Spooky and Peek A Boo Canyon

 We had more days to explore the Escalante National Forrest area and more slot canyons.  We had to drive down a 26 mile dirt road to the trailhead for this hike.  Then we had to hike down to the wash floor.  We took a wrong turn somewhere and found ourselves on a cliffside trying to find our way down.  Austin and Evan took an adventurous way down which included a rope, but the rest of us kept looking for anther way down.

 Eventually we all got down and hiked through Spooky canyon.  This slot canyon was not near as spectacular as Antelope, but it was still neat.  It was a much longer canyon and we hiked about 1 hour through this one to the end of it.  We tried to find our way around to a nearby canyon, but we couldn't find a way through the cliffs and ended up running back through the canyon so we could get to the start of the other one.

 We were thinking about skipping another slot canyon, but we are SO glad we didn't.  Peek A Boo canyon was so different and really fun.  You started with a climb up to the opening of the canyon and from there you twisted through small spaces and climbed up boulders...the kids really loved this one.

All of the canyons were fun and it was a great adventure.  We had good weather, a little cold, but good for hiking!  It was good family time!

Hike with Dad

 From Antelpe Canyon and Page, Arizona we headed for Escalante Petrified Forrest Park.  We had a hook up for the trailor for two nights at this beautiful RV park.  It was nice to be able to stay put for 2 full days and explore this area.

 While Mom and Ethan took a rest the others took off for a hike with Dad.  They went through a petrified forrest valley and saw some really cool petrified wood.  It was also a great view of the resevoir and the canyons surrounding us.

We were set and ready for some exploring and family bonding time!

Gorgeous Antelope Canyon!!

 Our Spring Break trip this year was traveling up from Phoenix through various slot canyons.  Our first stop after leaving Phoenix was Antelope Canyon, near Page, Arizona.  Antelope Canyon is the most photographed slot canyon in the US and we know why...it is GORGEOUS!!

 The canyon is located on an Indian reservation and is only accessible by guided tour.  We knew it was going to be a spendy adventure, but we believed it would be worth it!  It was!!

 You start with a 10 minute open air jeep ride through the wash to the opening of the canyon.  We were the first tour of the day and we accompanied by 3 people from Lithuania and that was all.  We were really lucky as the canyon can be VERY busy and it's not very big.  We had a wonderful guide who helped us with our camera and even took some photos for us.

 The canyon is made by the flash floods that happen with rain storms up to 20 miles away.  In fact, that is one of the reasons the tours are now guided.  They have had some fatalities and near fatalities with people who are unaware of the danger of flash flooding.  Our guide told us a story of a rescue she helped with where she was really scared.

The colors and the smooth walls are amazing.  I do have to say that this is one place that the pictures really do turn out as good or better than what you see when you are sitting there.  It's just amazing!

As I mentioned, we were the first tour group in and we were virtually alone the whole way through the canyon to the other end.  Then on our way back through to the entrance we were met by 100+ Asian tourist coming into the chambers of the canyon.  We wouldn't have been able to get pictures without people in them if we had been 30 minutes later in the day.  We feel so lucky to have experienced the canyon with just the 8 of us!  Definitely a place to remember!

Austin's ride!

We finally found a car for Austin.  He has been working hard and saving for over a year to have enough money to buy his first car.  We told him that we would match what he saved and so he was ready a few days after he got his license.  We looked at a lot of cars and a lot of them were a heap of trash.  We were getting a little worried that we weren't going to be able to find something decent in his price range, but we pushed onward.  After 3 intense days of test driving and laughing, we found the one.  He is the proud 1/2 owner of a 1998 Saturn SC2.  It is very well maintained, with a nice exterior and a super clean interior.  The guy who sold it to us is a Saturn mechanic for 19 years and he sold it to us with a 12,000 mile, 12 month warranty.  Who does that on a 1998 car?  It drives really well and is a really cute, fun car.  He is enjoying his freedom and I'm enjoying that he can get himself all the places he needs to go and also help me drive his siblings around.  Here's to Austin and his new ride!

You are hereby called to serve as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints in the....

 What an amazing past few months we've had in the Smith family with our awesome youth accepting calls to serve full time missions!  These young people amaze me and they are so strong and willing to serve!  I am so glad we've been able to be there when each of them received their mission calls and found out exactly where they are going to be able to teach the people about the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and how much God loves each and every person.

First was Ashlee and she is currently serving in the Canada Montreal Mission, French speaking!

 

Next, Andrew (Ashlee's brother!) received his call to serve in the New Zealand Wellington mission.  He reports to the New Zealand Mission Training Center on July 18th!

 

And the very next day, Zachary received his call to serve in the China Hong Kong mission.  He will report to the Provo Missionary Training Center on August 7th!

And we are waiting for one more call to come later this month for Zachary's twin brother Justin.  That will make 4 missionaries out at once with possibly more to overlap the 2 years of service!  These young men and lady are great people and I am so proud of them all!

Chicken Coop

So our chickens arrived a few days before the coop kit was delivered and have been living outside in Jag's crate kennel.  That's 10 chickens in a 3x4 wire kennerl...yuck!  So when the coop kit arrived yesterday I brought it home and started putting it together about 5pm.  Luckily Austin and Ethan arrived home from soccer practice in time to help me!  It was a great kit that was mostly assembled and actually had good directions, so we were able to assemble the run and the coop and put it together in about 2 1/2 hours.

 Once the sun went down, however, it was really cold.  It was actually snowing when we got the coop outside to where we think we want it to be.  Then it got really dark and we were putting it together with the help of the flashlight app on Dave's phone!

The boys and I really did get most of it done ourselves.  Dave arrived home at 6:45 and was just in time to modify the perches that didn't quite fit right and help herd the chickens into the contraption.

It was so dark and cold that the chickens would have rather spent another night in the kennel, but we shoved them into the house and hoped they would "get it".  Some of them came back out and preferred to be under the coop.  Oh well.  I got up this morning and there are still 10 chickens and some of them have figured out how to go in and out.  Perfect.  We'll see if we get any eggs today.
I think it's going to be great!

 Every President's Day we have a soccer tournament and this year was no different.  We travel south to where there is no more snow and let the boys out on the field to remember how to play outdoor soccer again.  It's a fun tournament and it's always so nice to warm up and hope that spring will come to SLC some day soon!

 

The team did really well in their games.  We won the first game 3-0, won the second game 5-0, and tied the third game 1-1.  That put us in the semi-final and we lost 0-1 in that game.  It was a nice tournament and we enjoyed our time in Mesquite, NV.

 

After the games were over we had an afternoon left to explore the area.  We headed out about 40 miles to the Valley of Fire and hiked/climbed around.  We went with a teammates family, the Hathaways and it was a very enjoyable afternoon/evening hike.  At one point the kids took off ahead of us and climbed up the cliffs trying to get to the highest point.  After a while we lost sight of them and Dave had to run up to find them.

 Some of us stayed behind and waited, and waited, and waited for them to come back.  Even after we saw them on top of the bluff it took another 30-45 minutes for them to come back.  It was nice to be able to chat and visit while they were gone.  It really is a beautiful part of the country with all the red rock, wind swept formations there.

 After another night's stay we traveled back north to the cold and winter...blah!  It was a cruel reminder of how much I love the warm weather and don't care for the cold and snow here.  Overall a good time, even though I was sick.