Havasupai--a little Heaven on Earth!

Aubrie got a hold of the camera! What a cute face she captured! LOL It's now our screen saver!

She finally let me do pigtails! Isn't it adorable?! Too bad they didn't stay in all day!

This week was full and eventful!

Sunday was a little different, being in the new ward and all! I'm going to miss the old one! I'm tempted to buy some land over there, just so we can be "annexed" in! I haven't received a call in the new ward, yet, but if it's not in YW I don't want one! Ha! The YW in my old ward told me to come visit on Mutual nights. I told them I would probably get pulled aside by the Stake leaders and be told to make some friends my own age. Ha! I'm just anxiously waiting my new call. I actually thought I would be OK if they put me in Nursery, again....if they don't want me in YW! What am I saying? I might as well be in there anyway, since Sophia is like a T-Rex by the second hour of church!

Monday, Ben took my car in for the millionth time! I have a love/hate relationship for that thing! I LOVE the way the Navigator looks and drives and all the "luxury" items, but it's an American car (something I swore I would never buy and for a good reason). I can't get away from the constant break downs! Ok, I have been spoiled, owning only Honda's until this point (which are the best made cars EVER), and I am now seriously considering going back to the Honda Pilot (now that it finally has entered the 21st century and has added third row temperature control and a few other perks!). Alright, I have gotten way off track. So the whole point of the story is that when he took it in, the loaner they gave us, though fun, sporty and way fun to drive, only sat 5! So that meant I was stuck home (since none of my kids can sit in the front seat), Ugh! I had a lot to do with our trip to Havasupai coming up, and I couldn't get any of it done. Ben came home early so I could take Aubrie to dance, and make my Walmart run! I had so much to get done, I barely made it back to the studio in time to see her practice her Jazz song one last time and get one of the last T-shirts left for Matt on "So You Think You Can Dance". He taught at Aubries dance studio and we are all "promoting" him through T-shirts, banners etc! Family Home Evening was on Modesty. The kids looked through Magazines and cut out pictures and glued them on poster boards that were labeled, "Modest & Immodest". They were baffled at how hard it was to find modest clothing. Here are the posters hanging on our "FHE wall". I always have the kids take turns reading paragraphs from the particular section of the Strength of Youth pamphlet (the focus of our lessons) and Boston was reading much better than Aubrie. She was getting a little upset and I was trying to convince her she was doing a great job. It's hard when kids have different strengths like that, and they take it personally. I have a feeling it's only going to get harder!

Tuesday, Lorraine took the boys to Kung Fu Panda, and then took them back to her house to swim and to paint t-shirts. They were gone from 10:00 to 4:00. It was weird having the gone. Aubrie and I went out together and hit Justice (she made it out of there with two shirts) and then she begged me to go to PetsMart. There was the CUTEST kitten in the window and I was soooooo tempted to buy it (despite the fact we already have 3 cats). Luckily I practiced self control and walked out of there, with Aubrie begging and "bargaining":) Tuesday night Ben took Aubrie on a date. They grabbed dinner and saw Kung Fu Panda. I spent the evening swimming with the boys and Sophia, and then my Mom joined us when she got home from work. It was such a nice evening, and after I put Sophia down, my Mom and I laid out on the lounge chairs (on my new comfy cushions) and enjoyed the nice evening. I could have fallen asleep out there, (if only the nights could be like that all summer!) but I had to drag myself inside to get my packing done!

Wednesday couldn't be more busy. I spent the morning finishing up laundry and last minute packing. The kids had piano, we had to pick up our car, and then we had dinner at Chili's. After Chili's Aubrie convinced Ben to stop at Petsmart to look at the kitty. It was gone! I told you it was adorable; the cutest I've ever seen! When we got home, and while I was finishing up some last minute things, Boston let out a huge cry from the family room. I heard Aubrie saying that he was hurt, and I didn't think it was anything big. Aubrie started screaming that he was bleeding and when I looked over I saw blood dripping down his leg. I ran over and immediately knew it wasn't good. Ben said it was fine and we could superglue it (his cure all for every cut the kids get) and I told him that I was taking him to Urgent Care with out without him. I wasn't about to leave him with my Mom for 3 days without him being checked out. Ben came along, and we walked out of Urgent Care 3 stitches and 45 minutes later! (Luckily there wasn't a single soul their!) Boston was panicked the whole time, fearing the shots he would need in order to get the stitches. We had to hold him down while they gave him the shots, and he screamed in my ear the whole time! Ouch! One of the stitches were in a place where he had no anesthesia. He did fantastic and was so tough, making me believe he basically just psyche's himself out! After we left Urgent Care, we took him to Walmart to buy him a "condolence" gift. He picked out out Indian Jones action figures. While we were in line he started looking at the magazines and pointed out all the immodest clothing! LOL

All the last minute drama left me running 2 hours behind. (I'm just glad it happened on our watch). I ended up arriving at Erin's house at 9:30 for the "sleep over" and Ben didn't end up getting any rest before we headed out for our Midnight drive to Havasupai. The drive was long and I wasn't able to get much sleep. When we got to the top of the canyon it was FREEZING! Last time we went it wasn't the least bit cold, so most of us came without sweatshirts, not wanting to pack or carry anything that wasn't necessary! I was so cold, I decided to run down the switchbacks to get my blood pumping. I also ran other parts of the hike. If anyone knows me, they would know that I HATE to run! But, for some reason the early morning air (we started our hike at 5:00) and certain songs on my shuffle, put me in the mood to run! I didn't stop to think that, 1. I don't ever run and 2. I didn't stretch before I started the hike! By the end of the day, and even now, my thighs feel like Jello! I wasn't the least bit sore last time I went, so I'm convinced it was the running!

Ben and I arrived at the Indian Village at 7:30, along with a few others. So that was 9 miles in 2 1/2 hours! I should have walked the whole thing in 3 and saved me from the soreness!! Our packs were all flown into the village, and we had to wait around until 11:00 for our packs. There isn't much to do around the village, except sit there and wait. The 3 1/2 hours actually went faster than I thought it would. Maybe it was because I wasn't looking forward to strapping on my huge pack and walking for 2 more miles.

Just waiting!

The last leg down was much easier than last time. My pack made all the difference! I'm not saying I was running down the hill, but I didn't need to stop and rest. Erin and I made several stops last time, but this time we did much better! When we got down to the campgrounds I was a little worried. It was so crowded and we couldn't find a campsite. It really seemed hopeless. I then decided to stop and say a prayer that we could find a fantastic spot, so we could have a great memorable time! Within minutes someone came down the path saying Brian and Erin found a spot. It was close to the bathrooms and the water station, but there wasn't a table. Within the hour we had a couple of tables, Yeah! After everyone got situated and rested a little, we all headed down to Havasu falls! Here is a picture! Isn't it beautiful. That's why this is one of my top picks of the most beautiful places I have ever been! It's like a little Heaven on Earth! It's actually one of the most photographed waterfalls in the world! Anyway, we spent about an hour and 1/2 swimming in the freezing water. I think my body went numb in self defense. We then went back to camp and had dinner and played some games. By 7:00 I was ready for bed. It had been 36 hours since I had any rest worth mentioning, and I had no energy to do much of anything. We were lucky to round up the girls by 9:30 and go to bed. It was going against my very nature to choose rest over a night of fun, but my body was winning the battle!

Kayleen was my personal hair stylist. Here is Erin and I with "Kayleen" hairdo's!

Friday I woke up around 7:00. I actually slept much better than I thought I would, considering I was sleeping on a small pool floatie. It was a little chilly that night; my biggest complaint. Luckily, I packed an extra blanket from the car, when I saw how cold it was at the top of the canyon! After breakfast, and moving our camp around (the group right by us left early that morning so we took their spot that was set further back from the trail) and hanging out for a bit, we headed out to Mooney Falls around 10:00. Mooney Falls

The hike down there involves climbing through caves and climbing on and down the side of a rocky canyon that has chains and ladders to assist you from not falling to your death! Sounds fun, huh? It actually is! To me anyway. The hike is worth it because this is what you see down there! We had fun doing a rope swing, and following the river down to another little waterfall. We headed back to camp, and I hung back taking some more pictures. I finished the hike back to camp on my own, loving the alone time enjoying nature and taking pictures at my leisure! I LOVE taking landscape pics!! Second best thing next to taking pictures of my kids!

Me on the rope swing!

After lunch and relaxing, we headed to Navajo falls! The hike was back up towards the village, so it required us going up a steep sandy hill. My sore legs and that hike did not get along! When we got to the falls, I spent most of my time sitting around and watching the girls swim. Last time I jumped off this huge rock! With how sore my legs were, I wasn't sure I could do it. I was a little sad, because it was such a rush last time! After I called Ben a chicken and he saw about 6 Young Women jump off of it, he finally did it! The little dot is him! We then did a little exploring around the falls, not quite as much as last time, due to my soreness, and then headed back to camp. Evening at the camp included a great mini "fireside" where we all related one of our experiences at Havasuapi to something Gospel related. It was great to see the YW come up with the analogies and see their testimonies in action! After that, we had a GREAT time talking, goofing around, and playing games. Hanging around at camp!

We ended up going to bed around 12:00, soon after someone from another camp came and complained that we were keeping them up. Hee! Hee! After we all went to bed, Kayleen and Alex played a prank on one of the priesthood leaders, putting cheese wiz all over his face. He retaliated in the meanest way, pouring water in their tent and then collapsing it. They had nothing to sleep in and spent the night laying on a tarp and shivering under towels. When their Mom got up and relinquished her sleeping bag, they finally fell asleep. They were then tortured with crackers and kool aide dumped in their hair, and luckily the Bishop didn't relinquish his syrup, that Brother Nelson wanted to pour on them. Glad I wasn't a part of any of that! I really felt sorry for them. There is nothing worse then being tired and FREEZING!! We all packed up and headed out about 8:30. The Helicopter was there around 9:30 to get us. They flew us and our packs right out of the Indian Village to the top of the canyon. Ben got to ride in the front! I did that last time. It's an amazing ride! It's I feel so lucky to have been able to be part of such an amazing trip. The sites are amazing and the company is so much fun! I love the people in our Ward. The whole time it just felt like we were one big family; all working towards the same goal, and just loving one another, enjoying each others company and having a great time! That is the image I see when I think of Spirit Paradise! I'm so loved my "miniature" paradise I got this weekend! I'm really going to miss it:(

We left the Canyon around 9:45 and stopped for lunch at this cool burger joint off route 66! It's an official route 66 site. They did all these kooky things like give you a piece of straw when you asked for a straw for your drink, and their surrounding looked like this. They had these cars in their lot, and they claim they had these cars before the movie "CARS" came out. They said that is where they got the idea for the movie. We took these pictures and told Ethan we saw Mader and Doc (from the Movie). He thought that was sooooo cool, and asked us to take him there. He said, "Mom, did they talk?"! LOL He then asked why I didn't get a picture of Sally and Lightening McQueen! (That was Disney Pixar's addition I guess).

We made good time and got home around 3:00! The kids were happy to see us, and we were exhausted. We ordered pizza for dinner, and we swam a little and now Ben watched the movie "Jumper" with the kids, while I worked on this! LOL When the movie was over, Boston said, "I wish I were like the Jumper, so I could could "jump" right to my bed, and not have to walk there"! Guess he was tired!

While we were gone the kids got to play at the Frandsens, and they some of the time at their community pool. Boston had to sit out, since he couldn't swim with his stitches. Poor kid! Trina said he was a good sport about it! They didn't leave the Frandsens until 8:00pm, so they had a great time! They also spent a day with the Walters (minus Aubrie), and Sophia stayed with my Mom the whole time, of course. Friday night was Aubrie's dance recital, which apparently went well. Lorraine gave her a rose, which Aubrie was thrilled about! She told my Mom that she hoped someone would buy her a rose. My Mom told her she thought she would probably get one, I'm sure assuming Lorraine would buy the ones they sell at the recital. It now sits in a small vase on our kitchen counter. My Mom had a great time alone with Sophia, for those two days the kids were at friends. She said she was a sweetheart. She also said that their were only two incidences where the kids had huge problems. One being Ethan and Boston fighting at bedtime, and the other being Aubrie throwing one of her "I'm being so wronged" tantrums, that she got over in about 10 minutes or so. I'm so glad all went well, even though my Mom would probably not tell me any different! LOL

Oh, this past week I have decided, since it was summer, I should spend some time experimenting with Aubrie's hair. Here are some of her hair-do's for the week! She loved feeling girly, and I was surprised she cooperated. She usually isn't into getting all "done up". I think her little crush might be changing all that! LOL