A sweet moment

Just hours before we had to say good-bye to the Daines, Jensen stole a quiet moment with little Marcus.

So long..but not for too long..

Last summer my kids said good-bye to the Coombs grandparents who moved to New Mexico to retire and they said good-bye to Scott and Shelbi who moved to Chicago. We got through that, although it was tough, because there were lots of visits. Then this week, they had to say good-bye again to Kristin, Steve, Nadia and baby Marcus. It was not easy.

The Sunday before they left we celebrated Nadia's 8th birthday. It's awesome to be eight and be baptized. I just wish we were going to be there to see her big day. Their house was all packed up so we gave her a little key chain with pictures on it of all of us. Anja gave her a heart necklace with their pictures in it.

This group of cousins is closer than most. They've been though a lot together and grown so much.

Nadia had to wait four years until there was another girl around. It was good timing because we got to keep all of the wonderful hand-me-downs.

Little Marcus is just getting to the point that he's fun and can interact with us. Anja had him giggling so hard.

We said our quick good-byes on Sunday knowing we would get one more day of fun before the "real" tears.

It seemed so strange to think this would be the last Sunday we'd all spend together for a while. Sitting out on the back deck, feeding the fish and jumping on the tramp. Grandpa taught all the kids to jump rope on Sunday afternoons. We have wonderful memories of these lazy summer nights together.

Day 6

It started out fine. We got things packed up and ready to head out. Our original plans called for Silverton, Colorado but we talked to several people who had just come from there and they said it wasn't worth the price so we decided to head south and see the four corners area. I was waiting for Rich to pull the car around when Carter walked up and told me the car wouldn't start. It was a hard morning. Rich was so calm and took care of everything then prayed that we would know if we should stop, turn back or keep going. The car started and we took off.

 Rich calls this picture, "A Family Divided"...

There's really not a whole lot to see at Four Corners. It's just the fact that you can say you've been there.

 Then we hit the road and headed back north. I think we listened to Anja sing "Baby, Baby" about a million times. I wanted to scream, but she was happy and being good.

We stopped in Blanding, Utah for lunch and took a picture since this is where my Grandma Bywater grew up and the Eichenburger roots first took hold of the Gospel.

The trek is over and we had a great time. More importantly, we still love each other and haven't ruled out a second trip to Moab. I don't know that we could take more than six hours in the car but this was a success as far as fist road trips go. But, I still think if the option is a car or a plane, we'll take the plane.

Day 4 and 5-- Cortez, Colorado

We drove..and drove.. we stopped in Monticello, Utah and saw the temple..then drove some more..finally we made it to Cortez, Colorado and a wonderful Holiday Inn Express that had a wonderful family suite with separate rooms, a king bed for us and bunk beds for the kids. After this many days we were all ready for a little space. We spent the first afternoon/evening poking around this small town and visiting the cultural center for a little history lesson. We also stopped at the Welcome Center to buy our passes for Mesa Verde National Park. I about died when the ranger said they either take cash or out of state checks! Really? Who takes out of state checks? We had to find an ATM.

The next we headed into the park. It was amazing to climb so high on top of the mesas and thing, "the Indians used to walk this!"

 Our first stop was Cliff Palace. Probably the most photographed dwelling. This is the view from above before the hike down.

 Once you hike down the canyon, you have to climb the ladders up.

It's amazing to see these dwellings up close and walk where others walked hundreds of years ago.

 Then there's the hike back up to the car through small carved out caves and stairways.

Then lunch. I am so glad I read up on all these parks and knew we had to pack food and water in to all of them because there are no services and you are SOOOO hungry after all that hiking.

 Next we headed to Balcony House; probably the second most photographed dwelling. It was the first one discovered by a rancher about 100 years ago. This dwelling is only accessible by climbing up a 30 foot ladder. Children must be able to do it themselves--not a problem for my skirt and pink flip flop wearing girl!

 Then there are the tunnels--a tight squeeze for adults.

 Then there's the ladder at the end of that tunnel.

Then you are there! It's named because it's one of the only dwellings with a balcony. When the ranchers found it they actually crawled up inside the house and slept out on the balcony for a few days while their cattle grazed below. Pretty amazing when you figure the wood and mud holding the balcony on was over 700 years old.

 This was the view from the front of their house.

 Then there was more climbing into a series of back caves the Indians used to get from one house to the other without walking around the front. They also believe the caves collected fresh water and were used as storage in the winter.

 It was a little hard to walk down into a dark tunnel.

 Then we had to scoot through a cave on our bellies! Not easy for us grown ups! Rich's shoulders barely got through!

Then back up the ladders. It was AWESOME!

 We visited a few more dwellings and Kivas and then did a little shopping. Anja found a doll..

..and Jensen used all his money to buy a real piece of pottery. Cool!

Day-3 Hole in the Rock

I know what you are thinking.. Hole in the Rock, isn't that where the pioneers chipped away at the rock until the hole was big enough for wagons to fit through. Yes, but that's not the Rock we're talking about. We're talking about a crazy couple who decided to blast our their home in a rock--and now it's a mecca for white trash visitors and those just looking for a break while traveling outside of Moab.

This crazy guy who was a minor and a sculpture decided to blast his way into the rock and "built" a 4,00 square foot "home" for he and his wife. The tour was $4 a person but once you got in, there were absolutely no pictures. Really? Because someone might steal the floor plan? The owners are dead but they left a detailed will explaining how tours could be conducted. Weird!

After walking through the house and realizing nice it is to be married to a sane person, we walked around his "art yard". The man could make a sculpture out of anything. But again, tacky. There was a full size golfer made out of used golf clubs and a giant bull made out of old tools. I admit it was slightly cool, until the boys pointed out the bulls' um-private parts??

Made out of nuts. Nice. They laughed about that for a couple of days.

This was the most normal thing in the yard.
Then Anja and I went into the petting zoo. Yep, it's what all the families who live in rocks have...a petting zoo.

..with caged deer..

...goats..

..and camels. Because it's a desert?

This really was one of the weirdest places we've ever visited. And left without souvenirs.

Day 2-- a miracle, a lesson, a hike..all before 9 a.m.

Our second day in Moab started out rocky. The night before we stopped at the gas station next to the hotel to fuel up before heading into the park the next morning. The plan was to be at the trail head at 7:30 a.m. before the heat of the day set in. As Rich got back into the car it wouldn't start. It wouldn't turn over at all. We said a quick prayer. No, the car didn't start instantly but Rich remembered my dad saying the connections needed to be cleaned. A box of baking soda and a cup of water later, the engined tuned over. The next morning Rich was at Auto Zone when the opened ready to buy a new battery. They said ours was fine it was the connections.

 A couple of hours late but we hit the park. Balance Rock was our first stop.

 Then off to Delicate Arch. We knew it would take a good couple of hour to hike but we wanted to do it. The boys did great and kept ahead of us.

 Anja walked a good chunk of it but also wanted a few breaks. We didn't hear a single whine until she told us her foot hurt. We took her shoe off and found a huge blister on her heal. We bandaged it up and off we went.

Close to the top we took a break in the shade and the kids climbed.

Two hours later with temps soring at 109 degrees, we were sitting by the arch. It was inspiring. How could anyone think that God didn't have a role in creating the earth?

It was a long, hot hike. I wanted to turn back at times. At one point all of the kids wanted to turn back. There was no big reward or bribe at the end; just the satisfaction of seeing something beautiful and knowing you finished something difficult. It's been a hard year for our family. Opening a new school and Rich's calling have drained us. But, just like this hike, we did it. There was no one to rely on but ourselves, no one to carry Anja when she needed a break but us, no one to refill the water bottles but us, we did it...one foot in front of the other--little by little. This is a strong group of people. We aren't much to look at on the outside, but this little band of five can do hard things and do them well. I am so proud of my kids and husband.

Jensen took hundreds of pictures on our trip. Two days into it and he had nearly 100 pictures on his camera. So, when his dad climbed down a ridge to get a better shot of the arch, Jensen followed. I took this picture just before the incident. I heard a noise and turned just as I saw Jensen lean forward to catch the camera he was dropping. His dad grabbed him before he fell. The camera bounced down the ridge. Jensen was a sobbing wreck. Then I watched in horror as Rich took off his pack and climbed down to get the camera. I didn't watch, Carter started to pray. The camera was retrieved and the SIM card saved. The camera is a complete loss but I kept it. Why, because after everyone was safe, I heard a guy say, "I would never do that for my kid." Rich turned to Jensen and said, "I will do anything for you." Tell me, what kind of an impact does that have on a kid? A permanent one--one that he will never forget.
The hike down was uneventful. Everyone was left to their own thoughts.

Dinner was nice that night; Mexican food. We talked a lot about what had happened that day. We talked about how sometimes God doesn't sent the miracle, he sends the information you need to help yourself. You can do hard things because we are a strong family and no matter what, mom and dad will always be there to catch you even if the world thinks we are crazy. Jensen purchased a poster of delicate arch at the visitor's center that day. We framed it when we got home and it's hanging in his room.

Some of us, didn't make it through dinner without crashing.

Day 1- Packig, driving and Moab

Breaking with tradition, we hit the highways and byways for this year's summer vacation. I have felt a twinge of guilt not exposing my kiddos to the wonderful things that make Utah great. With much ado, we set our sites on Moab and Arches National Park.

The drive down was less intense than I thought it would be; mostly because no one could touch. How nice. Anja colored and listened to the ipod (currently full of Justin B., princess and Mama Mia songs). The boys played video games. Rich and I listened to a book on CD. I didn't complain once.

Two hours into our trip, we stopped in Price for lunch--fast food, yum. Price of feeding Carter at KFC: $32.00

First things first: a trip to the visitors center before we headed to the hotel.

We wanted to do a little white water rafting but Anja's age and high water forced us to change our plans. I think it was for the best. Captain "Rory" had us doing turns and spins on the Colorado River while pointing out Indian drawings, arches and wildlife. It was so much fun and I would highly recommend the evening jetboat ride to anyone who wants the water experience with very little water.

By the end of the ride, we were happy and ready to start hiking the next morning.