the Bangtson family, Chris and Nicole, Mark, the Baker family, the Brandt family, Hailee and Ernest
Another great trip is now a memory from Moab. We try to get to Moab every fall and spring with our good friends. We really enjoy camping, biking, hiking and exploring with friends. Times have changed since having kids - that is for sure. But it doesn't make me want to travel any less. It is very well worth the four hours of driving to get there. Macklin and Macy look forward to it now as well! They know the desert sand means lots of fun playing!
Bike Adventures
Beautiful Sunsets from the Weed Field Campsite
Hang Time
Our Newest Camper - Bradley (about six weeks old)
(pictured here in his homemade baby sleeping bag)
Trip to Arches with the Bakers
Girls on the Run
We took off for a run early one morning. It was so refreshing to run with women that just enjoy running. No whining, no complaining, no egos - just having fun, enjoying God's creation with good friends. This little run was one of the highlights of my weekend!
We are back from another run Moab trip. We have been trying to get to Moab twice a year, once in the fall and once in the spring. Mission accomplished for 2013 (spring trip here). We planned the trip with our dear friends the Bangtsons and ended up with a great group. We got in late Friday night (actually early for us...like 9ish). Kari and Hailee had been there early with their church group and had set up three tents in our favorite Moon Flower Campsite. Too bad they had set up and paid before meeting the ranger that told them to leave due to the government shutdown...seriously? What a bummer. We relocated to a field campsite down the road and got to help them unload when we showed up.
Saturday the crew headed out on a day ride at the famous Slickrock Trail. I loaded the kids up and we hiked out to watch them take off. Macklin rode his Strider for a while before I decided it was just too dangerous to have him out and about with my ability to catch him (because I had Macy on my back).
Happy Hiker
Twinsies! --- The Girls
Mountain Biking Boys
This is the first hill on the climb.
Here is my group shot of the day...this is as far as I was able to go.
Here is Hailee's shot of the day...I choose hers!
Macklin, Macy and I explored a bit. Macklin could have stayed all day!
Macy had fun walking around too! Such a big girl. I think her legs look so long in these pictures!
My attempt at a shot of both of them...never works. :)
My favorite picture on the weekend!
We had lunch and then took off for a fun new adventure with the kids. Directly across the highway from Arches National Park is a huge sand pit. We parked the car, let Macy sleep, and played for 1.5 hours! We made castles and buried three new friends in the sand!
After a brief round of slack lining at the local park, I headed back out with the girls and Andrew for the second ride of the day. I like going on the second ride because everyone is already tired :) We hit up Bar M trails and road North 40 (a blue black trail...oh yay!) and Lazy EZ (rated as it sounds). I realized that even though I only mountain bike twice a year (in Moab), I actually am starting to like it when I find trails that I like. I hung in there for the North 40. I am just nervous and my hands hurt afterwards!
Our RMR guide and new Vail Valley resident, Andrew
We grabbed some food and headed back to the campsite for hot dogs and s'mores.
While the crew headed out for a big ride, two WL leaders (Candace and Kim) and I packed up camp and headed to Arches. This is a favorite place for me to take the kids. I always forget how long it takes to get there, but they love the Sand Dunes Arch.
The crew had an incredible ride on Porcupine Rim. Justin was beyond excited about his rides this weekend and his knee didn't even seem to bother him!
Over Spring Break, we packed up the family and headed to Moab to meet our good buddies Jake and Kari. We have been friends with the Bangtsons since the first day of work in the Vail Valley back in 2007. We pulled out our slackline during the lunch break at new teacher training and we began to learn of our parallel lives. Kari and Jake are quite adventurous and we love to be around them. We just wish their wasn't 40 miles between our pre-manufactured homes ;)
Moab was great. We try to go once in the fall and once in the spring. Our kids are great car travelers even though I feel like I never get to accomplish anything during road trips anymore.
We meet Kari and Jake at our campsite on Wednesday afternoon as snow flakes fell from the sky - not exactly what we were hoping for when we drove through the blizzard in Eagle County to get to Utah. Wednesday was a bit cold, but not horrible. I took the kids to the local rec center to swim inside and Justin braved the briskness to ride his new bike for the first time in Moab. (Note: His words...."I felt like I was cheating!" Justin has ridden an old hard tail for the past 6 years that a friends graciously let him use. Now he has his brand new Yeti dual suspension bike that he thoroughly enjoys!) We headed into town for dinner and did a few s'mores on the fire before leaving the cold for the coziness of our sleeping bags. Here was our set up at Moonflower Campsites:
It was the perfect location for this bunch! The Bangtsons set up on one side of the stream and we were on the hill on the other. We do all four of us in the good ole four man Bass Pro Shop family tent. With Macy in the pack 'n play and Macklin on the climbing crash pad in the corner, the two of us still have plenty of space. We left Baxter with a friend for this trip. This was Macy's third camping trip already - she is one flexible baby!
The steady stream through the little canyon provided hours of enjoyment for Mack and Macy. AND, lots of dirtiness!
Yes, Macklin does have another bandage on his head...no stitches need this time though.
We got to enjoy some time by the campfire with our buddies! We cooked on the fire for Thursday night - hot dogs, brats, and s'mores. We also had some veggies and dip....that which Macy didn't smear all over her face! She loved that dip!
I was able to go for a ride too! I rode with Kari and Jake on Thursday morning and then Justin got to head out in the afternoon. After a chilly Thursday morning, the weather steadily rose from that point on. I rode the Bar-M trails that contain a lot of slick rock, which I like! I am still a horrible mountain biker, well inexperienced and unconfident might be more descriptive words, but I am having more fun with it this year.
