Friday, breakfast was being served between 7:30 and 8:30...we missed that! We didn't wake up until 8:45 and we were supposed to meet everyone for hiking at 9:00. Luckily everyone was a little behind, too, and planning on meeting around 9:30! We quickly got ready, ate some cereal in the hotel room, and Ben ran down to the General Store of the hotel to buy one of those kid hiking backpacks. We forgot the Baby Bjorn, so Ben planned on carrying Sophia during the hike. I noticed that backpack there the night before, and though it had a hefty price tag, talked Ben into getting it! Since we have hiking trails all around our neighborhood, he knew we would get good use out of it! At the end of the hike he said it was the best investment of the trip! LOL Anyway, we met everyone at 9:30 at one of the hiking points, sprayed ourselves down with sunscreen, got our camel packs and headed down the trail. Aubrie had Ben's camel pack, and thought she was so grown up. She loved her easy access to water. The hike down was so cool. It looked like this! 
I couldn't get enough pictures, and was sad that I didn't bring my nicer camera for some better close ups! When we got to the bottom of the trail we had an option to finish the hike on a .6 mile trail, or a 1.8 mile trail. We opted for the longer one, since the kids seem to be doing well, and Sophia fell asleep in her backpack!! Yes, amazing, huh?! I think we are going to be using that thing in Church! J/K
Anyway, about 5 minutes into that hike, Aubrie complained that she thought she might have a blister, so I stopped to look for some Mole Skin in my backpack (it should have been there from Havasupia ) but couldn't' find any. That put us behind everyone else, and we never caught up! I was very proud of Aubrie. It was a tough hike and she did it all on her own with shoes that were a little too small for her. The boys weren't as tough. Ben carried Ethan for half of it (with Sophia still on his back) and Boston got some piggy back rides from his Aunts! I'm still glad we did that hike. It was very beautiful. 
When the hike was done, Sophia was up and in a happy mood. She loved being carried around in the backpack! We then went to the
visitor center to check out a movie they have on Bryce Canyon. The first 5 minutes or so told you about how the canyon was formed. That was cool. The rest was pretty boring. We went back to the hotel, and swam some more, ate lunch, and then the kids went over to hang out with the cousins by the RV park! They set up some slip and slides, and had fun doing that. I stayed behind at the hotel while Sophia slept, and finished my book!
Dinner was BBQ Pulled Pork and was so YUMMY! It started raining a little before dinner, so all the picnic benches were strategically placed under trees! We were planning on going to the Rodeo that night but, because of the weather, we changed things a little. We ended up doing our Awards Night/ Testimony meeting instead. Every kid got a fun kind of award for their talent. Then Nicole presented a slide show that she had put together, with tonz of family pictures. Seeing the old pictures of Grandma and Grandpa Jenkins was my favorite. Sophia really started fussing during the slide show, so it was a challenge to keep her entertained and watch at the same time. After the slide show, I put her down and came back for testimony meeting. It was great as always, and don't pass out people, but I bore my testimony, too! I used to bear it all the time as a kid, youth, and young adult. Once I married Ben, he kind of stole the show in that area! LOL Afterwards, Aubrie and I stayed for some Catch Phrase (left that there dang it!) and some Nertz! (sp?) I was getting tired fast and knew we had a big day planned, so we went back to the room at 11:00. Aubrie was Chatty Cathy and kept me up for another hour. By then I was wide awake, and Sophia was coughing like crazy. The last time I looked at the clock was 1:30 AM (after I took some NyQuil Ben had in his bag!). It still was another great day! Hiking, finishing my book, and ending with a spiritual high!
They always had snacks in the Conference Room. Ethan took a bite of this Oatmeal Raisin and kept trying to give it to everyone. How nice of him! LOL
Friday, breakfast was being served between 7:30 and 8:30...we missed that! We didn't wake up until 8:45 and we were supposed to meet everyone for hiking at 9:00. Luckily everyone was a little behind, too, and planning on meeting around 9:30! We quickly got ready, ate some cereal in the hotel room, and Ben ran down to the General Store of the hotel to buy one of those kid hiking backpacks. We forgot the Baby Bjorn, so Ben planned on carrying Sophia during the hike. I noticed that backpack there the night before, and though it had a hefty price tag, talked Ben into getting it! Since we have hiking trails all around our neighborhood, he knew we would get good use out of it! At the end of the hike he said it was the best investment of the trip! LOL Anyway, we met everyone at 9:30 at one of the hiking points, sprayed ourselves down with sunscreen, got our camel packs and headed down the trail. Aubrie had Ben's camel pack, and thought she was so grown up. She loved her easy access to water. The hike down was so cool. It looked like this! 
I couldn't get enough pictures, and was sad that I didn't bring my nicer camera for some better close ups! When we got to the bottom of the trail we had an option to finish the hike on a .6 mile trail, or a 1.8 mile trail. We opted for the longer one, since the kids seem to be doing well, and Sophia fell asleep in her backpack!! Yes, amazing, huh?! I think we are going to be using that thing in Church! J/K
