Thanksgiving!

 We were very lucky to have our friends, the Schecter's join us for Thanksgiving this year! They are in the process of moving from CT to WA where Matt will now be stationed. We first met them in Guam and then we were stationed in CT at the same time as them too! We haven't seen them since we left CT in April 2020.

The kids really enjoyed playing together, their son Holden is 9 and our kids loved having him around! Especially since he enjoys building with Lego! We also had them paint some rocks for our front yard.

The kids helped us play Ticket to Ride, we enjoyed cuddles on the couch and lots of play time!

Here is a video of the kids being goofy when they are posing for pictures.

Here is another video with Avery trying to get the dog's attention. She really wanted to throw balls for their dog, Duke, but when she was on the ground with him, he kept trying to get the ball from her before she threw it. She also took a really long time to throw the ball!

And one last video of the kids saying goodbye when Jess, Matt and Holden left for their next destination. They were able to stay for two nights and it was so great to spend time with them and catch up. But at the same time it was too short of a visit! The kids really wanted Holden to stay longer!!

We had a wonderful Thanksgiving with our friends and hope to see them again before too much time passes!!

Moab Vacation Day 3

Today we went back to Arches to do the 3 mile hike to Delicate Arch. Avery did some hiking and some riding in the hiking carrier while Gavin hiked the whole thing! Of course he complained along the way and wanted to be carried at times, but he completed it! It was a little scary towards the top with a 4 foot wide trail and a huge drop on the side but a beautiful view of the arch. Many people got a lot closer than we did but there was quite a drop near the arch and with the kids (not to mention both Carlton and I having a fear of heights) we decided to skip getting closer!

Random window on the trail up to Delicate Arch.

After our hike to Delicate Arch, we opted for a much shorter hike to give the kids a rest. Sand Dune Arch and Broken Arch were nearby, so we took them to San Dune Arch and Carlton stayed with them while they played in the sand. I did the short hike to Broken Arch for more pictures.

After all our hiking, the kids both got to be sworn in as Junior Rangers for Arches National Park! They were very excited for their new badges.

We have a couple more days of pictures to share! Stay tuned!!

Vacay in Moab!

We decided to take a week and explore Moab and the nearby areas! On our way into Moab, we had to stop and check out the Dinosaur tracks, there are many in the area but the most popular one is supposed to show about 100 different Dinosaur tracks in one small area. 

Some of the prints were very clear while others were a bit harder to see. Many were covered in dirt (as you can see), so that made it a bit harder to see the prints. This area was a riverbed, so lots of dinosaurs used to come through here for food and water.

The next day, we went to Arches National Park. We started with Balanced Rock which was a short hike. When asked how the rock got up there, Avery said that she put it there!!

Here is a video of Carlton asking Avery how the Balanced Rock got in its place.

Here are some pictures taken as we were driving through the park on our way to the next stop, the Windows.

Our next stop was the Windows area which has Turret Arch, Double Arch, North Window and South Window. Lots of natural arches/windows in a small area.

Turret Arch was the first one we explored. Mr. G kept running ahead, so one of us had to stay with him while Ms. A was taking her time.

Next up were the North and South Windows.

We walked over to Double Arch next and the kids had a great time climbing up inside the arch to explore. Gavin and Daddy climbed to the edge of it to see over the side. Avery's legs were not long enough to make the climb.

Some woman we saw on the  trail decided to bring her blow-up dinosaur costume and put it on for the kids. 

Our last stop for the day was to go to the viewpoints for Delicate Arch. We hiked to it the next day but thought it would be nice to see it ahead of time.

Then I stopped at Fiery Furnace to take some pictures of these great rock formations.

It was a great first day of hiking and exploring!