The guys started their hike early in the morning and the girls and Mama continued to sleep. We spent some time that morning repacking our bags so that the next 6 nights would only require one bag for the three of us. Then we ventured out for our day’s exploration. We hiked out to Bright Angel Point and checked out the canyon from the exposed point. It was amazing to see the canyon from this side. It felt like you were set into the canyon in a way the South Rim doesn’t offer. The hike was fun with the girls and while the morning was warm we did fine. Julia walked about half of it herself and was carried the other half. Emily kept going and never slowed us down. This hike paralleled the trail the guys hiked down in the morning. We wondered a lot about where they were and looked for them.

We walked back and had lunch at the lodge and did some additional exploring around the rim until naptime. After naps, we heard from another hiker who had seen Robby and Pat and informed us that they were hiking back out instead of continuing on their hike. They had assisted by carrying out the news and 10+ pounds of Robby’s pack contents. We met up with them and found out more information and got his belongings. Robby had started the hike with a headache and it had gotten worse combined with the heat coming earlier in the hike than they had planned and influenced their decision to hike back out.

We needed to fill some time before the guys hiked back out so we went to the Cookout Experience for dinner. This involved a train ride to a fun tent theater. There was a buffet to eat and singing entertainment. The girls had a blast. First there was a train ride and then after dinner they found two families worth of kids to run around and play with as dusk came in. The girls also loved having camp cups to drink their water from.

We we got back to the lodge we found out that the guys had beaten our hiking estimate and were already back at our cabin. We were very thankful that despite all the trouble that they were out safe and sound.

The next morning, Julia and Mama dropped Pat off at the trailhead where he was going to hike down to the next reserved campsite of their trip. The pre-dawn trip to the trailhead was beautiful. The sky was clear and it was our first opportunity to see a million stars and the milky way. Julia was a sweet companion and was a good girl including that she crawled back in bed when we got back and went to sleep.

Later that morning we checked out and drove out to Cape Royal and took in several of the canyon views. The girls took their naps in the car while we took in the views and then joined us for the last one which involved a hike. We watched storms across and in the canyon. It was fun to show the girls storms from a distance. We wondered if Pat was getting any relief from a rain storm, which we found out later he didn’t get enough to have it as a temperature relief. The rest of our day was spent driving the long drive to the South Rim through storms and dusk. We got settled in at the South Rim.

I love how Julia wouldn’t look at the camera earlier, but when given the chance to not to have to look she peeks back at Daddy. What a grin!

Are all the long hours in the car worth it? For us it is. The ride does get long, make our backs hurt, and it is boring for the driver when everyone else has something to do. But, it is also family time. It is time to see different parts of America. We get to talk to the girls about a million different things. We talked about how big the sky is. We talk about how many stars there are in the sky while we are seeing the Milky Way. We get to count rainbows. We were disappointed with only three, but one was a double rainbow. We talked about the wind turbines as we passed miles of them. At night the turbines have flashing red lights which are fun to watch when you are 4. We tried to spot at many trains as we could. The first person to see one would point it out as we continued to play games of counting engines and talking about what each one was hauling. The girls enjoyed hours of book reading, coloring, playing with toys, the occasional nap, cheering with each state we crossed, counting the mosquitoes that traveled with us in our car after stopping at a rest stop, playing running games at rest stops, and asking lots of questions.

We were delighted with an amazing drive in and out of the valley Albuquerque is found in. We did the drive at night and the lights of the the city were beautiful. It was by chance that we turned around and looked as we drove out. If the night lights would have photographed well we would have tried. This memory will have to be one that stays in our head. Another unexpected driving surprise was the bear that ran across the highway as we drove out of Colorado. We didn’t expect to see a bear and this one was moving fast. He was gone before the girls even looked up. What a treat.

The wind turbines are really cool to see, but we settled with a moving photo of them.

We thought we had timing our arrival to Arizona well. We had to pick up Pat from the Flagstaff airport. Only, we forgot that Arizona goes by a different time than most of their time zone so we were in the state an hour earlier than we had planned. We also heard from Pat that his last fight was running late. Based on this information and our location we decided to detour over to visit Walnut Canyon National Monument.

The canyon is one of many ancient cliff dwelling communities found in the west. There is a hike down into the canyon (lots of steps) to place view the dwellings. We didn’t take the hike with our little people and just viewed the dwellings from the visitor center. It was good that we didn’t try the hike and steps. The girls ran out of energy quickly and thunder started up while we were hiking along the rim. The outing was perfect for the time we had and it was wonderful to get out of the car and stretch our legs after spending so many hours in the car.

The wonders of traveling America and the things you can find. This classy joint will cook you up a great steak dinner in the ambiance of saloon meets . . . not really sure what. There really isn’t any way to explain the Big Texan, but to stop by and see for yourself. Maybe it is the Texan version of Wall Drug. It may be corny, but for the girls it was amazing. They loved the color and all the visual entertainment found inside. They loved looking at the sample meal placed to demonstrate how much food was in the 72 oz. of steak dinner. They mostly loved their new cowgirl hats they got with their dinner.

When we sat down to eat all Emily would talk about was they new hat she would be getting. She decided that she wanted her hat to be blue. Lucky girl, when dinner came they brought her a blue one. Only two disappointments about our visit: one was that no one was attempting the 72 oz. challenge while we were there, the second was that the cowboy band was not playing. We were eating a late lunch/early dinner and there were not many people there to eat. Bonus was that we got in and out quickly and could drive several more hours after stopping to eat.

Emily and her own special cowboy band.

West we did go. When we were planning this trip we referred to it as our trip “Out West”. Emily might not understand that west is a direction, but she does know that it is a place to go and see. If you asked her where we were going she would tell you “west”. The other thing we discussed about driving west is that going west is like chasing the sun. She commented on that a lot and every evening of driving we would see the sun going down and ending that day’s chase.

Enough about the direction, where did we go? We drove from our home to Arizona to visit the Grand Canyon for several days. To get there and back we stopped, visited, and enjoyed sights along the way.

Highlights:

• Family time (never overrated)
• Traveling with a friend for a while. Watching the girls relate with Mr. Pat was amazing.
• Having a daily view of the Grand Canyon for a week.
• Having all of our hikers return no-worse-for-wear out of the canyon.
• Seeing quite a variety of wild animals.
• Fun dinner at the Big Texan.
• Sitting in four states at the same time.
• Walking where ancient peoples once lived.
• Watching little people explore nature.
• Eating Mexican food and lovely sopapillas
• Playing among huge sand dunes
• Walking down the memory lane of childhood vacations for both Robby and Rachelle

We visited the beach for some fun in the sun. It is amazing how entertaining sand and water can be. The weather was beautiful and we had a great breeze. The girls had a blast. Julia knew she was tired and almost took a nap under the palm trees. We tried to build a sand castle, but filling a hole with water was much more interesting. Another favorite of the girls was pretending we were on a pirate ship.

We are home adjusting back to life after another trip. The girls seemed a bit disappointed to have returned home from traveling. They were thrilled to see their Daddy and Grandparents, but other than that they miss their friends, swimming, and the easy schedules.

Mama and the girls traveled to Miami and then stopped in Orlando on our way back home. We did some shopping, eating, swimming, playing with babies, playing with family, visiting the beach, more swimming in the pool, and lastly . . . more swimming and jumping in to the pool.

Thank you family for sharing the week with us!

- The slowest moving kid gets most of the photos taken of them.

The number of photos we have of Julia outnumbers the photos of the other three kids combined.

- The camera welding Mama has the least photos taken of her.

Daddy did get the camera a few times and snapped a few shots. Maybe Aunt Jennifer got some too.

- When in doubt, add water.

Hose, pool, or ocean it didn’t matter they got excited with all options.

- Do boys and girls mix like oil and water? No

They all loved to run and chase each other. The boys favorite game was to make Aunt Rachelle into the “Tickle Monster” and run from her. Everyone wanted to sit next to a cousin when we sat to eat. Need a chair? Sit on a kid.

- Are Star Wars Legos only for boys? No

The girls played with Caleb’s Legos and he was so patient to let them even though they majorly rearranged his setup. The Princess Storm-troopers can sure move fast when evading photographic capture.

- If you are bored with your own toys, go on a trip and when you get home they are fresh and new again.

- Is grocery shopping hard work? Not when there is free samples and singing displays around every new corner.

We had our first experience with Stew Leonards. The kids and parents ate free samples – cookies, popped rice snacks, fresh donuts, sparkling drinks, chicken salad, fruit, and juice. It felt like a meal, but we also got lunch at the end. Everything was good and it was lots of fun to see all of the displays and be entertained by dancing veggies, fruit, butter, trains, lighthouses, talking cows, and much more.

- Did you pack an extra outfit? If yes, then all messes will be controlled. If no, a tumble into the ocean will occur and a child will have to be wet for the evening.

Yes, Julia took a tumble into the ocean while we attempted to get a 4-kid shot taken. No, her Mama had not brought her a change of clothes. Thank goodness her Mama did have a beach towel. It wasn’t long before the damp and still sandy girl was running around playing with the other kids again.

- When given the choice between a real animal to watch or an animated one which will a kid choose? Depends on the kid, but if the animated one has a button to make it talk the real animal might lose out.

Outside of Stew Leonards they have some live animals for viewing. The day we were there it was two older calves, sheep, and turkeys. We looked at the animals and read the information about them. What kept the kids most interested were interactive exhibits of pretend animals making noises. I guess they liked pushing the buttons.

- Do all hotels have free breakfast waffles and heated indoor pools? No, but when we stay at one we will have very sad kids.

While we drive down the road now, Emily is reading all the billboards and hotel signs for ones she recognizes. She loves staying at hotels and we have been careful to stay at ones with pools and breakfasts. She is now considering the name of the hotel that she wants to run when she grows up.

- Who gets most excited at a Toy Museum? The parents remembering their childhood toys.

We stumbled into a Toy Museum while we waited out a rain storm at Natural Bridge in Virginia. It was interesting to see the displays of toys that we played with in our youth. The girls loved looking for things that were familiar to them. It was tough to keep the girls’ hands off of the fun looking toys.

- Kids rarely take nap in the car at the same time. Their naps almost always happen right before arriving at a location.

The point of this trip was to visit with family, not a bunch of stops along the way. But, we had planned on a few stops. One of our “planned” stops was hampered by Julia falling asleep two exits before the destination. If we had woken her up she would have been grumpy and not fallen back asleep. Instead we stopped for gas and food and kept on going.

- First-Aid kits are necessary for two-year-old’s knees.

Goodness, it seemed every time we turned around Julia was coming to us with a skinned knee. The poor think kept skinning the same spot too. Good thing she doesn’t mind the band-aid process.

- Top bunks are cool!

The top bunk was a favorite indoor play place. They would drag all kinds of toys up on it and play pretend games. Julia did a great job of obeying the rules of the top bunk. She would wait until an adult came into the room and then she would bolt up the ladder to the top. Emily was privileged to spend her naps on the top bunk. How we didn’t get a photo of the top-bunk play is a mystery.

- If you are taking a tour of a cave, take a flashlight with you. It will be the envy of everyone who forgot theirs.

We took some kids flashlights in the car for when we were traveling after dark. They enjoyed playing with them and for the most part obeyed the rules. When we went into the caverns at Natural Bridge, we noticed that they were selling (very expensive) kid flashlights. Robby fetched ours from the car and the girls got to take them on the cave tour. They were really handy for all of us to see better where we were walking.

- Check the hours for the dining line before you make plans to eat there. Addendum to rule, ice cream is always a great substitute for missed meal.

Perhaps the opportunity for most fun on a trip is willing to be flexible and do things out of the norm. Would we not normally have ice cream for lunch, but what a fun thing for us to do. It gave us a fun rainy day activity and we ate and laughed.

- Getting a “staged” photograph of a bunch of kids is never easy.

There is just something about a smile. This one is just saying so much. It reflects the sun, offers joy, and infects it’s neighbors.

Julia was having fun running around playing and acting like her pixie self. At this moment she was supposed to come for a group photo, but had other things in mind.

Emily getting a special front porch hug!

Uncle Art and Aunt Janet with the girls. I wish the girls would pose better for photos, but it was cold and they were just ready to go home and see Daddy!

In total, we had four adults and five kids including one infant. Natalie did a great job of playing with the younger kids and Julia tried to keep up as much as she could with the older kids. It was fun to watch Dylan play with his superhero characters right along side of the camper and tent toys. His superhero toys even had their own sleeping bags just like the dolls for the girls. They all loved coloring in books at the table.

For our activities, we spent time in a field kicking a ball around, some short hikes, and a cave tour. Everyone seemed to do really well in the cave and the darkness didn’t seem to bother the kids. We got to see two bats along with puddles, cool formations, and a few seconds of absolute darkness. Our evening entertainment were owls calling to one another. They were some of the most unusual calls I have heard. They were not distracting enough to keep us awake, but fascinating to listen to. I would call camping a success. Despite some rain, it all worked out and we staying dry and warm. The girls seem ready to try it again.

A scene of Florida

Julia playing with the tent, camper, and family of dolls. All the kids enjoyed these toys a lot. I noticed that Julia would gravitate to it when the other girls were busy doing bigger girl things. She enjoys her solitary play a lot. I was explaining to Emily about how Aunt Jolie’s camper closed up, and she described to me how she would do it. She then told me she knew all about it because of the camper toy. I was impressed, but didn’t let Emily actually help take the camper down.

Happy Baby Mikayla! She got her “floor” time in the pack-n-play so that she wouldn’t eat dirt. She was moving around the play yard pretty well and got the idea about crawling as soon as she got home. Maybe she wanted to be able to move around like those big kids.

Mama time for the little one.

Maybe one of my favorite times and definitely my favorite photo. The girls were bouncing along the trail as much as their hair was. Emily was trying to be a big girl just like Natalie and having a blast. They just look lost in conversation as they spend time together.

After kicking the ball around at the field for a while they decided that the hill needed to be conquered. They decided that they would play Jack and Jill (renamed to Jackie and Jill). They would recite the rhyme at the top of the hill and then roll down. It took Emily a few tries to figure out how to roll down the hill.

They must teach rolling down hills at school, because Natalie was an expert at it. She even perfected a dramatic ending to her roll.

Dylan and Natalie had been getting Superhero tattoos and were showing them off to Jolie.

Coloring was another of the activities that got pulled out a lot to do. Here again, Julia took advantage of a quiet moment when she didn’t have to share the crayons with anyone.

Three strong Nobles women! Thanks for inviting us to join you and hope to do this again in the future.