My amazing aunt Amy was talking about their last minute trip to Moab for Valentines weekend. I jokingly said "Oh, that sounds like fun. Maybe I will have to convince BJ to take a trip this weekend. Moab sounds fun wink wink". Amy quickly replied with "You guys should come!". ha ha So I sent BJ a text and he was all for it. We realized after we said we could go that we would miss out on a few things....the worst being Kaylee's best friend Brinlee's birthday party. We were really sad to miss her party but were so grateful to get the opportunity to spend the day before at their house for a special playdate with Brinlee. 

After getting BJ's lesson for Sunday taken care of by the other YM leader. We were ready to go! We had never been to Moab before, and really had never been on a hike as a family due to my knee problems. Since my knees were doing good- we were so excited to try them out.

 BJ has said many times since this vacation that it was one of his favorite family vacation! The kids absolutely LOVED being outside and running and climbing on rocks all day long. We would eat breakfast at the hotel, pack a lunch, and then go out for dinner. We were pretty much outside all day long. It was so much fun. The only thing I would change for next year....is to bring a warmer jacket/coat. ha ha Almost the whole time I was cold and trying to layer more and more clothes to help and nothing helped. It really wasn't that cold, but the occasional wind gusts and my measly little jacket just didn't hold up to the fact that I am cold all the time.

 We borrowed a backpack for Connor to ride in from our amazing friends Ashley and Ryan Green. Connor liked it at first, but then fought it a lot after that (mostly because he was tired). We finally just had to stick him in and let him cry for a minute and he was fine. It was either that or carrying him with our arms, and let's be honest..that just hurts your back after awhile.

 The kids loved running up and down this sandy area. (I am just now blogging about this and it has been over a month ago that we went on this vacation- so I forgot a lot of the names of hikes and arch names)

 The views everywhere we went were absolutely amazing!

 Singing Follow the Leader

 This is my amazing aunt Amy and her hubby Joeh. These guys are so fun to hang out with. We could go on vacations with them every year! They are so fun to hang out with and we always seem to be laughing with them.

 The kids loved hanging out with Amy's kids

 Writing her name in sand

 There were a lot of places for the kids to climb, but mom was scared a lot with how high dad took them! The kids had no fear...which is what scared me! Thank goodness....no horrible falls or owies occurred on this trip

 Joeh and Millie

 Emily

 Joeh and Sam

 After a long morning/afternoon. Mom took the kids in the car for a nap while Daddy and the older boys went to hike the infamous Delicate Arch.

 BJ had never hiked this before so this was a great opportunity for him

 After naps we took the kids to the Sandy Arch to play

 This was a great place for the kids to run around and get dirty

 The boys had a lot of fun at this place too

 Uh oh! Where did Connor's feet go?

 Silly daddy had to climb up to the top and scare mommy

 Sand Angel

 Kaylee joined in on the fun

 Connor used the rocks as slides

 This is a picture of the kids sleeping while daddy was hiking Delicate Arch

 After all that hiking we split up from the others and took our kids to a Mexican Restaurant. It was the perfect place to go. The kids were starving (as were mom and dad) so the endless chips and salsa was exactly what we needed to make our bellies feel better. The kids alone ate two cups of salsa themselves! They love dipping their chips in "sauce"

First day= Success!