Thanksgiving Point Tulip Festival

I am so glad I decided to go with some friends to the Tulip Festival.  It was cold and raining when we left, but the weatherman promised the rain and clouds would "burn off" and they did!  It turned out to be a beautiful crisp Spring day.  And the gardens were so beautiful.  We wanted acres and acres of gardens that were just breathtaking.  What an amazing place of beauty.

I Am the Light of the World Garden - Thanksgiving Point

I had an amazing visit to the I Am the Light of the World Garden at Thanksgiving point with some friends.  We went for the Tulip Festival, but the Garden was the highlight of the trip.

The Light of the World garden is a new two-and-a-half acre garden inside the Ashton Gardens with artwork and themed landscaping donated by the I Am the Light of the World Foundation. Created by Utah artist Angela Johnson, the garden includes a total of 15 scenes and 35 statues, with 14 scenes from the New Testament and one LDS Church-inspired scene depicting Joseph Smith’s First Vision. The sculpture garden offers guests a walk through the life and miracles of Jesus Christ and a space for quiet reflection.

These sculptures were incredible.  A few months ago we had the creator come and speak with us and it was such an amazing story of their creation and the work she did.  Being able to go and see the bronze statues and look at the detail and the expressions was amazing. I will definitely go again!

Spring Break trip to Teasdale, Utah...Adventure Acres!

For Spring break we were invited down to Teasdale Utah where Dave's mother's cousin has 40 acres of property to camp on.  We went down with some extended family and camped with some new friends as well.  It is such a beautiful area of our state and we had fun exploring just a tiny bit of it over the 3 days we were there.

We went to a remote site down some long dirt roads to a site that claimed to have amazing petroglyphs.  And it was true.  These were the biggest and brightest petroglyphs I have ever seen.  It was a neat discovery place and there was a lot of information about the archeological exploration that has taken place near the area.  

Back at the camp there were all sorts of toys to ride.  JB had four wheelers, motorcycles, dirt bikes and a bunch of e-bikes.  I had never heard of e-bikes, but I now have a new love.  An e-bike is a regular bike that has a battery assist to it.  You can set the amount of assist you want and when you are pedaling it will maintain a certain speed for you, even as you ascend hills.  A few of the e-bikes were even equiped with throttles that allows you to accelerate without even pedaling.  What's neat about riding them is that you can get as much of a workout as you want, but when you want/need a little rest or help you can have the motor kick in for you.  Our family of 4 went for a ride and everyone was able to stay together and enjoy the same ride, even with hills!  It was fun.

On the second day we went out to find a good slot canyon hike.  We had 3 in mind and after stopping at the first one where we discovered it was very windy and we would have to hike 2 miles to get to the opening of the slot, we proceeded to the second hike, Cottonwood canyon slot.   It was perfect there with cloud cover but warmth.  Just perfect for hiking.  We took our large group and drove down a fun dirt road to reach the beginning of the hike.  We scrambled over boulders and through the wash to the entrance to the slot.  This slot was not as narrow as most that we've enjoyed, but it was still beautiful and fun to explore.

At one point on the hike it did get fairly narrow and the water began to build.  We got to this point where there was no way but through the water or extended over it.  Some of the kids were able to span it, but mostly we were shuttled accross on piggy back by Mischele and Spencer who waded through the water for us.

Sadly, after this successful crossing we got to another water only place that was too deep and we had to turn around.  It was about the perfect length hike at that point any way and we were happy to go back down and have a yummy lunch at the car.

Thursday night we had a big ribs and chicken dinner with all the people staying at the camp.  It was delicious and we finished the night off with 4 cobblers as well.  We ate like kings and enjoyed our trip so much.  We hope to be able to do it again soon!

Dave's birthday trip...Green River/Moab

At the beginning of the year we sat down and mapped out a "getaway" a month on our calendar.  Some of these were dictated by soccer tournaments or holidays, but others were just random dates  we made sure to put on the calendar so we would plan on them.  This month the kids were out of school for the end of the quarter and it was also Dave's birthday, so we decided we would go down to southern Utah which is alway so much fun!

We left super early on Friday morning so we could get to the area for a morning hike.  We made it there by 10am and started out on our first hike, the Fisher Towers.  It was a nice hike with beautiful rock towers surrounding us.  We made it to the base of the Titan tower and then decided to hike up the path that the rock climbers use to actually face the towers.  We ended up watching a couple people rock climb up the side of a tower and we enjoyed the amazing view of the surrounding area from there.

After that hike we ate our lunch under a shade tree and decided where we wanted to go next.  We headed out towards the Grandstaff Wash area and found a fun hike to a natural rock bridge that was over 240 feet long.  The hike was partly along a small stream, which was a welcome sound and sight in the normally arid dessert.  This hike was a bit longer and a bit hotter, but we enjoyed it all the same.  It was fun to reach the bridge and sit in the shade for a while before heading back to the car.

After our long drive and a couple hikes we headed to our hotel room in Green River to have a little rest before deciding where to grab dinner.  We went to Ray's Diner in Green River which was really yummy!  After dinner we had a quick swim and were ready for an early night.

Saturday David had been searching for a slot canyon in the area that we could explore.  Slot canyons are our favorite hikes and the kids especially like them.  They are so beautiful and take some skill getting through and around all the skinny places with the rocks too.  We headed out a dirt road for over 30 miles to find the Moonshine Wash that promised a great slot canyon.  It did not disappoint and after a little hike we entered an amazing slot canyon that was so fun!!   It was one of the longest slot canyons we have hiked and it just kept going and going!  Some places seemed like we weren't going to be able to get through, but we all made it safely through!  After reaching the end of the slot we turned around and headed back out.

After leaving the slot canyon we followed the wash in what we thought was the way back to our car.  But somehow we missed a turn and eventually noticed that the only footprints we saw were animal tracks...there were no other footprints where we were.  We were lost!!  It was kind of surreal to be out in the middle of now where and not know where we were.  But like good scouts, we decided to go back to where we knew we were and see where we missed the turn.  We had gone quite a way off the path, but eventually made our way back to the right trail and out to our car.  After that long hike we decided to load up and head home...what a fun time!!

Norco Soccer Showcase

Evan had a soccer showcase in California and I decided to take both kids and have a great California weekend with the beach, friends, and soccer!  It was so nice to go and feel a little bit of warmth.  And of course, the beach is always a great place for a soulful visit.  Evan enjoyed 3 games of soccer and we love watching him at his passion.  We also got to visit a few old friends and spend time together.  All in all it was a wonderful weekend get away!

Sledding fun!

After the busyness of Christmas we took the morning to clean up the house a bit and then decided to take advantage of the snow and go sledding!  It was a perfect day, with plenty of snow and sunshine, and a big hill!  We did lots of runs and had a great time.