Lucky Winner

Anders made this with a group at school.  They drew lots to see who got to take it home.  Lucky us, Anders won.  It resides on our porch until the inevitable time it goes in the trash.  But here it is, memorialized below, for posterity.

S'mores Whoopie Pies

We have tried lots of recipes from Pinterest.  The worst was by far skinny monkey cookies.  They were healthy and DISGUSTING.  The polar opposite were these bad boys.  Delish.  Rob and Lucy whipped them up.  I hope there will be an encore soon.  

Arise and Walk Forth

A couple of weeks ago the stake had an activity for the YW.  The theme for YW this year is Arise and Shine Forth.  So they had a walk from the Stake Center to the Temple, which ended up being about ten miles.  Once the walk started Lucy and her friends took off and I didn't see them again until we got to the park for lunch.  They ran the 8 miles.  From the park we all walked up to the temple for a devotional.  It was a really fun day and I'm glad I got to do it (sort of) with Lucy.

Spring Break Part 6: Devils Garden and the Y

Our final day in Moab was spent in Arches.  We had hoped to brave The Fiery Furnace, but all the passes were sold out, so we had fun instead on the Primitive Loop trail of the Devil's Garden to Double O Arch.  It is a great hike.  There was one part that challenged my chicken liver nature, but I overcame and we completed the hike.  It was beautiful and again Clara did a stellar job on such a long and difficult hike.  Posing along the way really helps her.

 This was a fun "jog" Rob and I took out to see Broken Arch.  We ran the whole way because the kids refused to get out of the car.  And Rob of course had to climb up on it.  This was our finale and after this we drove back to Provo.

 The following day the kids decided they hadn't had enough hiking (except Clara who had definitely had more than enough) and went up to the Y.  It was a cloudy and pretty day and Rob and kids had a good time, even if Coaster the dog wasn't particularly setting a good pace.

Spring Break Part 5: Needles, Canyonlands

On Thursday we headed south of Moab for one of our newly discovered favorite places; the Needles section of Canyonlands.  It is simply amazing.  We stopped very briefly (it was cold) at Newspaper Rock.  There were thunderstorms rolling in and we were worried it would spoil our day.

 We waited for a downpour to blow over and then did the quick and fun hike, which I can't currently remember the name of.  There are ancient cave paintings and not so ancient cowboy digs nestled under the cliffs.  Then you climb a ladder and scramble around on top of the butte.  Excellent fun.

 At the potholes we got caught in the rain and had to make a run for it to get back to the car.

 At this point we were really nervous that our main hike to Chessler Park would be ruined.  We waited for another downpour to pass over and then optimistically set out on this VERY fun 6 miler.  And we had PERFECT weather. Breezy and billowy clouds.  We couldn't have had better luck.  It really is a spectacular hike.  These pictures don't begin to capture the beauty.  And it has all kinds of fun elements.  A really terrific hike.  We'd like to do the full 10 mile loop someday.  Clara was available on command to pose:

 "None shall pass":

 Some treats at the destination:

 I wish I could explain how spectacular this place is.  This picture captures none of the grandeur and the incredible colors:

 The drive out was so so so so beautiful.  And again these pictures don't even begin to capture it.  Rob and I would love to spend a week and just explore all the canyons that line the road on the way it.  Incredible, incredible, incredible.