March 22, 2008

Spring Break Highlights

It's amazing how quiet our house is when we don't have five additional people in here. I must say that at least two of our pets are rather relieved to have the house to themselves once more. Although I have a feeling Harvey is a little sad. He misses all the attention he got due to the standoffishness (good word, huh?) of the other two around the little ones. He is looking even more bored than normal.

So, here are some of the highlights from the Renslow's recent visit, in no particular order.

Aside from the snow on Sunday, we did have some pretty spectacular weather. And I think all seven of us got sunburned at least once. The mildest day was probably at the Grand Canyon, where it was a pleasant 60 degrees. After enjoying some yummy hot chocolate at the El Tovar hotel, we all went outside to enjoy the view.

On our way out of the park we stopped by one of our favorite overlooks along the Little Colorado River Gorge, just east of the Grand Canyon. I was surprised that Becca was brave enough to stand so close to the edge, considering it's a sheer drop of well over 800 feet.

Her dad was also brave, for about three seconds. You can see how white his knuckles are from the death grip he's got on that railing. I don't think Sarah came within 50 feet of this spot.

The Desert Botanical Garden in Phoenix was also a highlight. Everyone got to see some really cool cacti and the best lizard encounters of the whole week.

The kids even tried their handing at grinding some mesquite beans on a metate.

Hannah was particularly delighted by the butterfly pavilion.

On Tuesday we convinced Curt and Janine to drive their truck up a high-clearance road outside of Sedona to one of our favorite red rock hikes. Curt was giggling like a little girl as he rocked and rolled the truck over the rocks on the road. I think he had fun. We took a short trail out to the Cowpies, several large and flat red rock formations perfect for kids to explore.

Curt, Sarah and I tried to make the trek out to Mitten Ridge Saddle, but the trail was a little too much for both of them to handle, so we turned around early. At least Sarah will have a good story to tell her friends.

Sarah also got a hold of my camera one evening and started taking close-ups of everyone around. Becca was a more than willing photo subject.

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