A Grand Trip

I know that I have SOOOOOOO much to catch up on--birthdays, exhibit openings, the 4th of July, and all sorts of other summer fun. But I'll start with our most recent adventure: a wonderful trip to St. George, the Grand Canyon, and Zion!

 

 

Last Saturday, the Barretts and Mom, Dad, and I headed to St. George. It was SO hot!! So it felt extra nice in the swimming pool. Look how strong the Barretts are!

 

 

We had a nice time in St. George swimming, going to dinner, and walking around the temple. The coolest thing was that after dinner, there was a beautiful rainbow!! We knew that it was a message from Grandma Farnsworth letting us know that she was happy we were visiting St. George, her home for many years. It was sad to be in St. George without her there, but we had this nice rainbow to help us remember her.

 

On Sunday we went to church and then headed over to Jacob Lake, just north of the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. Jacob Lake is Mom and Lindy's old stomping grounds--they both worked there when they were in college. Here are the girls at the actual lake in Jacob Lake, although it's more of a pond than a lake :) Greg and Richard (who both had to work on Saturday) joined us Sunday afternoon.

On Monday we headed to the Grand Canyon! The kiddos were pretty excited. My favorite part of this picture, besides just how cute they all are, is Ben's funny smile :)

 

Here's our crew, ready for hike. We missed having the Agates with us, but we're glad that they arrived safely in New York, ready for a new adventure there!

 

Ben wasn't so sure about riding in a backpack on his dad's back, but he eventually decided that the "king's chair" provided a pretty sweet ride.

 

Rich and Sid!

 

Poor Greg was pretty uncomfortable being up so high above the canyon. He was not a fan of the hikes that we went on, but he was a trooper and toughed it out.

 

Here are Mom, Dad, and me trying not to blow off of the mountain!

 

Mom and I took a picture at Jacob Lake before we headed out on Tuesday.

 

Before leaving Jacob Lake on Tuesday, we stopped at a sink hole where both Mom and Lindy used to hang out with their friends when they worked here. It was a fun area, perfect for frisbee golf and fossil hunting.

On our way to Zion, we stopped at the best park ever . . . the Kanab city park! The kids (and Greg  and I) had fun playing on all of the playground equipment.

 

On Tuesday afternoon we arrived at Zion and checked into our hotel. It had been nice and cool at the Grand Canyon, but it was hot, hot, hot in Springdale, so our first stop was the pool.

 

Swimming tuckered everyone out!

 

 

We woke up to an absolutely beautiful morning at Zion on Wednesday--Pioneer Day! This is seriously one of my favorite places on the whole planet.

 

We had a fun hike to Emerald Pools, and then we all hit the road, sad that our fun trip adventure had come to an end. But I guess we have to go back to work sometime . . .

 

 

On our way home, in honor of Pioneer Day, we stopped at the cemetery in Summit, Utah, where many of our ancestors are buried. My g-g-g-grandpa, Sylvanus Cyrus Hulet, owned a home in Summit. We stopped by his house and then enjoyed visiting his and other graves at the cemetery. It was a wonderful way to remember our pioneer heritage! Thank you for the wonderful trip, Mom and Dad!!!