a peak through their scope. That's how we were able to see the wolf on the mountainside that was nothing more than a speck to the naked eye. Here's the only photo we could manage:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVeZbgCVdem9x7yitE5hZHmlmIqLVVmvKiqli-EQrHIgcDyySzcMTPqo4cQavoLnd-YfUVBqqx5IUTc0OsubvETnS7V3rUf4cJzBXfbj7Xt41aaIpVg0xiu6hDhPJQia5jiDp5lChxKDw/s1600/Wolf.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="222" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVeZbgCVdem9x7yitE5hZHmlmIqLVVmvKiqli-EQrHIgcDyySzcMTPqo4cQavoLnd-YfUVBqqx5IUTc0OsubvETnS7V3rUf4cJzBXfbj7Xt41aaIpVg0xiu6hDhPJQia5jiDp5lChxKDw/s320/Wolf.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">That little black dot is a wolf stalking the baby buffalo on the left with it's mother</td></tr>
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It was pretty exciting. The wolf spotters are very devoted to their hobby. There was a little flurry of excitement over this wolf because nobody there seemed to recognize him. That's right, they know all of the wolves by name. His markings were apparently unfamiliar to the group. We chatted with them for a bit, but we really didn't have anything to add to the conversation. So after thanking them for sharing their find we returned to the car. We decided to drive back to the hotel for naps, and then we would comply with an earlier request from Vivian to visit Old Faithful. She fell asleep a few minutes after we left the wolf watchers, so we decided to let her just nap in the car on the way to Old Faithful.<br />
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The drive to Old Faithful took a full two hours due to road construction. There are major issues with that road following the winter storms. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I will probably never understand Justin's aversion to wearing a coat</td></tr>
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Old Faithful was...well just as I remembered it from the last time we visited. Vivian enjoyed it, and we stopped by Grand Prismatic Springs on the way back to the hotel for the evening. We almost lost Vivian to an Asian couple at Grand Prismatic Springs. They literally didn't speak a word of English, but motioned to us that they would like to take a picture of Vivian. They were elderly, and seemed pretty harmless so we didn't stop them. Then the woman picked up Vivian for the picture (amusing because Vivian was probably half her size), and we may have looked a little concerned, because when the wife then put Vivian down, but grabbed onto her arm speaking in a foreign language, like she was motioning her to come with her the husband stepped in and stopped her. I think he realized that we weren't going to be okay with that. Kind of funny though.</div>
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On the drive back to the hotel we got stopped by a buffalo in the road. It happens all the time in Yellowstone. It wasn't our first time encountering that, not even our first time that day. This particular buffalo had apparently had it with tourists though. As we went to creep by him, he sort of lunged at our car. I hit the brakes just in time and he missed us, but we waited until he decided to leave the middle of the road before we made another attempt at passing him, and it was a good 5 minutes before Justin and I had normal heart rates again after that.</div>
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Once we got back to the hotel we fulfilled an earlier promise to Vivian to take her swimming at the hotel pool. She had periodically inquired throughout the day as to when we would be returning to the hotel for a swim. There was pretty much no chance of getting out of that one. (We recently did a little stay-cation of sorts at a hotel in North Salt Lake and the zoo the next morning. We promised swimming, and then it turned out to be the most disgusting pool I've ever entered. However, Vivian loved it and now has learned that there are usually pools at hotels.) After our evening swim and dinner we found ourselves climbing into bed at a much later hour than we had hoped. We had discussed getting up at 4am the next morning, but by the end of the day I was exhausted, my children were exhausted and uncooperative, and it felt overly ambitious. Justin agreed to let that go, and we decided that we would set a later alarm and just play it by ear. </div>
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Ivan woke me up at 4:30, which he never really does and so at 4:45 I dragged myself out and Justin was eager to bounce out of bed with me and start rushing us out the door. Vivian did anything but bounce out of bed. At 5am she was laying on the hotel room floor ready to go, but crying that she was tired and wanted to lay back down in her bed. We almost called it, but in a moment of desperation I promised her that if she would come sleep in the car that we would come back for a real nap and swim again too. It worked. Justin told me that I should have just promised ice cream. Too late.<br />
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Our first stop that morning was a lookout where Justin snapped a few shots of the sunrise.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBi3hth_YAy_s6ivlJC2_Uyu75ovSG6bKPr02ji6_w5REUVPL9VWBzJGqwmCIA-SEo0eAeK6ZmMFCW_22pLvm640F0Ba9j3W751xz43-KRIbicvI7pLDPruQprbiUbg2AHkVSpFUl-IRM/s1600/Sunrise.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBi3hth_YAy_s6ivlJC2_Uyu75ovSG6bKPr02ji6_w5REUVPL9VWBzJGqwmCIA-SEo0eAeK6ZmMFCW_22pLvm640F0Ba9j3W751xz43-KRIbicvI7pLDPruQprbiUbg2AHkVSpFUl-IRM/s400/Sunrise.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Definitely worth the stop</td></tr>
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Then we continued on to Lamar Valley. It took us a few miles before we found the wolf watchers. We've discovered that they're always together because they carry radios. As soon as one of them spots something interesting they radio the others so they can all rush over and take a look. One of them was an older woman who offered us a peak into her scope at both a wolf they were watching (and knew by name), and a grizzly bear strolling about not doing anything particularly interesting. She told us that there had been other bear sightings further down the road that morning, so we continued on our way. We drove to the edge of the valley and saw nothing. We turned back around and drove clear to the other side. Still nothing. Although I did notice the wolf watchers from earlier in the morning dispersing. Justin was ready for breakfast, but on a whim I decided to take one more drive back through the valley. We only drove a couple of miles before we found the wolf watchers, and at least a dozen or so other people there on the side of the road watching the grizzly bear from the day before. He had returned to the elk carcass for another meal. </div>
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It was really spectacular, and in my opinion a bit unnerving. I'm terrified of bears, and I think if we had been the only ones there I would have been very wary of exiting the car for pictures. Okay, I still kind of was a little bit. The gathering crowd does offer a false sense of security to some degree. The guy next to us perched on top of his car, which seemed smart. The bear was about 30 yards away down a steep embankment, on the other side of the river, and completely engrossed in his meal, but that still felt very close to me. I stayed by the car the entire time watching and mentally preparing myself to dart back in if he looked like he might head my way or really even look my way. Justin on the other hand wandered off quite a ways for a better angle. I figured someone there probably had bear spray, but either way I'm glad he did. He managed video and literally over a hundred amazing photos. I think they're amazing, anyway. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjieRHeR1rEm8wJKIxI_8Od-QNwQnXfp6VlwISRa55UtQLPc_WBdB4D-WBm9wD4PgpLN5xeV3R3udwKaXd1aP_8mKSZdU96o6AbUi9OLEfIQqM-ECrk7pqGxIzMiFeUeCEumwtGe0VHaEg/s1600/Grizzly4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="276" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjieRHeR1rEm8wJKIxI_8Od-QNwQnXfp6VlwISRa55UtQLPc_WBdB4D-WBm9wD4PgpLN5xeV3R3udwKaXd1aP_8mKSZdU96o6AbUi9OLEfIQqM-ECrk7pqGxIzMiFeUeCEumwtGe0VHaEg/s400/Grizzly4.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">These are just a sampling. We have a LOT of pictures of this bear.</td></tr>
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We left while he was still eating. Justin seemed kind of disappointed that we weren't there for when he started walking away, but I'm not sorry at all. It was kind of surreal being there. I mean there were people there who were clearly a bit more serious about their photography:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB0XjI230Mtbc9PgyE1WO0uboXPxHxIfTaDXFR6kzTD6A1elVE36-WIrKQES5U3KV1ylrm7Jkv7bNWQ-0yZI4KFDEdafvwpAuiyc9s0kIqXb7Mlt1_uakKf5eSJu2e1vjfLGuw9ogZ8VE/s1600/DSCN6905.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjB0XjI230Mtbc9PgyE1WO0uboXPxHxIfTaDXFR6kzTD6A1elVE36-WIrKQES5U3KV1ylrm7Jkv7bNWQ-0yZI4KFDEdafvwpAuiyc9s0kIqXb7Mlt1_uakKf5eSJu2e1vjfLGuw9ogZ8VE/s400/DSCN6905.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Notice the guys over on the far right too. Venturing into the field. I would have never done such a thing. Ever. </td></tr>
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We left Lamar Valley feeling pretty pleased with ourselves, and grateful that we managed the early morning. We took forever getting out of the valley because we're a little afraid of the buffalo now. We found one frozen on the road while a pack of coyotes on the other side of the car were howling. it was all very interesting. Eventually we made it back and took our very tired daughter to breakfast, where she refused to eat anything, but did manage to drag Ivan's car seat off of the stand onto the floor, with Ivan in it...but hanging halfway out of it by the time he hit the ground. He was very wide-eyed, but didn't make a peep, unlike the waitress who came darting across the room screaming the Lord's name in vain, which I did not particularly appreciate. She was so embarrassed by the fact that she was the only one freaking out that she left for a minute. When she came back she appeared to be a little more composed and issued an apology to us for the overreaction. </div>
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After that we returned to our hotel room to look at our photos and congratulate ourselves on the morning's excitement. We all took a nap, and then returned to the hotel swimming pool for the promised swim. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidjzygth8nHotiCS_a2sAEMpAhvy_m-oerASOPZLKJ2sbAcbaMd2KrKuYtuNeV0BzLJs62sVDAsQXjZJZnxPQ__xSlpt5hraGtZhmA2D-BlgPjE1dFap6MsTYo5bC2mfhXT_5NkLS4eRg/s1600/Swimming1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidjzygth8nHotiCS_a2sAEMpAhvy_m-oerASOPZLKJ2sbAcbaMd2KrKuYtuNeV0BzLJs62sVDAsQXjZJZnxPQ__xSlpt5hraGtZhmA2D-BlgPjE1dFap6MsTYo5bC2mfhXT_5NkLS4eRg/s400/Swimming1.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She loves her new inflatable giraffe.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh67-j_2EAbOxKMamnSS96WQMdnkkFlmETwl3i4BZi7qwGxo7kz0rnOzy-cOMmG03a1ItR5p-0YTLhjKrX4hH3Xs3k99ZZKZzGQRcJmMjkYmtHI-xJ9vZKYxewsr_pwyuOLRIIV_MH_Ba0/s1600/Swimming2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh67-j_2EAbOxKMamnSS96WQMdnkkFlmETwl3i4BZi7qwGxo7kz0rnOzy-cOMmG03a1ItR5p-0YTLhjKrX4hH3Xs3k99ZZKZzGQRcJmMjkYmtHI-xJ9vZKYxewsr_pwyuOLRIIV_MH_Ba0/s400/Swimming2.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This one loves the pool.</td></tr>
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We're starting to realize that we're going to have to start planning more stuff like this into our vacations for the kids. It seems like Vivian is getting big enough that we're going to have to really start making these "family vacations," rather than just the Mom and Dad vacations that we usually take. </div>
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The rest of the day we returned to the park for a brief hike around Mammoth Springs, and another drive through Lamar Valley. We saw the mother black bear with her two babies again (climbing a tree this time), and a few buffalo. It all felt very uneventful compared to the morning's little photo shoot. We returned to the hotel feeling that our trip was a success. We saw a bald eagle, big horn sheep, black bears, grizzly bears, wolves, marmots, and sandhill cranes. On the drive home the next day we spotted a moose. A baby moose would have been even more exciting, but we still call this one a win. According to all the wildlife photographers and wolf watchers this is <i>the </i>time of the year to visit Yellowstone, and we tend to believe them.</div>
Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01189144134384732232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076870301541451612.post-91658132087945914122017-03-13T22:27:00.001-07:002017-03-14T12:47:54.952-07:00A Warm Weather BreakI do enough whining about cold weather that everyone who knows me is painfully aware of how I feel about living in Logan during the winter. Therefore, spring break is an extremely important vacation opportunity for me, one that<i> has</i> to involve warm weather. We started planning this trip last fall. We decided on Indio, California because it's all but a guarantee that the weather will be amazing. It would also put us in close proximity to Justin's Grandpa, giving him an opportunity to spend time with Vivian and Ivan. We invited Justin's brother Christopher with his wife Brooke, and their daughter Caroline to join us. We have been looking forward to this vacation for <i>months.</i> That's kind of a big deal for us, since most of our vacations aren't planned far enough in advance to be looked forward to for that long. This one is the exception. We were counting down the months, weeks and finally days as it got closer. We had drill the weekend before, and we had the misfortune of leaving from Orem last Sunday night after drill to drive to a hotel in Cedar City. The weather was terrible. For miles we crept along I-15 at 35mph while I wondered if we made the right choice leaving that night. The roads were covered in snow, the wind gusts were (according to warning signs along the freeway) 70+ mph, and the snow was coming down so fast that my visibility was zilch. The only thing I could see was the tail lights of the semi in front of me that I was following. Five long hours later we arrived in Cedar City, grateful to be there and not in some snowdrift on the side of the freeway. The kids slept the whole way there, and were up again at the crack of dawn. None of that was how I had hoped to start our relaxing spring break. However, the next day the drive was long, but went much better. We didn't arrive in Indio until almost 6pm. Christopher and Brooke had already spent the weekend in California. But, they were unable to meet us at the timeshare for a few hours because Caroline was being seen at the urgent care for hives from an allergic reaction. This is a game that we have also played on vacation, and it's not a very fun game. Thankfully, she was fine for the rest of the trip.<br />
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Our first day in Indio we spent most of the day just relaxing at the timeshare while Grandpa and his wife Linda visited with us. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">For some reason she thought it would be a great idea to just hold herself up with the handles, so Justin figured out a way to make sure she could do it without drowning. It apparently wasn't as much fun as she had envisioned since this position in the tube was abandoned pretty quickly.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sitting still in the tube isn't really her idea of a good time. It's more fun for her to be climbing all over her dad.</td></tr>
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The weather was almost too good to be true. It was in the high 80's and, the sky was cloudless. We had lunch outside on the balcony, and while the girls napped we got a chance to sit and visit with Grandpa and Linda. We took the kids to the playground for a little bit after their nap, and then Grandpa took us all to dinner before we had to say goodbye. Hopefully it won't be so long before we see them again next time!</div>
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We spent the next day at Seaworld. It took us a while to get there, and at one point I was certain that Justin had taken us there on the longest possible route, but I stand corrected. We spent the next several hours with Christopher and Brooke, dragging our daughters from one end of the park to the other to take in the sights of a Beluga whale, orcas, dolphins, a pair of walruses (my personal favorite), flocks of penguins, sea lions, seals, sharks, turtles, and fish.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vivian is fascinated with the turtles, and with this one the sentiment seemed to be mutual.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Checking out the sharks.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Drying their hands after washing up from feeding fish to the sea lions. There is a video, but it's too big to upload here, so check facebook for that.</td></tr>
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After a very full day of exploring the park we all loaded back into our cars and set off for Riverside for dinner with Justin's Aunt Melinda, and her husband Brian, and daughter Loren. The dinner was great, and it's always nice to see them and get a chance to catch up a little bit. When we left I think Vivian was asleep before the car even left the parking lot. We got back to the timeshare, and I was getting the little ones changed and ready for bed, so I was the last one ready. When I came in the bedroom for family evening prayers I found this:<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was the end of a very long day</td></tr>
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So it ended up being just prayers with Justin and I that night. </div>
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We slept with the blinds open while we were there, because it's so nice waking up to sunshine, especially when I live in a place where I have insulating curtains over all our windows. It also means that we wake up early. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sunshine isn't an effective alarm clock for everyone.</td></tr>
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We still managed to have a slow start to the day, but Christopher and Brooke didn't seem to mind. We spent another day just at the resort, hanging out at the pool and lazy river. This isn't our usual vacation style, but we enjoyed the change of pace. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I wish that I had thought to take a picture while Caroline was still in the pool with her dad, but by the time it dawned on me to get out the camera she was with Brooke and I lounging around in the pool chairs. </td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was really Ivan's first time enjoying the outdoors, and he is a fan.</td></tr>
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The next morning Christopher and Brooke had to return to Idaho for Christopher's drill weekend, and Justin and I set off for Joshua Tree National Park. We decided to try and tackle a 3 mile hike to an oasis. I was a bit concerned about the length since this was the first time that we were having Vivian hiking on her own without the backpack. My worries were unfounded. She loved it. In fact I had to keep asking her not to run on the way there. As we were nearing the oasis we got passed by a marine (easily identified as such because, although clearly off duty, he still insisted on wearing his tiny green PT shorts) who ran the entire thing up and back, apparently without twisting an ankle. As he was passing us again on his way out Vivian remarked "well that guy is running Mom..." I briefly wanted to stick out my foot and trip him just to prove to Vivian that it was a bad idea.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We need to find her a tiny camelback</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Finally arriving at the oasis</td></tr>
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Although she is a very good little hiker, Vivian's legs are still pretty short, so it took us quite a while to actually get there. In fact, I'm not sure that we had really thought that part through. Ivan was probably more relieved than anyone to arrive at the oasis and get a break from the baby carrier. <br />
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The oasis itself was not very big, so we didn't spend a ton of time there. Justin and I are always talking about how some day we want to go to Morocco and take a camel trip out to an oasis in the desert. This wasn't quite to the same scale as what we have in mind for that trip, but for now it will have to do. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Justin was brimming over with pride, so he insisted on stopping to take pictures of her hiking back out.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ivan and I preparing for departure.</td></tr>
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On the hike back out there was a rather lengthy, steep incline where Justin had to carry Vivian, but most of the hike she did on her own. It took us the better part of the day to complete, so next we decided to just move on to an area of the park where we could play around on some rocks.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Justin played with Vivian for a little while, and then came and took a turn with Ivan while I joined Vivian up on the rocks. This picture makes me think that my days as favorite parent might be numbered with this one too.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">As we were leaving we stopped to get a picture with this beautiful sunset. I love desert sunsets.</td></tr>
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Vivian was asleep the minute we got her in the car, and back asleep the second her head hit the pillow back at the resort. We left early the next morning and decided to detour back through the park. We stopped to take a few pictures along the way.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The wet weather has the desert flowers all in bloom.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Our traditional sign picture</td></tr>
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Unfortunately we missed a key turn on our route back to the freeway, and we wound up driving a much slower route, but the emptiness of the desert is beautiful in it's own way, and we weren't sorry to spend the extra time away from the frantic traffic. We made it back to Orem late that night, spent the night with my parents, attended church in their ward and arrived back in Logan Sunday evening. The weather here seems to have taken a turn for the better in our absence. While I would have liked another week, or two, or three in Indio, this definitely beats the temperatures of the past few months. <br />
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Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01189144134384732232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076870301541451612.post-52559090346934794502017-02-23T12:25:00.000-08:002017-02-23T12:25:07.956-08:00We Turned Five!This year over President's Day we celebrated our fifth anniversary. We decided several months ago that we wanted to take a trip somewhere for this break. We decided to take a camping trip to Valley of Fire State Park in Nevada. The forecast was reading sunny skies and warm temperatures, and we were counting the days and congratulating ourselves on finding such an ideal location. However, as the holiday got closer the weather forecast took a turn for the worse. A week or so out we were feeling pretty unhappy with weather reports for a gloomy, rainy, cold weekend all across the west. Not only did the weather seem uninviting, but a brief perusal of hotel rooms in the nearby vicinity made us realize that everyone on earth seemed to be planning a vacation in the surrounding regions that weekend too. Justin gave up and said that we should stay home. I decided to ignore his advice and figure something else out. I needed another break from Logan. The winter here is dreadful. After several failed attempts to find a place to go that wasn't going to break the bank, and wasn't already booked to capacity I finally settled on Miracle Hot Springs in Buhl, Idaho. I perused their website, read all about their little dome overnight accommodations and decided to just go for it. They were booked up, but the Banbury Hot Springs down the road is owned by the same company and they had a "bunkhouse" open for the same price as one of the camping domes. The person on the phone reiterated several times that I would still be allowed to swim at Miracle Hot springs. I booked it. When Justin got home I announced to him that we would be spending Friday night at the hot springs, and the rest of the weekend in Boise visiting his family, assuming they were open to hosting us. Thankfully Justin and my in-laws seemed okay with this plan. <br />
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Immediately after I made the reservation both of our cars broke down. It's like our cars sit out there and conspire against us, choosing to have issues at the same time. We got ourselves a rental car, but the only one that was available was a Jeep Patriot. This was not our first choice, but it was what they had available, so we took it and Friday afternoon we set off for Buhl, Idaho. We had just exited the freeway when Justin dropped the directions to the hot springs between the two seats. He asked me to reach between the seats to see if I could retrieve them. I couldn't, because my ring was getting in the way. I went to take off the diamond, but accidentally pulled the wedding band off too, which slipped off and immediately fell into the emergency brake. Okay, that doesn't seem like a big deal, but it was because it fell <i>into</i> the emergency brake. I didn't even know such a thing was possible. It was quite upsetting. In the end the car rental place took it to a mechanic who ripped apart the middle console, couldn't find it and said that to continue retrieval efforts they would have to dismantle the brake at a cost that did not seem reasonable. Additionally there was still a possibility that the ring had actually fallen out of the car. We decided that it made more sense to just replace the ring. It wasn't quite how I had planned to celebrate five years of marriage. I guess nothing will say "I still love you five years later" like a new wedding ring. Besides, I'm starting to consider this an opportunity to replace it with something a little fancier this time. We will see...<br />
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The good news is that I was able to get the directions out and despite a key road closure due to a collapsed bridge, Justin still navigated us to the bunkhouse at Banbury Hot Springs. The bunkhouse was actually pretty great. It was small, but so is our little family. It's equipped with a space heater, so we turned that on to get the place warming up and left to go check out the hot springs. I could instantly see why the reservation clerk had emphasized repeatedly that we could still swim at Miracle hot springs. I'm sure Banbury is fine, but Miracle is much nicer. We decided to go that route. If you're staying at the resort the swimming fee is included. However, for an additional $4 we could book an hour in a "private pool." We decided that we should try that out, see how it goes. So we did, and we're not sorry. Now when they say "small private pool" they do mean small. You're not going to be doing any kind of laps in this pool. <br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ivan spent most of our hour quietly napping on the bench of our private dressing room.</td></tr>
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The water was probably a little warmer than I would have liked. Allegedly you can adjust the temperature, but we didn't really know what we were doing, so we didn't attempt to mess with it too much. Aside from that, it was about 40 degrees outside and there was ice cold rain coming down making the warm water feel even better. However, it was much too warm for little Ivan, so he ended up on the sidelines for this adventure.<div>
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After our hour in the private pool we went over to the large public pools. There are four of them, at varying degrees of warmth. Justin and Vivian spent the evening playing around in the coolest one, which is neck deep on me, and perfect temperature for small children. Had the temperature outside not dropped into the 30's I probably would have taken Ivan in with me. After the sun went down the whole place got incredibly steamy, and it was actually hard to even see what was going on in the pool at all from my spot on the bench with Ivan. Justin reported to me later that the pools turned into a big makeout spot as it got darker. Nothing about that is shocking, but the part that left us surprised is that these PDA offenders looked to be in their fifties. Late fifties. Not just one couple, several. All over each other according to Justin. There in the midst of them was Vivian in her little water wings splashing around with her dad. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4tks8AKA0L35QoiuhgF8Sxlv8ztyGbaMqJ7rKHoQp2Jq07xI-6tZfCdEHPziggBtoYrTovrnZjNVni9CrJtH99ufTAnEB39hhQbK0xSps9qSCTsD73a6nEyUz1-ATAhIO4Upvwpwrr1U/s1600/DSCN6553.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4tks8AKA0L35QoiuhgF8Sxlv8ztyGbaMqJ7rKHoQp2Jq07xI-6tZfCdEHPziggBtoYrTovrnZjNVni9CrJtH99ufTAnEB39hhQbK0xSps9qSCTsD73a6nEyUz1-ATAhIO4Upvwpwrr1U/s400/DSCN6553.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ivan and his dad in the dressing room </td></tr>
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Justin and Vivian seemed to thoroughly enjoy their evening in the pool. We finally left and got Justin's birthday dinner (I guess I should add that his birthday is the day before our anniversary) at what I believe to be the only steakhouse nearby, the Snake River Grill, and it was surprisingly good. </div>
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Our night in the bunkhouse was uneventful. It was situated out in the campground area, away from any other buildings or people, which did give it kind of a weird vulnerable feeling, but we kind of enjoyed the isolation. The next morning we returned to Miracle Hot Springs to check out their resident alligator. Vivian had been begging to see it ever since we'd made mention of it the previous day. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi0c_uWCXAJ3mF2SFORx_25lXnukwhPdZtvGZVXZxj1bT2kT2EsPx1GAFkO3h5mzchGYSzUA-X8nw-4E2kd2Hx1IwcU31bSdCX1tjP7mt5-hmj2zUIfy6yjEhZW_5yNhZaUDt5lqP63HE/s1600/DSCN6554.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhi0c_uWCXAJ3mF2SFORx_25lXnukwhPdZtvGZVXZxj1bT2kT2EsPx1GAFkO3h5mzchGYSzUA-X8nw-4E2kd2Hx1IwcU31bSdCX1tjP7mt5-hmj2zUIfy6yjEhZW_5yNhZaUDt5lqP63HE/s400/DSCN6554.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">that's one of the camping domes in the background. They looked pretty nice. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn-Yk0EBYLhRDbXNuUr21brvJyuZpTrf7cz3kDCbGCiC0UWIVdCgCuSYyXKzQoj6DTPiq6gr5LirpBOxH0sGUT9nBpaZ4Xc4MOHMmOLSRzJNLKoMrPtDb5LTezm9rnbqFmXII5_HxoRLo/s1600/DSCN6555.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn-Yk0EBYLhRDbXNuUr21brvJyuZpTrf7cz3kDCbGCiC0UWIVdCgCuSYyXKzQoj6DTPiq6gr5LirpBOxH0sGUT9nBpaZ4Xc4MOHMmOLSRzJNLKoMrPtDb5LTezm9rnbqFmXII5_HxoRLo/s400/DSCN6555.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She wanted to know why the alligator was smiling at her. </td></tr>
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After that I took a turn splashing around in the pools with Vivian and we learned that the best time to visit these pools is <i>early. </i>The pools were pretty empty when we first arrived around 9am (they open at 8am), and by the time we left an hour later the number of people there had easily tripled and there were more arriving all the time. <table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimPxOOLeri9jhAZsN0CEylbFLU3Zi8w8ja2h3-x4RWdlDzScRUkI_WoK3dOTjwXvhJyecqDwcxZHIDQasCcD-FUXF3suFYHwWGsYtp0GDoDngj6WeFhL6WYxnqUWJDlo9rn0jTy_K8qgI/s1600/DSCN6558.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimPxOOLeri9jhAZsN0CEylbFLU3Zi8w8ja2h3-x4RWdlDzScRUkI_WoK3dOTjwXvhJyecqDwcxZHIDQasCcD-FUXF3suFYHwWGsYtp0GDoDngj6WeFhL6WYxnqUWJDlo9rn0jTy_K8qgI/s400/DSCN6558.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In one of the smaller, warmer pools that Vivian liked because there was a bench that she could roam around on without having to be clinging to me the whole time.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS23HL99HtJRz-n2s8r5vesEJL5qEAsinZdRjQRxuHBz1yRmBFZ4p2TcOF2FKxoh0CpwDZgSHSmR-FMW7JP_IiFjDPuULDa-kGOOdcAbNSKSk7eTRR0yPGPYqEYuLFFMuCwNbQTwqwV44/s1600/DSCN6562.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgS23HL99HtJRz-n2s8r5vesEJL5qEAsinZdRjQRxuHBz1yRmBFZ4p2TcOF2FKxoh0CpwDZgSHSmR-FMW7JP_IiFjDPuULDa-kGOOdcAbNSKSk7eTRR0yPGPYqEYuLFFMuCwNbQTwqwV44/s400/DSCN6562.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">In the biggest pool<br /></td></tr>
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It's not our typical vacation destination, but we definitely enjoyed it. The subsequent visit to Boise provided a perfect escape for the holiday weekend. I've warned Justin to prepare himself because this will not be the last time I drag him out to a hot springs destination. I have already been plotting a visit to Crystal Hot Springs in Honeyville, Utah. I've heard nothing but rave reviews about the experience, and I can't wait to send Vivian down their water slide. It's proximity to Logan makes me view it as a "must" while we are still living here.</div>
Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01189144134384732232noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076870301541451612.post-67654488970994062072016-12-24T22:16:00.001-08:002016-12-24T22:16:52.740-08:00How to Survive the WinterAs mentioned in a previous post, we've been dealing with a bad case of cabin fever at our house. We've been shuttered inside with a tiny new baby, a toddler who has been going kind of crazy, and freezing temperatures outside. A visit to the physical therapist has me mostly walking like a normal person, from one side of the apartment to the other. It's been driving me crazy, and Justin crazy, and Vivian...poor Vivian. We knew the situation had become desperate one evening when Vivian started racing back and forth between the living room and kitchen at full speed while screaming at the top of her longs. Justin stopped her and asked what she was doing, she looked at him, and without a hint of anything but sincerity responded "just running back and forth screaming." Justin and I looked at each other, and right there I think we were both game planning a vacation, because this sitting at home thing just wasn't working out. <div>
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The next day we took a quick trip to Orem to see my family, and give Vivian a chance to play with her cousins. She loved it. It was not a fix to our problem. We had to return to Logan for Justin to finish up his last few days of finals. We attempted to fill our down time with shopping trips, and...okay, just shopping trips, because 1. we live in Logan, and it's very boring there in the winter. 2. the limited indoor activities that are available to small children are germ fairs, and I can't send Vivian there to pick up every nasty little bug in town and bring it home to her tiny brother. So instead we've traversed every single aisle of our local Sam's Club, and Walmart, and the entire expanse of the Logan mall. The mall is tiny, and can be explored in it's entirety inside of a couple of hours. I know, because I've done it. More than once. </div>
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We took Vivian to a live nativity program, complete with sheep and a donkey. She loved it. It was ten degrees outside, it wasn't all that exciting, and the best part was the refreshments afterwards. We loved it too, we were frozen, but we were outside! Only for five minutes or so, since the majority of the program took place inside the warm chapel. We drove around the valley looking for Christmas lights. We found some decent displays. We loved it, because we were doing something besides sitting at home, but the kids...yeah, it was definitely the kids, were crabby and so it was sort of short-lived. We came home, we booked ourselves in for three nights at the timeshare in St. George, and called my parents to announce that we would be spending Christmas Eve with them on our way back to Logan. We called Justin's parents to announce that we'll be visiting them next in Boise. We started packing. Finals were done, there just wasn't any reason to stay in that situation. I've decided the key to surviving winter in Logan is to leave Logan as much as possible.</div>
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We made our escape Sunday evening. Justin had a couple of drill days to make up from missing them for Ivan's birth (I just get to have them excused since I actually gave birth). Since we were in Orem for a few days, Justin used the chance to take Vivian to a BYU basketball game. They returned home happy, thrilled really, to have been out and about having fun outside of the house. The next day we headed to warm, sunny St. George. It was not warm, and it was not sunny in St. George. It was cold and overcast. We spent the first evening settling in, and watching BYU win their bowl game in a downpour. The next day that storm moved into St. George. We are not that easily deterred. We loaded up the kids and drove to Zion National Park. It was cold, it was wet, and rain had not been in the forecast. We had nothing waterproof. However, Zion is always beautiful. Always. We drove from one end of the canyon to the other, and out through the tunnel and back in again, taking in all the waterfalls, and the colors that are twice as vibrant when wet. We attempted a hike, but we had nothing waterproof to shield Ivan from the cold rain, so a short way down the first trail we thought better of it and cut things short. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipdABvqpsxTIll72_RG3oJTEDnyw7VHbnET49eMPpTvpxR4u2gSby-nlvBAjFQCVV1ZsqRjVdAi8zzx0a4BJjFG6DeY7tR_mliPoeYRgf01SESEWeKNo2eaNVsQOuOCN_37Xp0YPD29Ko/s1600/DSCN6331.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipdABvqpsxTIll72_RG3oJTEDnyw7VHbnET49eMPpTvpxR4u2gSby-nlvBAjFQCVV1ZsqRjVdAi8zzx0a4BJjFG6DeY7tR_mliPoeYRgf01SESEWeKNo2eaNVsQOuOCN_37Xp0YPD29Ko/s400/DSCN6331.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTij8GVqWEBtKlrzP6lSV7_plSiLsWIxPK65Rn11upEndw1XC6Jg6J_Pz-mB_VZ7sAnFUH3DrjjqkRxbVYPi4VePC-1Ss7erwnakuBCoMKXZo5kAh15SD6yDV3vWehTZQH4AomhVehcWA/s1600/DSCN6334.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiTij8GVqWEBtKlrzP6lSV7_plSiLsWIxPK65Rn11upEndw1XC6Jg6J_Pz-mB_VZ7sAnFUH3DrjjqkRxbVYPi4VePC-1Ss7erwnakuBCoMKXZo5kAh15SD6yDV3vWehTZQH4AomhVehcWA/s400/DSCN6334.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ivan is a big fan of me. He just sort of tolerates his dad...sometimes.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was during lunch in the car, to stay dry.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vivian was loving the experience</td></tr>
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During this lunch break I went to change Ivan's diaper as he was stretched out across my lap. It was all going so well. I was just finishing up when he suddenly experienced an explosive poop. Justin sitting next to me in the passenger's seat was covered. He was too shocked at first to do anything but just sit there stunned, and then laugh, and then use dozens of wet wipes to wash off himself and everything in the nearby vicinity that was doused. My little Ivan looked very content and happy with himself. <br /><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEIAqBaEit4PwnJQyEgtQ0K_1hpbi8MMrQo_gZHVqx2vqj32ZLFkuDLiJX8sMhEZ8PaqcrUoGqA0j58K-S-gfYuyUKMhQs4Stg3oPvOw3u5rmlKPpqc_27BsQ3bN40EXP_pa7wKcLTP4M/s1600/DSCN6360.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjEIAqBaEit4PwnJQyEgtQ0K_1hpbi8MMrQo_gZHVqx2vqj32ZLFkuDLiJX8sMhEZ8PaqcrUoGqA0j58K-S-gfYuyUKMhQs4Stg3oPvOw3u5rmlKPpqc_27BsQ3bN40EXP_pa7wKcLTP4M/s400/DSCN6360.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Prior to our attempted hike. It was only sprinkling lightly.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We can't catch the colors well, this doesn't do it justice.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWSmxpmlPiIdUY0UDhqjK8wNzY6DI5cwWSwT9K5XOHuFHH0EDGYyiTZVSVRWgunl3doxNANRH7MHHtSa0dVQAmynlUpDN9aBeP1X5ec3Nmf6NSg8VYFJp4-iiijWGHI3zlj-jgk-FJn1k/s1600/DSCN6379.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhWSmxpmlPiIdUY0UDhqjK8wNzY6DI5cwWSwT9K5XOHuFHH0EDGYyiTZVSVRWgunl3doxNANRH7MHHtSa0dVQAmynlUpDN9aBeP1X5ec3Nmf6NSg8VYFJp4-iiijWGHI3zlj-jgk-FJn1k/s400/DSCN6379.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A little family photo. It was raining pretty hard, so Ivan is just a little bundle.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyf5DVrKG-JBZDWqcTpXSAzeME21eo555Uk3vWaHYCf9sQ_xmryl2oMY7wYO4yFiQdp4BYLPnOa9OvM3VrgbU8CbFNa6mc99jd0xp0JvMDvyk6Ge1xE93Rc5UuDgMVL4C6X-yYiThenQg/s1600/DSCN6380.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyf5DVrKG-JBZDWqcTpXSAzeME21eo555Uk3vWaHYCf9sQ_xmryl2oMY7wYO4yFiQdp4BYLPnOa9OvM3VrgbU8CbFNa6mc99jd0xp0JvMDvyk6Ge1xE93Rc5UuDgMVL4C6X-yYiThenQg/s400/DSCN6380.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Raindrops on the lens, but the canyon was amazing in the rain.</td></tr>
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Even in the freezing cold rain, and from the confines of our car, Zion is spectacular, and I still love being there. It was still pouring rain when we called it for the day and headed back to St. George.</div>
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The next morning we got a late start. This happens a lot with a newborn it seems. We're ready to leave, and Ivan needs to eat. We're ready to leave and he blows out a diaper. We're ready to leave and he wants to eat again. We're ready to leave and Vivian needs a diaper change. It went on and on like that for a while that morning, but we were eventually able to actually leave. We headed straight to Snow Canyon State Park. My family used to vacation there when I was younger, but I haven't been back on my own, so it's been years. Why has it taken me so long to come back? It's more beautiful than I remember. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Still no sun anywhere to be found, but at least it wasn't raining.</td></tr>
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It was still very cold, with a strong canyon wind, but we bundled up Ivan and decided to take the chance to tackle a couple of very short, easy hikes. The first one was a little slot canyon, with a nearby overlook. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She was unhappy about the idea of returning to the car.</td></tr>
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Next we drove over to the petrified dunes and let Vivian play around on the slick rock. It was really windy up on the rocks though, so our time there was a bit limited. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">It was beautiful, and worth braving the cold.</td></tr>
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We called it and returned to the timeshare for Vivian's nap. During her nap I turned on the TV to check the weather reports for the trip home the next day. The first weather report was not encouraging. A few minutes later they repeated the weather with the forecast adjusted, and it sounded even more worrisome. When they repeated the weather a third time the weather man stated that for people planning on driving I-15 in Southern Utah to a Christmas destination, "if you haven't left yet, leave <i>now.</i>" We debated whether or not this applied to us. At first we decided that it did not. After thinking it over, and considering the fact that we now have a 2-year old and 3-week old in tow, we reconsidered and decided that it did in fact apply to us. Justin started loading the car. When Vivian woke up we explained to her that there was a little change of plans. We told her that we wouldn't be going to see the nativity with real camels after all, but we could still go see the temple lights before we started the drive back to Grandma and Grandpa's. We offered her french fries for dinner as a consolation, and she was easily persuaded. World class parenting. </div>
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We cruised back to the parents on clear roads. We got in late, but without incident, and judging on some of the weather reports we saw today, it seems like we made the right choice. As Justin pointed out, even if the storm hadn't ever amounted to anything, we have two very small people counting us, which still made it the right choice. We're still not ready to just be stuck at home, so next up we'll recharge a bit, give the kids a break from their car seats, and then see if we can't find a break in the snow to make our way to Idaho.</div>
Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01189144134384732232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076870301541451612.post-32506989705458413732016-12-11T23:24:00.000-08:002016-12-11T23:32:54.506-08:00The Four of UsOn December 2nd we became a family of four. This time we welcomed a little boy. He came much earlier than I had really anticipated at 38 weeks and 5 days. Vivian was late, so I was expecting to get at least one more week of prep time before my doctor wanted to induce me. Thankfully, my mother-in-law arrived here early to watch Vivian, just in case. She was only here a day when my water broke, and Ivan Wesley was born a mere four and a half hours later. I don't really know what we would have done with Vivian had Michelle not arrived when she did. I guess Justin would have stayed home and I would have gone in myself, and prayed that someone from Orem could make it up here to take over for him? I don't know, and I'm just glad that was a bridge we didn't end up having to cross.<br />
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I've heard that boy babies are so much harder than baby girls. Harder in that they don't sleep. I told myself that if we had a boy I needed to prepare myself for being tired and crabby all the time. So here we are a week into life with my tiny baby boy and, knock on wood, but we're all getting plenty of sleep. This kid is such a good baby that he makes me rethink my earlier claims that Vivian was easy. He eats well, he sleeps well, and he smiles. I rarely hear him cry. Okay, actually he cries each and every time I change his diaper. Generally speaking though, in his waking hours he just lays there watching us, and making occasional soft little grunts and cooing noises. He sleeps so well that I have panicked at the doctor about it and received instructions to wake him every four hours at night to feed him. The doctor has concluded that my milk must be very rich, hence the long sleep hours, and that Ivan's gaining weight at an exceptional rate, and doing great. We're just hoping that this pattern continues. So far the hardest part about having a baby boy is that this kid pees out everything. <i>Everything. </i>I sometimes wonder why we're even bothering with a diaper at all, the containment appears to be extremely limited, limited as in non-existent. </div>
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Now as for the rest of us, we've hit a few bumps in the road. Justin is finishing up the semester. We had hoped that school would be done by the time the baby arrived, but Ivan had his own plan. So Monday morning Justin was gone by 5:40am, and thankfully Andrew's wife Kate volunteered to come up from Draper and spend the day helping me out with Vivian. Tuesday we were on our own, and it went okay, but for the fact that I have this weird issue where my pelvis gets twisted. It happened after I had Vivian but it's worse this time. Sometimes it's very hard to walk and I find myself staggering about the house like a 90 year old woman. I had to call Kate and ask her to come back to help out on Wednesday again while Justin was gone all that day too. In the midst of all of this is poor Vivian. Her world has been turned upside down. She's trapped at home, inside all day, sharing attention with a tiny baby, from a mother that moves like pond water. However, Justin's classes are done, he's got one final this week, and we're already starting to plot out our escape options from the onset of a case of cabin fever.Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01189144134384732232noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3076870301541451612.post-17649940544030085172016-12-10T13:13:00.002-08:002016-12-10T13:13:45.520-08:00Bidding Farewell to "Colorful Colorado"At last our summer in Colorado was coming to an end. We still had a long list of things we wanted to do and places we had hoped to visit, but time ran out faster than the list. However, Justin's internship there went well, so well in fact that they invited him back for next summer. (We'll have to see how that works out with his ROTC training schedule.) So we optimistically tell ourselves that we'll be back again next year to finish off that list. It's a cautious optimism though, since really our plans for our future seem to be ever-altering and adjusting. We're to the point where we hardly bother trying to guess where we'll find ourselves next, but rather just trust that wherever it is, it's for our best. <br />
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All that in mind, we knew that we had to leave as soon as the internship ended to head back to Utah and finish up some make-up drills before school started for Justin. His last day was a Friday, and the way we figured it, that gave us the chance to leave Colorado Springs Friday and make one little stop on the way back to Utah. We had wanted to visit Colorado National Monument, just outside of Grand Junction, for a long time, and this was probably our best chance. I spent the last few days in the Springs packing and cleaning, and shortly after Justin was released from work Friday afternoon we cleared our apartment and said goodbye to Colorado Springs.<br />
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We spent the night in a hotel in Glenwood Springs that night, and the next morning we drove into Colorado National Monument, reassuring ourselves that this would really only take a couple of hours to do it justice. My first thought on exiting the car is that it might really only take 15 minutes. How did I not think this through enough to realize that it would be blazing hot in August out there in the desert? I don't know, but it was miserable hot. Truthfully I was feeling ready to call it right there, but I'm always grateful, after the fact, for a husband who is undeterred by my crappy attitude and insists that we forge ahead. <br />
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We found the trail head where several hikes we'd read about started, and after some deliberation selected a hike and started down the trail. We were about 5 minutes into the hike before we realized that Vivian was in need of a diaper change and there wasn't a place aside from the middle of a sandy trail anywhere in sight where we could conduct one. On the way back to the car I felt some irresistible urge to argue with my husband about the hike we were getting ready to do. Maybe we can blame this on the pregnancy? The heat? The smelly diaper? I don't know, but he blames it on me being deaf and inattentive while he was trying to review all the options with me earlier. Fair point. Either way, we got the diaper changed, agreed on a hike, this time with my full participation, and set off towards Devil's Kitchen.<br />
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The hike proved to be a little bit harder than we'd expected, mostly because it was so hot out there, and I move super slow when hiking pregnant. <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlX3ZPDGn7uRCLvSNROVy8vA6A-c1ZCVXjdzovuGwBFFi0YnM1mnQFI-MS7fuswjl2hnhBHrOzqqcbiuwkx5d8X9kRxNTN5Gygt6NslUpYq7M_mIaG6hpIRQ4ItAiI5vVZZiCR1DzWdsU/s1600/DSCN6048.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlX3ZPDGn7uRCLvSNROVy8vA6A-c1ZCVXjdzovuGwBFFi0YnM1mnQFI-MS7fuswjl2hnhBHrOzqqcbiuwkx5d8X9kRxNTN5Gygt6NslUpYq7M_mIaG6hpIRQ4ItAiI5vVZZiCR1DzWdsU/s400/DSCN6048.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From the trail head</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Approaching Devils Kitchen</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTL5IEUJ3buHoD5QArYR_tOJg__tv2oep2mIVD7wuENccP9NwYNCCWrjTzECqv_QfLlr7f8CEAs7SR7GKM0umYQ7e8s04n3EBPZIJFyI-EwOsXbqsVTmUel2I7MDFlY6nmd9rb52PdzGg/s1600/DSCN6059.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTL5IEUJ3buHoD5QArYR_tOJg__tv2oep2mIVD7wuENccP9NwYNCCWrjTzECqv_QfLlr7f8CEAs7SR7GKM0umYQ7e8s04n3EBPZIJFyI-EwOsXbqsVTmUel2I7MDFlY6nmd9rb52PdzGg/s400/DSCN6059.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The view of the sky from inside of Devils Kitchen, just to show how narrow it was inside of there.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbvR2NKpQ07UXH-MNb9aqOkf3_LRv9uDcTNERUxm6xqrgpkAPE2yPID9ivmSaaphZecbQJNvDouLQyzGK-fkStLPq4QfdrK-91m2PqfVejX0NC2P9DZM7NijLPmArqrBoHx18WxLno_q8/s1600/DSCN6060.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbvR2NKpQ07UXH-MNb9aqOkf3_LRv9uDcTNERUxm6xqrgpkAPE2yPID9ivmSaaphZecbQJNvDouLQyzGK-fkStLPq4QfdrK-91m2PqfVejX0NC2P9DZM7NijLPmArqrBoHx18WxLno_q8/s400/DSCN6060.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My people at the entrance.</td></tr>
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Once we got up to Devils Kitchen it was really pretty, and a very interesting narrow little sandstone feature. However, I was pretty much terrified of letting Vivian out of the back pack, since there were openings in the rock wall that opened up to cliffs with hundred foot drop offs on the other side. I wasn't totally sure that I could maintain safe control of my toddler in that environment.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3z50ZlhPg3Bn4QOTybjrAQozhSLYOdhyAHMOfJxA0hlP0LwtBQBOutie-eePBFaKIZKO6oBgDtqqGQW4WaJzHIcngmtTo20hukLmOGwtfbhdFacQhHvZ5wCb4HQAcfXJ1t8IUHiDxvXQ/s1600/DSCN6063.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3z50ZlhPg3Bn4QOTybjrAQozhSLYOdhyAHMOfJxA0hlP0LwtBQBOutie-eePBFaKIZKO6oBgDtqqGQW4WaJzHIcngmtTo20hukLmOGwtfbhdFacQhHvZ5wCb4HQAcfXJ1t8IUHiDxvXQ/s400/DSCN6063.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vivian sipping water from the camelback while still strapped into the back pack. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidWLXWuTwGkOeofdvwyxVgURLykoL_Qxy_8Gcbzxh3K-wziYmlSqFnfHFStpdgDIbZ-fWHlTq0QcFkwkBZHA2MUp1XCKS1R20SkW2EjHCtfyf9iaulxYWIzmVWTezXveS0neGsPYCA3gM/s400/DSCN6064.JPG" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" width="400" /></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Justin exploring one of the openings in the rock wall</td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidWLXWuTwGkOeofdvwyxVgURLykoL_Qxy_8Gcbzxh3K-wziYmlSqFnfHFStpdgDIbZ-fWHlTq0QcFkwkBZHA2MUp1XCKS1R20SkW2EjHCtfyf9iaulxYWIzmVWTezXveS0neGsPYCA3gM/s1600/DSCN6064.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidWLXWuTwGkOeofdvwyxVgURLykoL_Qxy_8Gcbzxh3K-wziYmlSqFnfHFStpdgDIbZ-fWHlTq0QcFkwkBZHA2MUp1XCKS1R20SkW2EjHCtfyf9iaulxYWIzmVWTezXveS0neGsPYCA3gM/s1600/DSCN6064.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"></a></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">He wanted to inch even further out to get a better shot of the scenery on the other side, but I freaked out and insisted he abandon that plan.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Justin exploring yet another hole in the rock wall.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvRlWDY6iKDWXFvFKTTdbduwE5Vspx3on9hN6nhYVmEbL0cFeiJm1K6rKZ084U0HrDAp8EwmMJswG4UfBgQN2iZcGmDSRCZ5Y7xjkcM0EN8fnqhXNp0u8I7KxYMCOCZhqWs3xWs_knKD0/s1600/DSCN6073.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhvRlWDY6iKDWXFvFKTTdbduwE5Vspx3on9hN6nhYVmEbL0cFeiJm1K6rKZ084U0HrDAp8EwmMJswG4UfBgQN2iZcGmDSRCZ5Y7xjkcM0EN8fnqhXNp0u8I7KxYMCOCZhqWs3xWs_knKD0/s400/DSCN6073.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Justin finally talked me into letting Vivian come join him, with promises to keep a hand on her at all times.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA40ZXedZdNeteOBdewK9hCaF7zhYvvVEhED7U_wG9kyyovaWcFO-lztxCR4cj30Yo6mD1CkCaQykwZcOKIk0z2c357nzJK-80pf7JFUJFHK0j5Rn0I355IMjpJmdlG8N4pFzlaofeu18/s1600/DSCN6076.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgA40ZXedZdNeteOBdewK9hCaF7zhYvvVEhED7U_wG9kyyovaWcFO-lztxCR4cj30Yo6mD1CkCaQykwZcOKIk0z2c357nzJK-80pf7JFUJFHK0j5Rn0I355IMjpJmdlG8N4pFzlaofeu18/s400/DSCN6076.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">She loves hiking with him.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirf8whDPl739pCpGUzHpUlrHsW4vKO_meW5msaD7YZrakJmBW6gnuasiWDigXTMsfSujpacX210GNvrVvRaYhvPgSKQlvnDZesnwk6gHjeUqIolww-ScITtNJqPlENp16laVLWtWju7fk/s1600/DSCN6078.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirf8whDPl739pCpGUzHpUlrHsW4vKO_meW5msaD7YZrakJmBW6gnuasiWDigXTMsfSujpacX210GNvrVvRaYhvPgSKQlvnDZesnwk6gHjeUqIolww-ScITtNJqPlENp16laVLWtWju7fk/s400/DSCN6078.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">...and the feeling is pretty mutual.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9yTNer3NAJjwZsCcmUPF-d_KuOrGPElCirh1c8SjJ9LrirVHEZj-ko8MgDHEidzM16aBOLNoIcR_g7PQ7_orXYMQD9-RAG4Qf5FZd5yfDFnwHxU3VegJxG-8WgDXJGuAr9ioOPZCnCJw/s1600/DSCN6089.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh9yTNer3NAJjwZsCcmUPF-d_KuOrGPElCirh1c8SjJ9LrirVHEZj-ko8MgDHEidzM16aBOLNoIcR_g7PQ7_orXYMQD9-RAG4Qf5FZd5yfDFnwHxU3VegJxG-8WgDXJGuAr9ioOPZCnCJw/s400/DSCN6089.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Eventually Justin was able to talk me into making my way up to one of the bigger openings to see out the other side and get this picture.<br /></td></tr>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS8alTkpPz6WQRypUy75rJjTojdBhA1IKIxwuZthtJ8rw3ATdKDo1K2Y_ryPHFZnaP3L-cT9VhofuyYN2rGQk68GNgWR7pFFvvEzEkWr4zt1pzIbQNaK4QOW_UupVhVbc8d6SoTKZd66I/s1600/DSCN6094.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiS8alTkpPz6WQRypUy75rJjTojdBhA1IKIxwuZthtJ8rw3ATdKDo1K2Y_ryPHFZnaP3L-cT9VhofuyYN2rGQk68GNgWR7pFFvvEzEkWr4zt1pzIbQNaK4QOW_UupVhVbc8d6SoTKZd66I/s400/DSCN6094.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy_fJ3PH673Q4X_l7dnGU43X9LtzAD57i5e2HfhxKmaSZhyphenhyphenXzSAO3VqlpPq65_DKOLKvT3vNwWpVPjIbOE3vMZbwrVi2sGGlVdb9v2FHfKih7upVmVUmPdpM5YPuXirCOq0AJbcP_XKtI/s1600/DSCN6100.JPG" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy_fJ3PH673Q4X_l7dnGU43X9LtzAD57i5e2HfhxKmaSZhyphenhyphenXzSAO3VqlpPq65_DKOLKvT3vNwWpVPjIbOE3vMZbwrVi2sGGlVdb9v2FHfKih7upVmVUmPdpM5YPuXirCOq0AJbcP_XKtI/s400/DSCN6100.JPG" width="300" /></a></div>
As it turns out these two spent hours hiking around in there, exploring together. Justin followed through, and held her hand the entire time. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyY1dP8y2y6Lt8lORatd80Qg3ZUi4R1LJT0HnQQiKIgdrilCx678xS7Bv06x7tuI4gGpusm3bJUZZ5-6WiYmN9D_qqjEh_T65ihVWY6wBta7yfDP2J0kik4G89opQb5gdFIac93RVL9q8/s1600/DSCN6124.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjyY1dP8y2y6Lt8lORatd80Qg3ZUi4R1LJT0HnQQiKIgdrilCx678xS7Bv06x7tuI4gGpusm3bJUZZ5-6WiYmN9D_qqjEh_T65ihVWY6wBta7yfDP2J0kik4G89opQb5gdFIac93RVL9q8/s400/DSCN6124.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We stopped for a snack break.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVlBHmEmNvZuqRLLFMgCodWiM4VPwNSKA-BwLOwDfFf44VnNWLCT1etpnEWm1sQBeoFsf6o6cKlxwDh9WsyNbVMxahnzym__lv-Bd6NVHyY4WQlT8mk2iied9m9nzFqHaSjKdHVnXjcWA/s1600/DSCN6127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVlBHmEmNvZuqRLLFMgCodWiM4VPwNSKA-BwLOwDfFf44VnNWLCT1etpnEWm1sQBeoFsf6o6cKlxwDh9WsyNbVMxahnzym__lv-Bd6NVHyY4WQlT8mk2iied9m9nzFqHaSjKdHVnXjcWA/s400/DSCN6127.JPG" width="300" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was a bit much to try and tackle with Vivian, so he made the climb up there alone.</td></tr>
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After spending way more time than we had anticipated on a single, short hike, we finally headed back to the car, to continue through the monument on the scenic drive that skirts the canyon rims. <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4LTEMmUKoXM89hyphenhyphen11y6Lm_IP4pTzsRlb7GcFsNAmRX6-2aRTkKWAA_xnepMKiLz_SbwGIdTlPj08cKNyknJIAMTf3sOpleTyzeKJYegRYKUqsPRxEMkh9UrQ_Ew0nQxKcL1qyeAY0jI4/s1600/DSCN6154.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4LTEMmUKoXM89hyphenhyphen11y6Lm_IP4pTzsRlb7GcFsNAmRX6-2aRTkKWAA_xnepMKiLz_SbwGIdTlPj08cKNyknJIAMTf3sOpleTyzeKJYegRYKUqsPRxEMkh9UrQ_Ew0nQxKcL1qyeAY0jI4/s400/DSCN6154.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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We made multiple stops along the way, and basically took about twice the time we expected to make it to the visitor's center on the other side of the monument, where we had plans to stop for a very overdue lunch. We packed up our food and went for what was supposed to be a very short hike to a picnic area, that turned into a long hike that took us nowhere. Everyone was tired, hungry, and crabby at that point, and the feeling was doubled when it became obvious that we'd be best off turning around and hiking back to the visitor's center picnic area. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy_N1S7C99NqJ8pcGdT-gztjcbexb9XV8Rnl0bvGe8IUbqQ-pJ-ZAnELoYy94rDg5dKhuuxfkwo8DIa2FUoc4XVad9Lr94hgvNRUFKJA1iX25KAjwtmO6-FD1rln0LaeUM1MCaCWR62Do/s1600/DSCN6174.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhy_N1S7C99NqJ8pcGdT-gztjcbexb9XV8Rnl0bvGe8IUbqQ-pJ-ZAnELoYy94rDg5dKhuuxfkwo8DIa2FUoc4XVad9Lr94hgvNRUFKJA1iX25KAjwtmO6-FD1rln0LaeUM1MCaCWR62Do/s400/DSCN6174.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trudging back to the visitor's center for lunch</td></tr>
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After lunch we loaded back into the cars, and stopped outside of the monument for our picture at the sign. Vivian doesn't appear in this one. She was so exhausted that we determined that it was borderline mean to wake her up again for this picture. <br /><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDidkiAJHb7V-iB7MGB405XAoZVBzCWQ-aUMfV7ngpALQiXV7TuvIPrJcFknpOSLUYoqsmyfulhxD6k8JYohsAwo3d-hI32vgRK-O4AWQ4FYCmEvisYmq6keAMRyDlTiY8OUKWOxvmNl0/s1600/DSCN6178.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDidkiAJHb7V-iB7MGB405XAoZVBzCWQ-aUMfV7ngpALQiXV7TuvIPrJcFknpOSLUYoqsmyfulhxD6k8JYohsAwo3d-hI32vgRK-O4AWQ4FYCmEvisYmq6keAMRyDlTiY8OUKWOxvmNl0/s400/DSCN6178.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the phase of the pregnancy where I still just look fat, not pregnant.</td></tr>
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After that we left Colorado, and made our return to Utah. It's good to be back, but we're looking forward to hopefully another summer next year back in Colorado.Juliahttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01189144134384732232noreply@blogger.com0