Family Reunion Day 4 and return!

Saturday we had horseback riding scheduled for 9:00 am, and had to be there by 8:45! Because I took the sleep medicine, I was afraid I was going to sleep through it. So that added to my restless night of continually checking the clock. I finally pulled myself out of bed at 8:00 and got Boston and Aubrie up and ready. Ethan was too young to ride on his own, and frankly he would have been miserable getting up so early. (He is our little teenager when it comes to sleeping it). Aubrie was so excited for the horseback ride! She LOVES horses! She was wanting to make sure things were all professional. :) When we got there she asked for a riding hat! I was surprised that they had them. They fitted them for their hats, and I declined mine! (I don't look good in them)

After they got their hats, they picked our horses. Aubrie's horse's name was Whisky and my horse's name was Copenhagen. I was beginning to wonder if the owners were Mormon! LOL Once they picked our horses they gave us a short tutorial on the reins. Aubrie had fun trying to control her horse with the reins. Luckily, since they were old trail horses, I knew they wouldn't do anything crazy.
For the first half of the ride, the guide held a rope that was attached to Boston's horse. After we got to the canyon rim, Boston felt comfortable enough to ride his horse on his own. On our horse ride we got to see deer, antelope, cows and the rim of Bryce Canyon that you could only see from Horseback or Helicopter. We also got to cross over some water that led to the canyon's waterfall. The kids had a great time! I defiantly am a city girl, though! My legs were killing me half way through the ride, and I was wobbly once I got off the horse! I still had fun!

After horseback riding, we rushed back to the hotel and Ben drove us over to the Bryce Canyon airport (if you can call it that!), so we could catch our helicopter ride! I scared the kids, telling them that the blade could chop their head off, so they would behave themselves walking to the helicopter. They were so sure to duck their heads, even when they were far from the helicopter. hee hee! Aubrie got the front seat, and I sat in the back with the boys. Ben stayed behind with Sophia. It was an amazing ride, and the kids were mesmerized. Ethan was like a statue, taking in everything. Boston took some pictures, and Aubrie just enjoyed the front seat view. The pilot kept talking about this amazing waterfall. This is what it looks like! LOL Guess I got a little spoiled with Havasupai! There were still some amazing sites! About 5 minutes before the ride was over I started to get a little airsick. I was anxious for the landing:) When we landed, and the kids got out, they ran away ducking for about 100 meters! I was laughing at how serious they took my warning about the blades.

After the helicopter ride, we drove over to another look out point, called Inspiration point! Here is what our view looked like. It's also the first picture of my first post! We hiked a hill for about 10 minutes to get to the top lookout! It was worth it!

We then jetted back to the hotel, because Sophia was starting to fall asleep in the backpack, and she needed to get a good nap. I stayed back with Sophia, in the hotel, to get a nap, too! I was sooo tired from the night before. Ben took the kids over to the grassy area for some kid crafts! I woke up before they got back and realized that they had shut the door between the room I was sleeping in and the other room, that had all the stuff. I was starving, and the only thing in my room was a gogurt! I ate that, and sat in the dark (because Sophia was still sleeping) waiting for them to come back. After a half an hour, Ben came back to check on us, and left the kids doing more crafts. Within a few minutes it started pouring outside, so he rushed back to get the kids. When they got back, we took the kids down the hall, to the indoor pool, for some swimming. A bunch of their cousins were there, and they had a great time playing with them. Luckily the rain subsided and after a dinner of awesome chicken pasta, fruit kabobs and rolls, we all headed to the Rodeo. Sophia only lasted about 30 minutes of the Rodeo, so I walked her back to the hotel and put her down for the night. I packed up our stuff for the next day, and watched a little TV. The kids had a fun time at the rodeo. There was one point where they let them try to catch bunnies. Aubrie was crying because she wanted one so bad and she couldn't' catch one. Ben was praying that she wouldn't catch one, because he didn't want a new pet! LOL

Aubrie anxiously waiting her turn to catch a rabbit!

At 10:00 they had a firework show, so Ben took Aubrie and Ethan out to the front of the hotel to see it. Boston was in trouble and was denied his firework privilege. So he sadly sat on the bed, just listening to them go off. Ben said it was a pretty good show. It sure sounded like it from the room. It sounded like they were being shot off right outside our hotel window! I was a little sad to miss them. While they were out watching the fireworks, I decided to play a game of Sorry with Boston. He was happy to do something, just the two of us. After our game of Sorry, we all went to bed!

We left the next morning around 10:00. The trip was pretty uneventful, which is a good thing. I tried giving Sophia some Benadryl, but that just made her more miserably tired. We got home around 3:30, and unpacked and started some laundry. I knew I couldn't relax, because I had to start prepping for girls camp. So I had to get everything back in order fast! I kinda felt bad, since it seemed like it wasn't even a Sunday, so I took out a Primary manual and gave a mini lesson to the kids. It was on gratitude. It was the first lesson I opened to, and I really think they needed it after everything they got to do on this trip! After the lesson, we had breakfast for dinner, and went to bed early! Whew, what a trip! It sure was a lot of fun. Sophia was hard at night, but the backpack saved us during the hiking! The horseback riding was a great memory for the kids. When I asked them what their favorite thing was, they said it was "riding the horse". So much for the helicopter ride! LOL That and the hike was my favorite!:)