Goblin Valley/Little Wildhorse Canyon

Utah continues to amaze me with her diversity and beauty!  Neither me or Tim had ever been to Goblin Valley and after doing a little research, it seemed like the perfect day trip.  We left the house early, but by the time we arrived there was a line of about 30 cars waiting to get in.  Because of Covid, they were limiting the amount of people in the park, so once they were full, they would only let a car in once another left.  We had known that we would likely have to wait so it really wasn't a big deal.  We ate our packed lunch and the kids explored a little - mostly it was just nice to sit and enjoy the beautiful views. 

Once we entered the park, we hiked down into the Valley of Goblins and were immediately in awe - there were hoodoos and rock formations for as far as we could see.  So many different shapes and creations, it is one of the most amazing places I have ever seen.  The park allows you to climb on the formations so we spent the next few hours hiking around the valley and letting the kids climb.   It was fun to watch their imaginations at work as they talked about the hoodoos.  This stage with Luke and Ruby is really the best, we have the best time adventuring together.  

The Three Sisters

Our last view as we drove out of Goblin Valley

After leaving Goblin Valley, we drove up the road about 10 minutes to find Little Wildhorse Canyon for more hiking.  Our friend suggested we go there if the wait was too long for Goblin Valley and once we started looking at pictures we knew we wanted to go.  The hike starts off in wide open riverbed that was dry and full of sand that looked like it belonged at the beach.  

The riverbed was pretty, but after a mile or so the path entered into a canyon and then the scenery really became impressive.  There were lots of areas where we had to climb the slick rock, and it was fun to scramble up and over.  Eventually the canyon really started to narrow, enough that we had to turn sideways to skinny through.  After hiking through the slots for a little bit, we decided that we should probably turn around and head back.  The kids were tired and we knew we still had to get back to the car.  Also, there have been some recent tragedies with flash floods in the same canyon, and Tim and I couldn't get those stories out of our minds.  We hadn't looked at any weather reports and I started to feel super unprepared to be hiking in this slot canyon.  So, we didn't quite make it to the end of the canyon, but we saw enough to know that it was really spectacular.  

May Miscellaneous 2020

May is traditionally super busy - soccer, end of school activities, dance recitals, etc.  This year my calendar in May was completely blank.  It was strange...but we still found so many ways to have fun, and even more ways to enjoy our family and friends.

I love planting flower pots for our front steps and porch.  Due to more free time, I got started earlier than normal.  Luke and Ruby went to the greenhouse with me and were so patient while I tried to decide what flowers I wanted to plant, and of course, they had plenty of their own opinions.  Ruby was the best helper and was happy to be in charge of dragging the wagon with all of our purchases. 

The kids loved having the cousins over for an afternoon of fun.

Provo High planned several activities to try to make up for all that the seniors were missing.  One night they turned on all of the stadium lights, blared the fight song, and invited everyone over for a car parade.  We hadn't planned to go, but when the kids heard the horns honking and all of the cheers, the begged to join the fun.  We were all in our pajamas, but jumped into the jeep and joined the parade.  It's funny, at a different time, I am not sure most people would have gotten too excited about driving around the school.  But on this night, with all that has changed, it was suddenly the most fun we had had in a very long time. 

While we are on the subject of school spirit...the Lakeview teachers planned a parade to encourage the students and say goodbye for the summer.  Luke and Ruby were so excited and made little thank you signs with their neighborhood friends.  We ended up waiting a very long time for the parade to arrive, and a few times I considered just going home, but man I'm glad I waited.  It was so fun to watch the kids' reactions to seeing their teachers - oh how they have missed being in school.

Summertime arrived early to our neighborhood

Cutest pajama princess with her own homemade crown.

Tim and the kids have been going to the high school to pick up lunches while school was on hiatus.  Ruby loves seeing the lunch ladies and decided to write them a thank you note. 

No schedule = living room sleepovers

In the midst of all of this crazy pandemic, Ruby got an ear infection.

Our neighbor April gave her flowers to help her feel better.

We spent a Friday in Santaquin which is always awesome...

But the kids' excitement increased dramatically when they heard that Lola had just had her puppies.  Luke went outside on occasion to ride his motorcycle, but the rest of the time we were all in the basement snuggling the puppies.

Luke has really loved his teacher, Mrs. Bertuzzi.  She has moved and won't be at the school next year, so we snuck over to her house to say one last goodbye.

They may have been home since March...

But we still had to mark the last "official" day of school

First day to last day, they have changed so much.

Grandpa and Grandma Broadbent gave Luke a special robe to remember his baptism,

He wears it almost every night.

Memorial day was nice and relaxing this year.  We went to Santaquin on Monday for a BBQ at my parents, swimming at Jarin and Jami's, and of course, a visit to the cemetery.

And of course, being in Santaquin, meant we had a chance to visit the puppies

Luke and Drake discovered the skate park,

And of course, Tim is the cool dad that will take them.