Spring Break - Day Four

Tuesday we swam for a few hours, but most of the day was spent using the Wolf Pass that each of my kids had. It included mini golf, a ropes course, a mining mirror maze, an arcade, and bowling. Corbin spent all of his time with Miles and his friend Colt that came with them. They used their passes in the morning and then went to a Rockies spring training baseball game in the afternoon. He had so much fun and brought home two game balls. Claire wasn't tall enough to do the ropes course, but she was super brave on the climbing wall. I actually didn't see any of it because Van was sleeping, but I heard she did great. Kent had a ton of fun with Jud trying to complete the MagiQuest. He got so close, but we didn't have quite enough time to finish. This day was harder for Van because he couldn't do anything but walk around and watch, but he did so good on the whole vacation. He had a rough time in the mirror maze because he kept walking into the mirrors, it was kind of sad. There were a ton of other events for them to do too. Maggie did Yoga in the morning. Claire listened to part of story time and Van was cute to sit with her too. 

Wednesday morning we woke up and headed out by 10 am. My kids were sad to leave because the other two families were staying another two days. We drove the next 12 hours and made it home just before 11 pm with the time difference. 

Spring Break - Day Three

 On Monday we woke up and got an early start. We left Flagstaff and went to the Phoenix Zoo. Flagstaff was way more wooded than I had ever expected. The drive to Phoenix was cool to see all the cacti on the side of the road. My favorite animal there was the flamingo. We were able to see it so close and all the other animals were asleep or too far away to see. It was hot. The kids were all super excited, but it didn't last long. We thought we would stay for a few hours and everyone was beyond ready to go at two hours in. It was hotter than I thought it would be. It was fun to see a zoo that was different from our Hogle Zoo. The cacti were cool and the exhibits were pretty big. 

I am glad we went so we had something to pass those two hours because it was perfect timing to head straight to Great Wolf Lodge. This was the main destination of our vacation. We met Colby and Cayley Holmes and Austin and Shawnee Jenkins at the Lodge. They flew in on Monday afternoon. We had a few hours before they all got there though.Right when we got there we headed to the pool. There was a wave pool that was most of our favorites. There were also water slides, a splash pad, and a lazy river. I didn't get a single picture of Corbin swimming the entire time.

Monday night we went out to dinner with everyone. After dinner our kids got to pick our their wands for the MagiQuest.

Spring Break - Day Two

 Sunday morning we checked out of the hotel and went to Catstair to hike. We ended up passing it and hiking to see some 1000 year old petroglyphs first. Kent and Claire had so much fun just climbing all over the rocks. Van loved the sand the most. We went back and hiked the Catstair. It wasn't quite what we were expecting. There were a whole bunch of old cars that were dumped there a long time ago that was kind of a weird sight mixed into the red of the mountain side. 

Next we headed to see the Grand Canyon. Matt is the only one in our family that had ever seen it. Corbin, Maggie, and Kent were super excited. It is really far out of the way. It was amazing to see, but we didn't spend much time there. Kent and Claire were less than amused and Van just liked all the dogs we saw everywhere we went. 

Sunday night we stayed at a Super 8 in Flagstaff. It was the worst dive ever! It was literally disgusting! When we got there I started crying and just wanted out. We ended up staying, but I can't believe we did. It was dirty and not nice at all. It did have two queen beds and a bunk bed which was the only upside (and the reason I booked it in the first place.)

Spring Break - Day One

 This is the first year Matt and I have taken our kids anywhere over spring break. Austin and Shawnee and Colby and Cayley planned a trip to Arizona. We did it a little different, but had so much fun! We left on Saturday morning and drove to Orem to play with Malcolm and Ellie's family and eat lunch. They live right next to a super cool park. We got takeout and played for a couple hours with them. We also left Cougar with them for the next five days we were gone. 

Poor Corbin was sick with a headache and just laid on the grass the entire time. 

After Orem, we drove to Kanab. Corb didn't feel good at all and threw up just before Scipio. After that he was good for the rest of the trip. We stopped at a rock shop in Orderville and the kids each got to pick out a rock. We ate dinner in a church parking lot and then just walked the shops in Kanab. It was pretty fun, even with our littles. Claire and Maggie both got a super cute Roxy hat. 

We stayed at a LaQuinta that night. Claire and Kent played in the hot tub in the morning and then we were off for the next day of adventures. 

Treehouse

 Claire had a field trip to the treehouse. It is crazy she and Van had never been because I used to go all the time and always have a pass. She was so excited. She loved the story time at the beginning and Van did pretty good with that. When they had free time it was a lot harder. I had a hard time keeping Van and Claire in the same place. It was super busy and Van only just wanted to roam. Claire loved it! She could have stayed for hours, but I was exhausted trying to keep track of both of them so it was pretty short lived. They both really enjoyed the time we were there though. 

Swimming

 While Matt and I were at the KBell retreat, I was talking to Kristy Call about her daughter on the swim team. She gave me all the information and I had Kent try out the next Monday. He wasn't quite ready to be on the team. He has only had a few sessions of lessons at North Shore, which really aren't that great. So I signed him up for private swim lessons with one of the swim team instructors, Henderson. Kent has had three lessons so far and is working on learning the breast stroke and the butterfly. He will do another month or so of lessons and then I hope to get him on the swim team. It is just at Ben Lomond, so it is super close and he can choose any or all weeknights he wants to do it.

Snowmobiling

 For Matt's Managers retreat for KBell this year they took us snowmobiling at Beaver Creek in Logan Canyon. I had never been snowmobiling before. I was super nervous I would freeze because it was 12 degrees when we started. It turned out much better than I expected. It was really fun and I wasn't at all cold. We each had our own sleds and I did run over a small tree and get stuck once, but then I kind of got the hang of it. I went for the first few hours and then there was one group headed back to the cabin we were staying at in Bear Lake. I left with the first group because I knew Matt would have a lot more fun without me there to slow him down. Him and Jason Bell did a few crazy rides after I left. The rest of the day and the next were just hanging out at the cabin and playing games.

Baptisms for the Dead

 Corbin had the opportunity to do his first baptisms for the dead with Matt's family. Mark had some family names so they all went together to the Brigham City temple. It was nice to have Corbin be able to go with all his cousins. He has since had the opportunity to go with our ward youth also.

Klondike

 Corbin had his first Klondike for Young Men's in February. They went up to the divide and dug trenches to sleep in. Corbin was super excited and ready for it. When they got home he was so cold he said it was terrible. As he started to warm up a little he liked it more and more.  After the fact he said he enjoyed it. Matt said he got a little wet in the morning so his feet were extra cold. I think overall he enjoyed it and it was a good experience. I am glad Matt was able to go with him. Corbin had pretty awesome Young Men leaders too.

Piano Team Festival

 Maggie played in the Utah Piano Team Festival this year for the first time. It was a pretty big time commitment with three practices a week for three weeks, but it was an awesome recital to watch. She played four songs with her team of five people. I was sure I would never let her do it again because it was kind of a pain, but after watching it, I am not so sure. It was actually pretty cool to watch.