Our family of four went to Zion National Park on vacation with Michael's family in mid October. We were there for almost a week and it was absolutely fabulous. The views were breathtaking. We stayed in an amazing condo, and when you walked outside onto the patio, there was a fenced in front yard surrounded by gardens for all of the cousins to play in, and when you looked up, you were surrounded by mountains. Unbelievable.
The whole time we were there, I felt God telling me, "How could you ever doubt my power in your life, when I have made all of this with my own hands?" Michael and I talked about the possibilities of how God made the mountains. Michael thinks God created the tectonic plates under the Earth's surface, then shoved them together with His hands to make them. I think God, being the creative artist He is, sculpted them all by hand, even knowing what the weather and environment and surroundings would make them look like today. Either way, it's amazing.
Just about everything that went along with the trip was fantastic, and a wonderful experience for the boys, especially. They got to ride on their first airplane, and both of them LOVED it. I will never forget the sound of their giggles and the ecstatic looks on their faces the first time the plane took off. I sat between the two of them and kept looking back and forth, trying to soak in every moment. I packed a ton of little $1 activities from Target for them to do, and they were both so well behaved, even in their excitement. It was so much fun to see the trip through the eyes of little boys. I love knowing their little brain synapses were firing on overload the whole trip with new things to see and explore and process.
For the first 2-3 days, our family went out hiking and exploring in the park, stopping to collect things, and take pictures and videos. We bought souvenirs to bring back to the girls and ate at fun local restaurants. I got to read a lot of books and do a lot of resting, which was glorious. I think I took a nap every day of the trip. That alone was worth it! It was also so much fun to watch Bennett and Jasper play with their cousins, Caleb and Ethan, and Baby Lydia. Their favorite things to do together were playing tag, playing soccer, and playing with two lizards Michael found (that was the highlight of the trip for the boys, I think). Bennett named them Lizzy and Tizzy, and he and Ethan played with their "pets" for almost an hour, until they started chunking them across the yard like rocks, at which point we called it quits with the reptiles :).
On the last full day before our family left, we (our family, Michael's sister's family, and Papa and Nanna), drove out to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon and hiked one of the trails out over the mountains. It was indescribable. I went once with Michael and the boys, then I went back a second time with Michael's dad, Dan. I couldn't get enough. I wished we could stay for hours, and I definitely want to do it again.
