Sophia is so funny. Some of the things she says are just cute and unique. One of those is that instead of saying "The Hawkins" she says "Our Hawkins". I guess she has claimed them! Like the Oklahoma Land Rush. She has staked her claim and they are ours. Well this year we finally thought things through early enough to be able to book a night of camping at our favorite spot in Sedona...Cave Springs. The camp sites are shady, there a a lot of bathrooms, and a shower (though we have never used it), there is a small market, in case we need anything, and the river runs right by the campsites. Because it's so wonderful, you have to book months in advance. The only night we could find two campsites on together on a weekend (when we booked the end of April) was the first Friday after Candeo started. So we pulled the kids out of school around noon and headed up there.
Once we got our camp set up, we headed over to the river. After they spend time there, we started dinner. We had foil dinners, and the Hawkins had hot dogs. We then enjoyed some smores, and the kids had fun playing games in the tent, while the adults hung out by the fire to talk. The following morning we had breakfast and broke down camp and headed to Slide Rock. I forgot they opened at 8 and filled up quick. So we had to park about a half mile down the road. (It reminded me of Hanauma Bay). The walk wasn't too bad. Once we got off the side of the road (which was very nerve racking) and into the trees, it felt more like a hike.
The kids had fun in the water, and going down natures slides. I guess I should say most of the kids. The water was cold, and Sophia complained a lot about being cold. Since she has absolutely no body fat, she had a hard time keeping warm. After spending a lot of time on the slides, we had lunch, and then the kids convinced us to take them by the bridge where people were jumping off huge rocks.
At first it looked very intimidating, and I was thinking there was no way any of us were going to do it. Then Dave suggested we all do it. He took Macy, and Ben followed with our three older, while Tirza and I stayed with the others to watch. Ben was the first one to jump off the second to highest rock, which was not quite has high as Navajo falls at Havasupai. Ethan was next. Ethan isn't too afraid of trying things. Especially like that. Boston was a little more hesitant, but he finally did it. Aubrie wasn't even going to try. She climbed down and did the smaller rock. After watching Sophia wanted to go. That was surprising. Once we got there, she complained she was too cold to jump in, but Ben grabbed her and jumped in with her. I jumped off the smaller rock as well, and Ethan jumped off both several times, with not prodding or encouragement. If any kids in our family was going to be an X games kid, it would be him for sure!
After the Cliff jumping, we headed back to a lower slide we hadn't done yet. After some time there, we headed out, and got ice cream at Wendy's. We were in a huge time crunch, because Aubrie had a 5:30 soccer game that night. I really loved camping, and I could easily have stayed there a few days. Some people set up volleyball nets, and bring their kids bikes so they can bike around the campsites. That's how I grew up camping with my cousins. It was a 5 day trip, and the campground became our home! They were great memories!
I didn't take pictures, but luckily Tirza did. We don't have any from Slide Rock, but non one was going to carry a camera on that hike!
 |
| Favorite Pass Time of the Littles |
 |
| Favorite spot for all the kids! |
