ARIZONA - Grand Canyon

We drove from Moab to Page Arizona. By the time we got there it was close to 10pm and we still hadn't eaten dinner. Aarahi went out in search of something and came back with some interesting looking Mexican as that was all he could find open nearby. The hotel did however have a delicious breakfast the next morning.

We took a quick hike in the morning to see Horseshoe Bend which was on Aarahi's bucket list. It was quite impressive. Lili walked the trail in bare feet for some reason I can't quite remember. Then it was onwards to the Grand Canyon.

We had contemplated skipping the Grand Canyon because we were tired and just felt like getting to our next hotel for a rest but we are glad we soldiered on.

The Grand Canyon was one of those places that you just stand in awe of the reality that place like this exist. It truly was GRAND. We didn't wander too far from the visitors centre and spent most of our time sitting on some rocks with the kids completing things for their last Junior Ranger badge. Ammon loved climbing the rocks and everyone was in love with the adorable little squirrels that were running around all over the place. They were very friendly and came close enough to touch if you were game enough.

The kids got the chance to touch and play with a bit of snow that was still covering part of the park. That was a win for them. Lili and Auron are quite keen to learn to snowboard so we have that planned for next winter.

We saw some huge moose on the way back to the car too. It was exciting to see all the different animals. I suppose it would be like people coming to Australia and seeing Kangaroo's, when we see them almost daily around us.

We carried on our road trip to Sedona. I think this is where all the crazy healthy people go! We went to get smoothies one morning and they cost $15!!!!!! for a single cup! The whole place screamed new age healthfood etc even Mc Donalds was green??? However it was a beautiful place. We didn't do as much as we planed here as we were tired but we did swim in the pool a bit and ate good food.

Next up we visited with the Sister Missionary who taught my Mum the gospel almost 30 years ago.It was such a blessing to see her after all these year and I am so thankful for her influence. I have no photos which is unfortunate. We stayed with her family and the kids had a blast riding ponies and just being kids. They also had their first smores, that was another thing to tick of their lists. I am thankful that we sat down before we left and wrote out wish lists of things to do and eat. It was such a thrill for us as parents to see them check things of their little lists.

Auron has a penpal who lives in Arizona who he was lucky enough to meet up with. It was so cute to see them together and playing. They bought the kids little easter baskets which were a huge hit. They are still playing with them everyday now! The kids got a good 2 hours of playing in before we had to say goodbye.

We headed off to our last Arizona night in Yuma before finally making our way back to California towards San Diego!

Horseshoe Bend

Lili and Auron with Auron's Penpal. 

Oh Chick Fil A how we loved you!

SNOW

MOAB

It was another early start for us as we farewelled my parents and sibling and went our separate ways. We had a 4 hour drive ahead of us. We stopped halfway at a dinosaur museum which was interesting enough to hold both our attention and the kids. They had a lovely little dinosaur play area too which let the kids burn off some energy.
Our next stop was Canyonlands National Park. We were in awe at every turn. It's amazing that places like this actually exist. I hope we never lose those memories because the photos can never do it justice. We did a small hike and the kids completes their Junior Ranger booklets to earn another badge. The hike was a little terrifying once we got to the end, not a place for a mother of 3 little ones!
We checked into our hotel and took a short...30sec ride down the road to dinner. I had the BEST Italian food I have ever had and the kids we happy with the authentic wood fired pizzas.
The next morning we had subway for breakfast and used paypass to pay for something for the VERY FIRST TIME. I did it without even thinking and the girl at the counter was like "whaaaaat how did you do that?!"
Next up was Arches National Park. We stopped at the visitors centre to fill up our water bottles and the kids water bladders in their backpack then slowly drove to the start of our hike. I was apprehensive about this hike to say the least. It was called Delicate Arch and it has been on my bucket list for years but most of the reviews said it was too difficult for kids and to only take older kids etc. It was a 5km round trip with a significant uphill component. So here we were with 3 kids aged 2, 4 and 6 and I was 24 weeks pregnant. Also we are NOT an athletic family haha sounds like a recipe for disaster. However WE DID IT! and by did it I mean Lili and Auron walk the entire way with out complaining carrying their ow bags and I didn't die. Aarahi and I were so incredibly proud of them, they were AMAZING. People kept commenting as we passed them on the trail at how well they were doing and giving them lots of encouragement. And the view at the end? AMAZING! It took us around 2 1/2 hours to walk there and about 1 hour back. The way there was pretty much all up hill.
We stopped and a few other neat spots on the way back to the visitors centre where the kids received another Junior Ranger badge.
We rewarded ourselves with some yummy homemade icecream at a diner (eating at a diner was also on my list of things to do)
Now we leave Utah behind and make our way to Arizona.

Huge 500000000m drop right behind us.

Can you see us?! We needed proof that we actually made it

Almost half way up

We learnt about Cairns on our hikes. They are little towers made with rocks that help you know which way to go. Lili loved to make her own.

Balanced Rock

Ammon was happy to be finally free somewhere where I didn't think he might fall to certain death

Finally MADE it. Lili is slightly terrified. 

Hard work but so proud of ourselves!

SALT LAKE CITY

We arrived in Salt Lake around 2pm and went straight to Temple Square to pick up our tickets to General Conference. It was an ordeal let me tell you. We wont go into it any further than that. The rain didn't help matters.
We had a special dinner reservation for Auron's birthday up at the Roof Restaurant which is at the top of the Joseph Smith Memorial Building and looks out right over the Salt Lake Temple. It was a buffet dinner (Auron's favourite kind of restaurant) however it was a pretty fancy buffet. Lili was quite taken with the lobster mac n cheese. That will not likely ever make  the menu at home! AUron got a bit spoilt with the waitress setting up his place with sparkles and a special ice-cream cake and candles. They had beautiful live piano music playing, it was a really amazing experience. Although it is quite expensive we would highly recommend you go if you ever get the chance. It was just magical, even with 3 little kids.
When we finally got back to the AirBnB we were staying at Auron FINALLY got to have his big present he had been waiting months and months for, MINECRAFT. He spent the next few hours playing while Lili and Ammon caught up on youtube after not having internet for the past couple of weeks. Aarahi and I enjoyed the hot tub on a freezing cold night.
Being able to go to General Conference was such a blessing and we are so thankful that we have been able to attend twice now and hope to go again one day. We have no photos of actually being there since our phones were flat and we couldn't take big cameras.
The rest of our time in Salt Lake was spent catching up with family and friends.
Next we are off to Moab which was hands down our favourite place we visited. We wish we could have stayed there so much longer but we will be back without a doubt.

Last time we visited Bethany and I were still pregnant with Lili and Samantha now they are almost FIVE

ST GEORGE, ZION, MANTI

Today we woke up early and got ready to leave. Just as we we walking out the door Auron threw up everywhere. After 30 minutes of cleaning him up and trying not to leave vomit covered towels in the room (although it's Las Vegas, I am sure they have had worse left behind) we we on our way again. We made it to the elevator before Auron vomited again, this time he aimed with uncanny precision into rubbish bin with the tiniest hole ever.

The drive to St George took about 3ish hours I think. Auron continued to vomit but by the time we got to the St George temple around lunch time he was coming right. The cause of his sickness I am guess was drinking lots of the gross water at the park the day before. We had all been drinking bottled water but Auron had been refilling his bottle at the refill station. I tasted that water it was foul.

The temple was just a beautiful as I had imagined. It was so nice to just walk around the grounds and enjoy the peace and tranquility.

The hotel we stayed at had the most uncomfortable beds I have ever slept in. I am not sure if it was the beds or the HORRIBLE noisy, crinkling sheets which drove me insane.

Zion National Park was on the agenda for the following day. This place was so beautiful. Red rock canyons are not something we we have anywhere we have ever visited. The kids earned their first Jnr Ranger badge. They had a workbook to complete which involved doing a set of activities and attending a presentation. The presentation of the badge was all very official which was right up Auron's ally. I wish they had more things like that here for the kids to do.

We left the park at around 3pm to head to Manti. The drive was LONG. It had been a beautifully warm day in the park but on our drive to Manti we we surrounded by snowy roads and snow covered mountains. The kids were amazed, but we enjoyed the snow from the warmth of the car. We arrived into Manti around 9pm to the glorious sight of the Manti temple up on the hill.

We stayed in the "forrest" in Manti. Auron was freaked out. Obviously this kid has grown up in the city. The next day he woke up at as big SIX year old. Happy Birthday Auron. While Mum and the others went to the temple we went and got the most incredible milkshakes. I had banana and it had actual banana in it not just flavouring. I'm still day dreaming about it now. We met up with everyone to take photos at the temple before driving through to Salt Lake. 

Auron was still not up to photo taking yet

Photos can not do this place justice!

Manti Temple

LAS VEGAS

LAS VEGAS

We left LA around 9am for the 4 hour drive or so to Las Vegas. It was pretty boring and uneventful aside from devouring our cheesecakes, they were pretty amazing. We arrived at the hotel which was looking right down Fremont Street. Within 20mins of us entering the room Lili had blocked the toilet. Aarahi tried to fix it, it was gross. Finally we called someone to come and he had it fixed in less that 10seconds. We also had ANOTHER talk with our children in regards to their excess toilet paper usage.

We made last minute plans to catch up with some of Aarahi's family for dinner. Unfortunately we couldn't catch them all but hopefully next time. We heard good things about the pizza at our hotel so bought a few of them to take. They were not the greatest pizzas I have ever had but there was a delicious salad made from Uncle Brian's garden. That man is amazing, he is 90 something and still gardening even though he has to drag himself and crawl along the ground. That is some serious dedication!

The next day we needed a break, and the kids needed to just relax and play. We were told about a neat container park with playground that we thought we would visit. Luckily for us it was just a 5 min walk from our hotel. We walked down Fremont street....definitely an experience and not one I particularly enjoyed. We ended up spending almost 6 hours at the park. SIX HOURS! In that time though my parents came to hang out for a bit and Aarahi caught up with one of his mission companions and his wife and adorable new baby. I had to go back to the hotel to pick up the treats we had bought from Australia for Aarahi's mission friend. But it was lucky I did because I ended up coughing and peeing my pants a little and needing to change. Pregnancy has lots of fun stuff attached to it. I guess when you are on to number 4 your pelvic floor is pretty much destroyed.

On my way back to the hotel I just happened to see my brothers and step-dad going down the zip line. They said it was pretty awesome.

We went to Whole Food's for dinner. The kids were in love with the salad bar, well the fruit salad bar. They made themselves big bowls of salad for dinner and then a cup of fruit salad and yoghurt for our road trip in the morning.

Stay tuned for our next post when it is Auron's turn to be sick and vomit in the hotel hallway, the hotel elevator, and almost non-stop between Las Vegas and St George!

Auron's creation. Some other kids came and wanted to play in it. We had to take a photo before it was destroyed