Easter Moab Trip

Over the 2008 Easter weekend, Jory, myself and the girls went on a mini trip down to Moab. This is an annual tradition with Jory's family and since they are from Gillette, WY, this was our opportunity to finally meet Jory's parents, and most of their grandchildren.

The girls were really quite good on the way down and once we got into the city of Moab, the weather was warm and the city was active. Every car that we drove next to had their windows down with the stereo thumping, so Ally and Myah wanted to be cool too. They picked out "Can You Read My Mind" from The Killers to blare from our kick ass Susuki Aerio Stereo. (I will now owe Ally a dollar).

Jory had been down there for a couple of days already and met us in town to drive us in to the remote campsite. My car was left at a local hotel parking lot because it just wasn't tuff enough to make the "Road of Death" as Myah so nicknamed. The Road of Death which was a long winding road with steep cliffs and a 3 foot deep river we had to drive through. The girls always freaked out when we were driving on this road, but at the same time they enjoyed every minute of it!

We arrived at camp at around 6:30pm and the whole crew was there waiting for us. The crew included Jory's parents Jerry and Donna, brother Jason and his two boys Kyler and Tate; Jory's sisters four children Keegan, Bodee, Chevy, and Dyami; friends LaNiece and her daughter Savannah, and mother Penelope; and friends Chris, Nate and Dustin. Within 15 minutes of our arrival Myah had joined Jory's nephews in trying to climb a embankment. She was covered in Moab red dirt from head to toe!! Ally was excited to spend time with Savannah, whom she had meet one other time before. They were instantly off trying to catch lizards.

Catching lizards, well that was interesting. I had bought the girls a bug catcher to catch lizards in. We had found a live cricket in our garage, and little "Jimmeny" was going to be lizard bait. But after Jimmeny endured the long trip to Moab, the girls simply could not give him up as bait. He was released into the wild shortly after arrival.

Some of the highlights of the trip included; an Easter Egg Hunt, hosted mainly by Jory's mom, Donna, (the kids had a ball), hikes, the boys jeeping, four wheeling, pole golf, tether tennis, a trip to Hole in the Rock and the Petting Zoo, stories around the campfire, really really cold nights and mornings. It was really fun getting to know Jory's family and it was amazing how the kids just instantly bonded, and we just felt like part of the family.

Jory's family had to leave on Sunday, and Ally had a really hard time saying goodbye. That left just the four of us. So we decided to take a trip into Arches National Park. What an adventure!!!
Our first stop was Balancing Rock, what a beautiful monument!! Jory dared the girls to climb up there and try to push it off. Ally laughed but Myah was not amused. Myah had had enough, she was done and she did not want to participate. So Ally and Jory made the 3 mile round trip hike up to Delicate Arch. This was a really good time for Ally and Jory to have some one-on-one time and talk about a lot of things. When they returned from the hike Ally was SO excited to tell me and everyone she had hiked to Delicate Arch, and it had always been a dream of hers.

Myah enjoyed the Park asleep in the Tahoe. She finally woke up and was able to see the North and South Windows and Turret arch. After we left Arches, we found a campground where we could pay to shower. $12 never felt so good!!!! We ate some food, and Myah was once again happy and actually fell asleep before Ally that night.

The next morning we waited until the sun came up at 9am, packed up, and did a little shopping in Moab. Then we ventured home. The girls were glad to be home, and so was I. All in all the trip was a blast!!! The girls can't wait to go again next year.

Special thanks to Jory's parents, Jerry and Donna for providing and cooking all the food and helping out with all the kids. Definately a year to remember!!