This last weekend our family was able to drive down to Zions National Park to meet our good friends the Pattersons. Rob and Adam were companions back when they were missionaries in Korea 12 years ago- and favorite companions at that. Then after their missions they went on a study abroad back to Korea together, they both majored in Korean, and then were room mates while attending BYU. So Rob and Adam have some major history together and really really enjoy each others company.
After BYU though Rob and his wonderful and amazing wife Angie moved back to Virginia where Rob spent many many years going to dental school to become an Orthodontist. He and Angie and their 4 kids (Colden 8, Dillon 5, Evelynn 4, and Spencer 18 months) then moved to Prescott Arizona where they are trying to get their Orthodontist business up and running successfully. So unfortunately we have seen very little of Rob and Angie and their beautiful family over the years.
So you can imagine how excited we were when Rob and Angie suggested we get our two families together for a camping trip. Unfortunately our summer was crazy busy – but luckily we were able to find a weekend that worked for both of us in September. So the plans were made and this last weekend we were able to meet Rob and Angie down in Zions for a weekend of camping near Zions.
Before leaving we had tried to secure a reservation for some camping spots – but apparently Zions stays REALLY busy even in the fall. This required us to get a little creative and we ended up googling BLM land and finding some land nearby that we could camp on. However, the road we were on really only had 2-3 spots where you actually could camp – and even though we scored a really sweet spot (the only one with trees and a stream nearby) we ended up sharing our spot with everyone and their dog. Seriously. It almost became comical as we had at one point 4 different groups of people encroaching on our space BESIDES us. So a total of 6 vehicles. People were literally just setting up tents wherever they could. It reminded me of the time we camped in Croatia and all our tent poles were touching. We called it parking lot camping. It was ALMOST that bad. đ The funny part is that we didn’t even scare anyone off with our EIGHT kids between us and two crying babies. We were just glad we were the first to get the spot. Otherwise we might have felt bad about being so loud and having crazy kids running around all over. đ
We arrived Friday afternoon within about 45 minutes of each other and then immediately got busy setting up camp and getting dinner going. Unfortunately NO FIRES were allowed and so we had to get a little creative with our tinfoil dinners. We ended up steaming all our vegetables in a pot and then frying up some hamberger with cream of chicken soup and then frying up our chicken in some BBQ sauce as well. Then we had a big fruit salad and cookies to go along with that.
That night we ended up staying up until 1:00 am talking with Rob and Angie as we just were having so much fun getting caught up on each others lives – but then when Ad and I went to bed we woke up Adalynn requiring another 30 minutes of trying to get her back to bed. Then the wind picked up and the trees kept scratching the top of our trailer waking me up every few minutes. Needness to say we didn’t sleep too well that first night.
The next morning Rob and Angie made us french toast for breakfast and then I made some sack lunches and snacks for us – so we could head out and go see Zions National Park. So after loading up our backpacks with everything imaginable you could need for 8 kids on an all day hike – we were off. It was an absolutely BEAUTIFUL day and the weather was perfect!
In the parking lot of Zions – getting ready to head out for our day o’ fun!
Back in 2000 Zions changed things around a bit and now require you to drive up the canyon in buses. We all thought this was AWESOME and loved how convenient it was. No trying to find parking, or getting kids in and out of carseats, or driving behind slow people. It was fast and easy and the kids all had a ball getting to get on and off buses all day. Way to go Zions making the park so kid friendly!
The scenery was just incredible. I couldn’t stop snapping pictures.
We let Rob and Angie choose which hike we did and they decided on Hidden Canyon with the possibility of doing Weeping Rock if we had enough time. It was a BEAUTIFUL hike and I felt happy all day being surrounded by my mountains!
Can you tell I’m in my happy place?
Before beginning our hike the kids of course had to all go and get wet in the stream – cause soggy feet are great for hiking, right?
All our little boys had a BALL being together – but they did get a little competitive on who got to be first in line. Harry and Dillon went back and forth all day wanting to be the first to lead the pack. They were so funny.
Branson and Colden REALLY hit things off too. Instant Best Buds.
We sure like these two and feel so grateful they are a part of our lives!
My tough guy – holdin’ up the mountain.
At a few points during our hike – things got a little scary and treacherous requiring a lot of parental help. Often we would make the kids wait on one end with a parent or two and then the other parents would take kids across. Luckily they had these chains all over to help. All the kids did awesome though and if anything seemed to really enjoy these more adventurous parts. And they all listened and followed instructions really well too. We were impressed with what great hikers they all were. Seriously they were awesome!
We had a “one hand on the wall” rule the entire way up and back to make sure the kids stayed as far away from cliff edges as possible. This really helped ease my and Angie’s minds a bit more. The Dads didn’t seem too worried at all. Boys will be boys. Mom’s will be Moms. đ
A closer look at some of those “scary edges”
Here is the view looking down from one of our cliff edges. Pretty long drop.
Yay! We made it to Hidden Canyon. After talking with a few people though we decided to keep heading on into the canyon because we heard there was a pretty cool arch about 1/4 mile in. We were a little worried about the terrain being difficult for the kids – but this ended up being everyone’s favorite part. It was so pretty, there were tons of fun “sandboxes” for the kids to play in – and everyone loved scaling big boulders and climbing over things to get through the canyon. So fun!
We stopped just at the mouth of Hidden Canyon to eat our lunch. We had homemade Quiznos, PBJ’s, apples, oranges, trail mix, chocolate chip cookies, oreos, sunflower seeds, and crackers. Yum.
Then we were off to explore the canyon.
We thought this area was cool with all the vegetation and green growing on one side and the bare rock on the other. So pretty.
And we did end up finding the Arch! It was awesome!
It was around 2:00 or so in the afternoon by the time we found it though so we figured we’d better start heading back. We found this cool tree growing alongside the cliffs on our way back.
And we of course had to stop and play in some of the rock crevices too!
The favorite part though (at least for the kids) is when we all stopped to play in a big sand area we found. The kids thought they’d died and gone to sand heaven!
Then it was time to head back. Harry and Dillon are in the lead…as usual.
Time for a group picture! Say Cheese!
Funny faces!
Two very tired kids take a little rest…
As we were hiking down we were able to see Weeping Rock from a distance and since we knew we weren’t going to have enough time to hike up to it – we figured we’d do the next best thing and take pictures of it from the birds eye view. It was pretty cool.
Close up of the hikers underneath.
We were all pretty hot and tired from all that hiking so we decided to cool off in the stream for a bit. All of us took our shoes and socks off and enjoyed the refreshing water and some more snacks.
I was kind of in love with these flowers along this rock staircase. So pretty.
Daddy and his girl!
We were even able to finally get a family picture with all 6 of us! Yay!
I made the boys pose with their Dad too. I LOVE these shots we got!
Mommy’s turn.
Evelynn caught a frog just as we were leaving so all the kids took turns holding the frog and then we went to wait for our bus. Unfortunately every bus that cam was full. So someone came up with the bright idea to walk across the street and get ON the bus that was dropping people off. That meant we had a big longer of a bus ride – but that we all got to sit down instead of stand up (which is kinda nice when you have 8 kids to hold and keep track of). It worked out perfectly and we got to see the entire canyon that way.
Group Pictures!
I loved getting to see the wonders and beauty of the rest of the canyon. Every turn was photo worthy.
From there we headed back to camp where Rob and Angie made us some Chicken Kabobs with rice. Umm good. The kids played down in the stream and under the bridge – and liked to take off their shoes and pretend they were in quick sand. Harry unfortunately didn’t get the “take off your shoes” part and ended up losing a flip flop to the quick sand. Neither the kids or I could find it. đ They also had fun riding around bikes, playing with the kids bows and arrows we brought, looking for frogs and other critters, and exploring the area.
That night after putting the kids to bed (Adalynn ended up taking HOURS to go down and was a total pill) we played a new Monopoly game with cards that Rob and Angie introduced us to. Then we sat around talking about our missions and how different they were from each others. Angie went to Chile where they baptized frequently. I went to Slovenia where we got to go on Travel P-Days, have Sisters Sleepovers, and do cultural activities once a month and have super fun English Classes – and then there was Rob and Adam who both NEVER want to go on another proselyting mission again because of how difficult their mission was. We all had had such different experiences. It was really interesting.
Below is the view of Zions from our campground. You can see our tent trailer under the Willow tree.
On Sunday morning we all got up and Adam made us blueberry pancakes and bacon for breakfast and then we all got busy breaking down camp. Then we had a little Sunday devotional hour, where we sang primary songs (all the kids got to choose one or two songs) and Angie read us a story out of the Ensign about prayer and then told us another story about her Great Great Grandpa who got eaten by a bear and survived. It was really cool to learn about.
We finished off our time together by scrambling up what we could for lunch (which consisted of avocado rolled up in a slice of turkey and ham, yogurt, strawberries, banana’s and blackberries, a few peanut butter and honey sandwhiches, and crackers). Then we said our goodbyes to our dear friends with promises of seeing each other again SOON!
Sure was a wonderful WONDERFUL weekend with the Pattersons. We love you guys and are so thankful you are a part of our lives! You guys rock.
Before returning home though – our family stopped for a few hours in Hurricane to visit my sister-in-law Shannon and our three cousins Jasmine, Trinity, and Collin. They moved down to Hurricane at the beginning of the summer and we were missing them terribly. So we had a great little visit catching up with them. It was a great end to a great weekend!
You nailed it! That was such a great weekend. Thanks for helping me make sure that it happened.
Your pictures are great. And I'm amazed at how many pictures you can put on one post! I'm so glad our kids get along with each other as well as we do. đ We'll be seeing you again, soon!