Category: vacation

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hiatus, check

Wow, what a summer. Our stuff is still in storage, and our kids are currently farmed out, but other than that we are back from our summer of travel. The kids had a blast in Washington and Utah. They were able to meet loads of family for the first time. They were able to play outside all day and all night without roasting to death or scorching their little feet. They were able to experience new things like a slip-and-slide, a jet ski, and water balloons. All in all, it was a fantastic summer.

I was without computer the entire summer, which made it impossible to download pictures and blog. So Adam has been steadily downloading and then reloading all of my pics whilst here in London. And now that he is off working for the day, I have some time to rescue this sad little blog from its recent obscurity.

We are supposed to sign the lease, and move into our new place on 10 September, but there is a slight hiccup that might cause us to delay a bit. We’ll see how that works out. Regardless, the kids and I are anxious to get settled and start schooling. They are excited to be at home with me, especially with the prospect of dad joining us for lunch most days. Hopefully, it all works out as planned.

A HUGE public THANKS to Debbi, Marisa, Valerie, Jena and Jaime (and anyone else) for helping with the kids this week. We are having a great time.

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we miss you too, little guy

What do the following items have in common:

1. seven pairs of heart and star sunglasses

2.  one package of peanut m&m’s

3. 10 fruit snacks

4. one kid-friendly craft project

5. hundreds of water balloons

They are all part of the best pick-me-up care package ever!

A HUGE HUG FROM THE NINOS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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things change

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Never a truer title for our Memorial Day tradition this year. Year five, and our group has grown by five–and a half (Jena is due anytime). Okay four of those were my kiddos, but still!!! This Memorial Day was interesting to say the least. Let’s see: camping instead of hoteling, cooking instead of eating out, and braving inclement weather instead of basking at the spa. Kids mess everything up! :)

Here we are hiking:
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And building/racing boats:
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And traversing rivers:
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And other fun stuff–a.k.a. canyons:
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The kids had a blast, of course. We love love love car camping, but we already have our rooms reserved for next year. Adam promised me after this trip that if a canyon is involved we won’t have to camp. Thanks, honey. Only true canyon wives understand the sentiment, and that’s okay with me. :) The guys only did one canyon this year so they could spend more time with the kids. Next year, the kids will also be canyon-ready. They still have to learn to swim, and have a little more experience on the ropes. See here for Jaime’s trip report. She snapped the most adorable pics of the kids trying to catch rain in their mouths. And she also explained this year’s canyoning fiasco (there’s always at least one *wink, nod*). And here are the rest of our pics. Until next year, Beautiful Zion.

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planning meeting 2009

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One of our favorite friend traditions is our annual planning meeting. Aside from our monthly family night rotation, we have monthly car camping trips on the books. Our other excursions include:

April–four days in the Grand Gulch area, UT. This is the backpacking trip Adam and I did last March, but were unable to finish. This year we will be more prepared, and we will finish! 

May–5th annual Zion Nat’l Park Adventure, UT. We are camping this year to save money. Bye bye, Spa. Hello, kids. :)

August–Baker Lake/Johnson Lake Loop, Great Basin Nat’l Park, NV.This is a four day backpacking trip up in Northern Nevada. We will actually be hiking in trees and near a creek, yipee!

2009 will be a great year!!!

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is it really over?

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Yes, unfortunately, it really is over. At least for another year! Zionfest 2008 came and went in the blink of an eye. Those who took the time off work, gathered permits, made long drives, and left little ones behind were not disappointed. At least, I hope not. This year’s theme was “Call of the Canyon” (credits go to Robert Lea). Next year, however, the ladies have decided that the themed t-shirt will center around “Oh the Life of a Canyoneer’s Wife” Clever, eh? Maybe by then Valerie really will have purchased the straight-jacket for Carter…she keeps threatening.

Even though we spent almost a week at Zion Nat’l Park, it doesn’t seem like nearly enough time. I guess with everyone moving back to Las Vegas (how did that happen?) coordinating and planning will be easier. Regardless, I would fly home from China to honor this friendship tradition. Some people can’t believe that the 10 of us (which does vary each year depending on who’s in labor) actually take a holiday weekend and spend it together as friends. But our friends are family. There is no distinction to me. I wish everyone I know could have a life like mine. Our friends, at times, have been more supportive of our adoption than some family members. Our friends get us (in all our nerdiness–I know we’ll try to bring less electronic gear next year). Our friends visit us even when we’re seven hours away. I could go on and on, but as anyone who reads this blog knows, our friends are treasured by Adam and I.

Here’s a run-down of pictures…Click on the link to see more. (Jena, you can download and or all–just have to do it one at a time.)

Behunin Almost:

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Emerald Pools:

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Das Boot:

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Random Fun Pics:

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We had a fabulous time. Thanks Zioneers for being our friends. Our group vacations never ever disappoint. Oh yeah, I got 10 scrap pages done while I was there. That is the defining measure of how successful the trip was–in my book anyway!
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is it really here?

To all my fellow Zioneers–Two More Days!!! I’m sure tonight will be filled with dreams of spa treatments, scrapbooking, hiking, and great conversations. Maybe I’ll actually sleep a little too. I need the energy to be able to pack tomorrow! C ya on the South Side.

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Umm, maybe the snow IS too deep…

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The plan was to explore Falls Creek Falls, a (we have read & heard) beautiful waterfall not too far from Stevenson, Washington. It is also not too far from Panther Creek Falls (aka Davenport Falls), which we visited last fall.

As we drove further up the road, there were patches of snow in the forest, but overall it didn’t look too bad. One guidebook claimed year-round access, so I wasn’t too worried. Imagine our surprise when we found the last two miles to the trailhead covered in 2-3 feet of snow. I guess we won’t be making that hike today.

We did have an enjoyable drive back to Dan and Jessica’s though and were able to catch a great view from the aptly named “High Bridge,” where the road crosses over the Wind River. The high snowpack is feeding a strong river that is running a bit higher than in the past. Looks like an awesome place for a bungee jump!

Coming back into Stevenson, we came to the Davenport’s home. They have an unbeatable view from the front yard, with the Gorge and the Columbia River spread out before them. This is a beautiful place! Now, if they could just do something about the rain…

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One Little Tent—moab, ut

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Check it! We were the only tent camping in any of the campgrounds or RV parks! I love it. One of the older RVer’s asked if we would like to borrow an extra blanket-cute, huh? We said, ‘no thanks, we actually went and bought one yesterday, and a pillow, and an extra cushion.’ (for real) But we were roasty toasty warm and much more comfy after that. And yes, we both have our laptops out inside of the tent. :)

We spent our three days here hiking in Arches, playing cards, watching movies, and eating. This is the best time to visit the park. Spring Breakers and Jeep Safariers were on their way in when we were on our way out. There were other visitors at Arches, but nothing like when we’ve been before. I think it helped that we didn’t stay over a weekend and we were a week ahead of the start of the ‘season’. We were actually the only people at Landscape Arch for few moments. Usually, it is so crowded you couldn’t dream of such a thing.

The rest of our pics are here!

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Well, that about wraps is up. We had the best time on our shoestring budget. I know we spent more time “lookin’ at dirt” than some of our friends (Robert Lea) can muster. It was hard, fun, and rewarding. Our relationship is rejuvenated, as well as our resolve to keep exercising. There’s No Way I could’ve put the miles in I did (w/backpack) if I hadn’t been walking and jogging our hills with my sister.

SLC ½ marathon-I’m ready for you!

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Bridges Over Troubled Waters—natural bridges national monument

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Here’s another hidden Utah treasure. We stopped by after driving out to the Black Hole. We both wished we had more time to spend. There are three natural bridges that are much bigger than any bridges I have seen before. You can hike to all three of them.

We considered, earlier in our trip, hiking the nine-mile loop down in the canyon, which passes under each of them…but we were way too tired. This could be a super cool trip for the future, though. Instead, we hiked to each of the viewpoints and hiked down to the oldest bridge. Very Cool! We’re glad we stopped by. The rest of our pics are here!

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I Dream of Hovenweep–hovenweep nat’l monument

What’s Hovenweep, you ask? How about only one of Utah’s coolest hidden treasures. The Indian ruins at Hovenweep National Monument are extensive and terrific. We would like to take our children back and camp so that we may explore all of the sites with them. We only had time for one 2-mile hike of the closest of sites. But it was totally worth it.

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The rest of our pics are here!