OK. I'm actually going to do it. Actually, I'm just so tired of everyone bugging me about updating the blog... :) I KNOW it's been over a month.... and I KNOW you all want to see pictures of us from Utah... but I've had other things to do. I can't think right now what those other things are specifically, but I'm sure they've kept me busy doing SOMETHING and not blogging. But here I am with a new post and pics from in the first of a two-part series on our trip to Utah.
One of the first things that we had to do when we got to my parents' house was to have Papa rock Sophie in "The Rocking Chair". For those of you who are not familiar with this tradition - this chair was a Christmas present when my mom was pregnant with me. When I came home from the hospital, Dad rocked me in the chair and then engraved my name and the date of that rocking into the bottom of the chair. The tradition has continued to the grandchildren. Sophie's name can now be added to Sierra, Talmage, Rochelle, Anya, and LaMar. She's now a Kay baby.
We got to go to Valora and Eric's house Monday night for dinner. Justin & Mindy & family and Tyler were also able to join us. It was great to see them all and we really appreciate Valor and Eric hosting us - especially with it being only a few days before Valora delivered her baby.
Sophie enjoyed all the kids.
Sierra had fun with her cousins.
Zach and Spencer wanted a picture of just "the boys" in the fort they built.
We got to spend lots of time out in Honey Gram and Papa's pool during the week.
As Sophie got more used the pool, she enjoyed it more.
And then she and Lindsey went inside to take a nap.
It's been a long time since I was in Utah for Pioneer Day. We decided to go to the Days of '47 parade in Salt Lake. Brian and I had spent our anniversary in Salt Lake just two days before the parade and the next morning there were already people lining the streets and marking their territories (with blankets, I promise). So we figured we better get there early. I think we left sometime around 4:30 am (just think day-after-Thanksgiving excitement) to join the throngs of people lining the streets. We thought the streets would be blocked off by 5 or 6 am, but we were wrong. It wasn't until close to 7 am. But we were there early and got good seats right in front of Burger King. It was a lot of fun.
Sierra's goofy hat as she greets a seagull.
OK, so I missed getting a good picture of President Monson (see Stephanie's blog for that picture), but we did get a good picture of the See's car. (I know... it's a toss-up. ;)
Sophie was introduced to popcicles via Stephanie. She loved it so much that we tried giving one of her own to her. This is what she looked like while enjoying it...
...And this is what she looked like when the popcicle was gone.
We left the comfort of home to go camping in a cabin in Vernal on Friday. I know... What's in Vernal? Dinosaurs. Our family has really enjoyed seeing the National Parks and Monuments and we thought it would be fun to get a cabin in Vernal, UT and make a bit of a weekend out of it to visit Dinosaur National Monument. As you can tell we were really roughing it with that porch swing. (I love KOA campgrounds!) I think Sophie was wondering when her bed would be ready.
We spent all day Saturday at Dinosaur National Monument. It was exciting to get to see actual fossils and learn about something new.
We have discovered the Junior Ranger program for kids through the National Park Service. I would highly recommend it to anyone with children ages 6-12 (that's usually the ages you have to be to participate, but some parks vary). The general idea is that the child picks up a booklet from a visitors center and completes some activities. They vary depending on the park and the number to be completed also varies. They are usually fun and educational. After they complete the booklet, they take it to a ranger, who checks out their booklet and then swears them in as a Junior Ranger and they receive a badge to wear. Sierra is trying to collect as many of them as possible. I think it's a great way to get kids to appreciate the National parks and monuments and Sierra's had a lot of fun completing the activities and it gives her something to do and look for while we drive around and see the scenery. (Do I sound like a comercial for the program yet?)
After arriving at the park we decided to take a "short" 3/4 mile hike. We should have heeded the warning about not going in the middle of the day, but we took our water bottles and braved the elements in search of some fossils. And I think we found one. :) Apparently there's a fossil right there.
And I think there's another one here.
Honey Gram, Sophie and Sierra taking a break. Sophie was a trooper.
Hiking some more.
Are we done with this hike yet???
Stephanie and Sierra pointing to an ancient petroglyph.
Sophie and Sierra at the greeting stegosaurus.
We then took an auto tour and, with Stephanie as our narrator, got to see lots more of the rock formations and learn about the geological history of this area.
This is Sierra with some ancient petroglyphs.
Here is Sierra being sworn in as a Junior Ranger for Dinosaur National Monument.
After the "official" tour, we decided to drive a bit more to see what else the monument had to offer. Papa found a great dirt road to take us down. We saw a cattle "stampede" (ok, there were like 10 of them walking across the road) and lots of other things that were very, very interesting. I know that this was Steph's favorite part of the day.
We stopped to see these etching in a stone along the way. I don't know who left them or when or what they mean, but they are pretty amazing. We saw etchings like this up high on what appeared to be a cliff-side. I had to zoom in significantly with the camera to get this shot. What amazes me the most is how these have not been weathered away.
No, this is not our Christmas card picture. This was the only bit of air conditioning we received at the park. As we continued down this long, long, long road (and then back up) we found a small cave. It appeared that either two rocks had collided or one huge rock had split. You could stand under the crack and look up, but not see the top. I don't know the physics of how it all works (and I'm sure Justin could explain it to me at length IF I asked) but all I do know is that it felt very, very good to be standing there under a sort of crack in the rock where the cool air was rushing down onto us. We couldn't help but smile as we posed for this picture.
On Monday morning, after checking out of the campground, and on our way out of town, we stopped at the Dinosaur museum in "downtown" Vernal. This look into prehistory took much less driving and was much cooler as we got to view the displays from the comfort of the air conditioned building. Sierra got an activity booklet at the front desk so that she could become a junior scientist. This is similar to the junior ranger activities, but more focused on the dinosaurs. There were several activities to complete as she viewed the exhibits. She learned about the different prehistoric eras and epics and about the different types of fossils that have been found and what types of animals lived where and when. It was very educational.
Sierra enjoyed having her picture taken with a few of the Vernal locals.
I don't think Sophie enjoyed the dinosaur bones as much as Sierra, but she is still enjoying her stuffed baby dinosaur. It laughs when she squeezes it and she usually giggles right back at it.
At the end of the tour Sierra's booklet was complete and she received a badge as a junior scientist.
We got to see the Vernal Temple on our way out of town. It may be small, but it is a beautiful and special place.
After that it was time to start getting ready to head home. More on that part of the trip next time...
