Moab

We kind of were in charge of the Jenkins family vacation this year. We all went to Moab and rented a home for a few days. It was such a great vacation. The home was perfect for our family. 

We left Wednesday afternoon and the drive was pretty smooth. Between eating and sleeping we made it in pretty good time. As soon as we got near Moab we stopped at the huge red sand hill. I think this was Maggie's favorite part. She just cruised all the way to the top. Corbin was a little more tentative, but he really enjoyed it too. Kent was asleep in the car, but we played in the sand for at least a half hour. Our kids were a mess when we were done. 

Thursay morning we hiked to an awesome watering hole with a waterfall. We weren't prepared because we didn't think we would hike the entire thing, so we didn't have a pack for Kent or water. Within the first fifteen minutes Matt was walking in the river holding Kent and Maggie and started to slip. He didn't want them to get hurt so he turned his body to fall, but his angle didn't turn. He rolled it really bad at the very beginning of our first hike. The kids were sad for a second, but just because they were cold. 

The hike was so great. There was a lot of walking through the river and on the rocks, but it was a really fun hike. Kent of course loved the water. The watering holes at the end were totally worth it. When we got there there were kids cliff jumping. Matt was telling me how stupid they were because the water wasn't deep enough and the next thing I know Matt is climbing up the waterfall and jumping off the cliff!

 That afternoon after our hike we drove out to dead horse point. It was super cool to see. Some of the family drove the switch backs down, but Kent and I headed back to the house.  

 Friday morning we hike to Morning Glory Arch. I carried Kent in the Kelty backpack and it was tricky. It was a great hike for the kids 2 1/4 miles in. This is one of the only pictures I have of Corbin hiking because he was always with the fast group, and I definitely was not.

 I didn't remember the hike having so many rocks to climb so I was a little nervous and very slow, but we made it. Matt ended up carrying him back in his arms because he fell asleep in the pack and looked so uncomfortable. 

 The whole family (except Marianne) at Morning Glory Arch. 

After hiking we went to the Aquatic Center in Moab. It was such a great kid friendly pool and not busy at all. Our kids were exhausted by the end of the vacation, but it was a great one!

4th of July

 We cleaned the temple on the third of July so our kids got to have sleep overs at both grandparents houses. After cleaning the temple Matt dropped me off at my moms and he slept in his parents back yard, so we met up the morning of the fourth for the parade.

My kids waiting for the parade to start. This picture is classic. Corbin hates to smile, this is Maggie's smile, and I'm not sure what Kent is doing, but I love it all. 

 She loved almost all of the parade.

 We went to Lee Olsen park only for about 45 minutes, but my kids had so much fun. The first thing Corbin wanted to do was die his hair blue and Maggie got a butterfly face painted on at the same time. They did a $3 fish pond and got the cheap toys shown in this picture. They thought it was super cool. They easily could have stayed longer. Kent hated it and was tired, which is the reason we had to leave. 

 Corbin fell asleep as we were driving home, even with a sucker in his mouth. Sadly I woke him up taking the sucker out and he didn't fall asleep again until 4:00.

 Maggie heard me make a big deal of it and saw me take a picture of Corb so the next thing I know, she is "sleeping" with a sucker in her mouth too. Maggie actually had a good night at Grandma Davis' so she wasn't even tired enough for a nap the entire day. 

We finished the day off swimming at Grandpa Davis' house. It was a long day, but seriously one of the best fourths ever. 

Echo Reservoir

 Shannon and Jed invited us to go up to Echo with their family on Friday morning to play on the kayaks and the beach. It was a blast. The beach was very disappointing, because the water there really was no sand, just rocks. We still had a great time though. The youth kayak was a hit, even Corbin could cruise around by himself in it.

 Corbin and Kael could have played together in the water for hours. The would walk out a little ways and then swim back to shore.

Kent loves the water, but hated his life jacket. He is crazy in the water, flinging his entire body every direction. After a couple of hours Kent was getting real tired and we were tired of holding him in the water. We tried to clear off a spot in the rocks for him to play. He was muddy, but it did entertain him until we left.