Arches

With Summer Fun Mix 2008 blasting on the car stereo, we hit the road for yet another adventure. This was a great trip down to Moab to the Riverside Inn and Arches National Park. The more we see of southern Utah, the more trips I want to take with the family to see more.

It was beautiful mid October weather. In fact the kids were very disappointed in me for not packing swim suits because I told them the pool would be closed. I was wrong, it was so warm that after our hike to delicate arch they insisted in swimming in their clothes. Big deal, just shorts, and a shirt for Abby. Why the drama?

We hiked, climbed, drove and ate all day, then after getting kids to bed, stayed up talking until 1:30AM with old Virginia friends. Hougaards drove over from Denver and Bells drove down from SLC. The kids were in heaven.

Henry finds a window on the west. Then points to it.

Abby and Rex scaling the slickrock.


Double Arch. Isaac's favorite.

There are three backpack bound kids missing from this picture. Quite a parade up to delicate arch, and everywhere we went. Isaac, Rex, Lucy, Anna, Maggie, Abby, Henry.

Isaac surveys our first look at Delicate Arch

Isaac, Rex, Lucy and Abby at the base of Delicate Arch.

Peter wolfs down the remainder of the footlong turkey sandwich Abby insisted she could polish as she had the day before.

Having just been launched from a makeshift cannon, Abby rests on very comfortable sandstone at the top of the hike. As they used to say, "Take only pictures, leave only full body indentations."

The taking of this picture almost caused Steph Hougaard to have a heart attack. She thought it was a 200 foot immediate drop and that Peter couldn't maneuver the ledge on his own. It was actually only a gradual slope and then a 50 foot drop. I agree, he should have had his helmet on.

Henry, giving into the universal urge: once at delicate arch, raise both hands and snap one's fingers. This picture did not cause anyone to have a heart attack because no one was watching. Plus it was only a gradual slope and then a 50 foot drop.



Peter asleep on the way down, with his helmetless head glistening in the sun. 2 more months then he gets it off for good.

Elizabeth was an amazing trooper, but I'm sure she'll tell all about that in another post. What a beautiful place and a great trip. After we die if we ever get to glimpse back through time, this is one place I want to watch the creation of. Job (as on Old Testament) says we shouted for joy as we watched it happen, I wish I could remember it. All I remember was the Grand Canyon, which was pretty cool in its own right, oh yeah, and the oceans. (if these last few lines stay in, it just means Elizabeth hasn't done any editing.)

Happy Birthday Laura!

Many, many years ago, I was just starting 7th grade - also known as: "the most painful year of my entire existence." I started the year with total confidence in myself and my social position in life, but it didn't take long for me to encounter the "Mean Girls" of Clayton Junior High. Nor did it take long for the social food chain of junior high to be created, and when it all came down, I was no where near the top.

Despite how it looks, not nearly cool enough.

The girls who ruled the school, made it clear that I did not have what it took to be among the social elite: a killer wardrobe. Now, my mom had taken me school shopping before school had started and had outfitted me with what I thought was a great wardrobe, but the queen bees of the school made sure I knew that it wasn't. I was lacking some key elements: Firenza parachute pants. A Firenza v-neck sweater to be worn backwards. And most unforgivable of all, I did not own a pair of Guess? jeans with zippers at the ankle.

I spent hours trying to convince my parents that I needed that pair of Guess jeans if I ever hoped to amount to anything in this life, but with the jeans costing $55 a pair (an outrageous amount of money back then) my parents assured me I would be fine without them.

Well, a little more than a month into this torturous school year, my mom gave birth to her sixth child. A baby girl. THE baby girl she had been waiting for ever since my own birth. She'd given birth to four boys in a row, and now at last this long-dreamed-of daughter had arrived. My parents named her Laura, and she was darling. She had the fattest cheeks and head of thick dark hair. She was my first sister and I thought she was perfect.

Meeting Laura for the first time.

So, as I was suffering through all sorts of pre-pubescent hell, my mom did what every mother of a new baby girl does - she went shopping. Oh boy, did she go shopping.

Well, after weeks of the "Guess jean debate" and discussing the ridiculous price of a pair of jeans, imagine my shock, when among the spoils of one of my mom's earliest shopping trips, I found a small white dress intended for Laura. It had a little white collar and had little red cherries embroidered along the waist. It was darling. It was tiny and dainty and it would only fit my sister for a matter of weeks. But the real shock came when I saw that the price tag read $58.00! Suddenly, I saw how it was now that I wasn't the only girl in the family and the guilt trip that ensued with my mom was powerful. Within a matter of days, I had my long coveted jeans. And though they did nothing to improve my social standing, I felt I had won an important battle. (Mom, I have long since forgiven you for this event.)

Well, all that to say, that today is my sister Laura's birthday - and I am glad to say that I have overcome those early days of sibling rivalry and envy. I have grown to accept the fact that Laura is and will always be more spoiled than I am, and that she is way more fashionable than I will ever be, but I am okay with that.

Laura is gorgeous and fun and smart and funny. She is always up for an adventure and she is always planning trips for my parents to take the whole family on. (Although, so far, she and my sister Emily are the only ones who have actually gone on any of those trips.) She is an amazing aunt to my kids. She entertains them for hours and they love her. She and Abby are kindred spirits as there is nothing too girly for either of them. Laura loves soaking her feet and has taught my children the joy of doing the same. She is my go-to babysitter and my stand-by helper when I need it most. I didn't get a sister until I was almost thirteen years old, but I am so grateful I got Laura. She is a sweet sister and a good friend. I couldn't ask for more.

Happy Birthday Laura!

Now, I wonder if I could still fit into those jeans? (Not really.)