The drive into Mesa Verde was beautiful. The skies were clear and we could see long distances from the overlooks. One of the places we stopped on the drive was at the fire tower. We took the short hike and enjoyed the views while the girls loved the flag pole. We love how exciting “ordinary” things are to the girls.

The swearing in ceremony. Emily talked about the things the Ranger had told her at her ceremony for days.

At the visitor center, Emily got her first Jr. Ranger booklet to complete. She enjoyed doing the activities with us and absolutely loved being sworn in as a Jr. Ranger later. She was so proud of her badge. We tried to avoid this program on this trip, because it was a little too involved for Julia. She was a bit disappointed to get left out. It won’t be long until she can keep up with the questions and activities.

Julia doing all the climbing hard work all by herself.

Our Jr. Ranger checking out the area for things her Bingo card was missing.

Happy Hikers!

After watching a short video about the people of Mesa Verde we took the Spruce Tree House self guided tour. We only took the kid backpack for the half mile hike into a canyon to the ancient dwellings. Emily played a Bingo game out of her Jr. Ranger guide as we did the hike. At the ruins we were able to climb into a kiva on a ladder and explore. I was so proud of the girls. They didn’t need any help on the ladder and were brave to climb into a dark hole without seeing the bottom. Amazingly, Emily did the whole hike by herself. At the bottom we wondered if we shouldn’t have brought the stroller, but we didn’t need it. She hiked out faster than the rest of us. What a big girl!

After the hike we enjoyed a sunny picnic and then drove other area roads while the girls napped. We have mastered the overlook-kid swap so that we can go on with sightseeing despite naps. The number of dwellings at the park are pretty unbelievable. I appreciate not having to live on the side of a cliff and having to use hand holds to climb down for basic needs like food and water.

How can one person be in four different places at the same time? You go to the only place in the United States that has four states touch in one spot. And we did!

We are not sure if the girls really got the significant of the location, but the loved running around the huge concrete pad. There were ramps, flags, vendor booths, and fun lines and words to trace. They were sad to have to move on to the next thing.

Mama had been trying to explain how Native American women hand weave rugs. We found out that a local trading post had someone weaving in the store. Emily and Mama spent 20 minutes sitting on the floor beside a nice lady who was weaving. She was very kind to explain how she picked her designs and colors, how she does the weaving, and how each rug is commissioned. Emily was very shy and wouldn’t talk, but was very curious. This will be a sweet memory.  

We visited the south rim for four days, so we had plenty of time to wander around and see the views. We were fortunate enough that we didn’t have to change rooms and could keep our nap schedules on each of the days. This trip was different because while the girls were more mobile they were less willing to cover as many hiking trails as we wanted. Also, Julia in the backpack is getting heavy and harder for us big people to cover as many miles. We did some hiking everyday while we were there, just not all 11 miles of the rim trail.

The girls enjoyed visiting the visitor center closest to our room. There were some interactive displays and books to read in the store. We seemed to make it there everyday at some point. We also rode the buses on the whole bus route to the delight of the girls. They enjoyed finding cool rocks and tried to have a rock collection at every location we stopped. We saw a lot of wildlife, some without having to go very far from our room. The girls played in quite a bit of dirt and climbed on rocks. Mama’s favorite thing that occurred was the girls missing views of the Grand Canyon and when regaining the view, they would exclaim with a lot of excitement, Julia especially, that they saw the Grand Canyon.

Julia learning the process for turning wool into yarn. Every time she had an opportunity to card the wool she would be over giving it a try.

Wildlife viewing is expected at the Grand Canyon. There isn’t much lush vegetation around the Grand Canyon, but they faithfully keep the grass around the hotels watered making for excellent grazing locations. We saw elk almost every night, deer one night, and one mountain goat. The only night we didn’t see any large game was the night Pat was with us. It was disappointing because we had told him all about the animals. Other animals we saw were the pests of the park: squirrels, chipmunks, and ravens. They told us that on the trails the squirrels have been known to chew holes in backpacks to get to food. The animal we went out for nightly hunts for were bats. The canyon walls are home to millions of holes perfect for bats. We walked along the rim looking for the bats and found them every night. The first time we saw them it was Julia who saw them first and kept repeating “bat, bat, bat” until we looked.

Maybe not the best photo of Julia, but the best photo of Julia signing her version of “I love you” in front of the Grand Canyon. This stroller got a lot of mileage on this trip offering relief to tired little girls.

Getting photos of the girls together is pretty hard. I thought this one was awesome, it captured a face we saw quite often from Julia when not happy with us. She is definitely a two year old.

A much sweeter face on Julia.

Catching Robby doing what he loves to do most at the Grand Canyon.

The girls were running around the two levels to the studio. They played in the dirt, inspected the rocks, and jumped off anytime a parent wasn’t looking.

It was such a treat for us to share part of our trip with our friend, Pat. It was a joy to see the excitement the girls had for him too. They have continued to talk and pray for Mr. Pat even once we got home. We feel fortunate to have been a part of his experiences of the canyon and enjoyed hearing his stories. We are thankful for his hiking experience and friendship with Robby especially on this hike. We had wanted to be cheering for him at the trailhead when he completed his hike out, but he was too fast and we didn’t make it in time.

Watching the sunset with Mr. Pat

We don’t think we will be back to the Grand Canyon for a while. We have visited three times in 10 years and want to explore and introduce other places to our girls. It is an amazing place to visit and marvel at. While we know the girls will not maintain long term memories from these trips, we hope the experiences of both the travel and destinations help inspire them to seek new experiences and to learn about the world, who is in it, and how beautiful it is.

Just a few thoughts following our latest trip. We traveled to Connecticut to visit with Uncle Philip, Aunt Jennifer, and cousins Caleb and Nathaniel.

– 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.

(2 1/2 years) Most of the time she loves her Mama, but every once in a while she attaches herself to her Daddy. When this happens she really wants Daddy. She picks him to do things with her, she climbs up in his lap, and she sticks to him like glue. It passes quickly, but while it lasts it is so sweet.

When we asked Emily what she wanted to do with her Grandparents she said she wanted to play putt-putt. Julia loved the idea too (she loves to say the word too). We had time after dinner to stop and try our hands at a little miniature golf. We played pretty fast. We worked to keep the game moving and the girls interested. I hope one day in the future we will be able to go slow and enjoy the competition, but for the time being this is best. The girls hung in for all of the holes and over the time Emily showed more interest in playing consistently and with a little technique.

Just a few fun highlights from the game:

• Both girls enjoyed getting their ball in the holes.
• Emily would move the ball to where she wanted to hit it from.
• Julia had a special high-five she shared with her Daddy when each hole was completed.
• Daddy’s feet made great bunkers to help guide little balls.
• On occasion we would have a ball leave the putting area, but none of the times was it the girl’s fault.
• If we had really kept score Grandpa would have won. He played the most consistent game.
• We had a great time together!

Emily was talking Grandma to the hole. She wasn’t giving instructions she was just being her usual magpie-self.

A great Pa-Pa grin.

Sweet Daddy giving his little girl some assistance. Julia insisted in holding her putter backwards like this the whole time.

Mama giving a little putting lesson to Emily. By this point in the game she was listening to instructions a little better.

The classic well earned high-five exchange!

A little post-golf ride at the barnyard.