The Grand Canyon

 

See, I told you I got in one picture here! Though I would have rather had more canyon and less tree in the picture! But beggars can't be choosers when you are standing there posed for a family picture waiting for the next person to walk by.

(clicking on the pictures in all these posts will make them bigger and easier to see)

It was really chilly. We drove through snow coming in and the temp when we got out of the car to walk was in the upper 30's.

Notice Sam's hands. They are on Tiff's shoulders. Holding him down! I don't know if he is aware he is even doing it, but I was glad he was. This was the fence Tiff started to climb that I blogged about in an earlier post.

I like this one. Sam and his "mini-me"

This was the angle I wanted when I handed the camera to the lady. Same spot, just moved over a bit.

Kaebrie's favorite thing about the Grand Canyon? The copper donkey statue. I forgot to mention earlier that her favorite thing in Zion was a roly poly she found.

The snow was so pretty on the drive in. I really liked all the contrast of the white on the burned trees, so I asked Sam to pull over on the side of the road for a few minutes so I could snap some pictures.

The snow kept falling on my head where it was melting out of the tall trees so I didn't stay long. And I was COLD!!!! I may have been an Idaho girl for 3 years now, but outside in the snow in 30 degree weather in my shorts and a t-shirt still isn't comfortable.

Not a lot of pictures that afternoon. I blogged earlier about that days adventures with all the altitude sickness and the Delta  Barf Bags. My memory of my first visit to the Grand Canyon will unfortunately be seeing all their breakfast food for a second time, and then I will remember the beauty of the canyon.

Zion National Park

This place ended up being my favorite National Park that we visited. The kids really had a good time here too.

Christopher, as usual, makes his own path. Our boys LOVE to climb!

Anytime they can rock climb, they are happy. It is Mommy who isn't very happy when they get so far up and away I can not even see them.

Feeding a full grown male elk from their hands was a rare experience too.

Off they go, on another climbing adventure!

Can you even see the male Smiths in this picture?

I colored them below so they would be easier to find.

The hot tub back at the motel was a favorite spot as well.

Now for the scenic shots: The one below is my favorite picture from the entire trip.

I really like how the trees were silhouetted in the bright daytime sun.

I will give Sam credit for this shot below, that he crawled down a hill to take.

See the bird that flew into the picture?

What an amazing place. The little town of Springdale is quaint and I recommend staying there. But either leave the kids at home, or bring a big cooler with your own food, because eating there is VERY expensive and they aren't really kid friendly in the restaurants.

We are home!!

6,633 miles driven

500 pictures taken and a full memory card

316.92 gallons of gas (ouch)

56 Brady Bunch episodes on the DVD in the car

( and about 20 full length movies and cartoons)

                   

37 family and friends at Sam's surprise party

26 days gone from here

17 states  (whew)

   (Idaho, Utah, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, Florida, Tennessee, Arkansas, Missouri, Iowa, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wyoming and Montana)

16 nights in a hotel (double ouch)

14 relatives visited

6 national parks and monuments visited

      Zion National Park

            Grand Canyon

        The Badlands

     Mt. Rushmore

           Devils Tower

             Yellowstone National Park

5 bags of puke (yuck)

4 different churches attended

2 prescriptions filled from one ER visit

1 unforgettable family vacation

We did get the car unloaded and I did start the first load of wash. But then I had to do a main post because I have been having withdrawls. :)

It will take me a few days to get all 500 pictures organized and pick the favorites and tell the stories.

I will just have to do it in chunks.

As much fun as we had, it does truly feel good to be home.

I am actually at a computer. And I am so far behind on my blogging that I actually dreamed about posting last night. Alas, I don't have time right now. We are in Mrs. Zuri tonight after a 10 hour drive today. I like how Kaebrie says this state. I guess after being in MRS. Sippi for a few days, she has the right idea of how to pronounce Missouri.NO THROWING UP today! I count that as a success!We are taking the Northern Route home, so I can finally see Mount Rushmore, Devils Tower and Yellowstone.We expect to get back to Idaho Saturday night.Good.I am so totally exhausted. Physically, emotionally, and packingly. (So tired of trying to be UBER-organized from living out of suitcases and moving around so much).Kaitlynn and I are going out trying to find the Shoppette to stock up on some snacks. Hopefully, this base will be easy to figure out and it won't be far.More later this week if I can, then way to much after we get home and I get the 457 (an actual real total, not an exaggeration) pictures I have taken off my camera and organized. My memory disk only holds 500 pictures, so it will be cutting it close!By for now!!!!

ALABAMA

We made it safely here, to the excitement of all the grandparents and aunts and uncles (and great aunts and great uncles) and cousins and friends.

The drive from Dallas to Montgomery was our longest day of driving. It took us 14 hours. including stops.

The kids did amazingly well. Better then the best I even hoped for. We were one hour from Montgomery, after having driven a total of over 2,100 miles, when we heard the FIRST

"Mommy, HE IS TOUCHING ME!!!!!!"

I think when my sister and I were little and traveling we didn't even make it out of our driveway before we started that mess! :)

As usual, every time we do anything, there is something UNusual that happens.

We pulled into a small town in Mississippi when it was time for super. Sam chose Krystal because it is cheap and fast. That was one of the only meals in the entire drive from Idaho we ate in the car. We were all in a hurry to reach our final destination!

When we finally arrived at his parents house at 11:10 pm, the kids piled out and I noticed a small bite looking mark above Kaitlynn's lip. I thought she must have a bug bite. She woke me up at 3am with a stomach ache, and proceeded to throw up the rest of the night. The next morning, she woke up feeling fine, but that small bug bite was really big and blistered and there was another one below her lips even larger. Then we noticed her legs. Raised red marks with blisters in the shape of her fingers.

All we can figure is she had an allergic reaction to something. Her face reacted, her legs reacted where she touched them, and her stomach reacted all night. No fever, she has felt fine since waking up that morning, but poor thing, she just looks terrible. The blisters all scabbed over and now the skin is starting to heal.

Weirdness.

I don't know if it was the Krystal burgers or not, but I don't think we will be stopping there on the drive back.

This sure has been the "throwing up trip!" Hopefully, that part of the trip will be a one way only!

...........More to come!!!

Just Listen

I think I mentioned before that this convention we are at is like one big reunion. People that were important parts of our lives from all over the country are here. Sam and I counted, and from the first PCA church we were at that sent him to Seminary, we have been involved in 10 PCA churches through either interning, youth pastor, or senior pastor in Alabama, Mississippi, California, Colorado and Idaho. That is a lot of people to know! Every time the elevator opens or you go up the escalator, you are looking at everyone to see if you know them. We have had many great reunions today. Wonderful men Sam has interned under through the years, families we lived next door to in seminary housing, fellow students we graduated with and were involved with as long as 11 years ago. It is amazing to reconnect after all these years.

One of my other favorite parts of General Assembly is the singing during the worship service every evening. There is something incredible about the voices of 3,000 men singing praises to God. It gives me goose bumps every time. The video isn't much to look at, I was just holding it up to try and let you hear the singing, though of course it is nowhere near the actual sound. So turn up your volume, close your eyes, and enjoy.

DESPERATE TIMES CALL FOR DESPERATE MEASURES

Kaebrie usually naps for about 2 hours every afternoon and usually goes to bed at 8pm, and sleeps between 11 - 12 hours. That has not been happening on this trip. She is in such a sleep deficit from not napping and staying up way to late, that I had to do something drastic today, as my sweet girl was turning into a crabby, fussy, whiny, not so nice to be around three year old.
We came back to the hotel room, and I put her bed into the bathroom. I turned her sound machine on loud, closed the shower curtain, shut the door, and she slept for almost 3 hours, in the bathtub.
Sam thought I was nuts.
But she wouldn't have slept with the rest of us sitting out here all in the same room.
Hey, it WORKED!
The only rule was you could only go the bathroom if it was absolutely necessary, but NO FLUSHING!!!!!

Discovering Dallas

Yesterday was our first full day here. The little kids went to the play area all day and had a great time. I was able to attend a few of the sessions with Sam and meet other PCA chaplains from all over. Every branch of service, civilian, hospital, ect. I took a break over lunch and Collin, Kaitlynn and I walked over to the Holocaust Museum. It was very well done and tied into a lot of what we have talked about this year in school.
Our great friends, the Bowman's, arrived last night from Savannah and they kept the kids while I attended the Chaplain dinner with Sam. David Peterson, a retired navy colonel, is now retiring from MNA and working with the chaplain service for over ten years. They did a surprise roast for him. I wondered how funny a surprise roast for a chaplain would be, but it was great! Joel Belz, the editor of World Magazine spoke, as did about 12 other people, then they ended with General Norman Schwarzkopf on the phone.
It was a very nice evening.
This morning, we got up and ready and headed out to the Dallas Aquarium with Carol and Thomas.
We had to buy tickets for the DART tram system and you can't buy them in groups. Each one has to be done separately. After reading all the instructions and options, I started the rather lengthy process of putting in the right amount of money.....5 times. One of the tram workers came over to me and asked if I needed any help. He said it looked like I was playing the slot machines.
:)

Kaitlynn loved the manatees. We just sat here on the floor and watched and watched.

As soon as I am done here, she is going to put a bunch of pictures on her blog. It is just so fun to see her walking around composing all of her pictures! :)

The best buddies. They only get to see each other about once a year (if that), but these two pick up like they have never been apart. They have been friends since Collin was 10 months old. Hard to believe they will both be SIXTH graders next year. They are already talking about being room mates at Auburn one day.

We are now back in the hotel room, having just finished a supper of PB and J sandwiches on the floor. We are going to go to Worship at 7:00. The music is amazing. Hearing close to 3,000 men sing Praise and Worship songs is one of my favorite parts.
Tomorrow we are off for another adventure!
As you can tell, I renewed our Internet service again.
Just could not say no!