Lovely Zion! Beautiful Zion!

We actually did something we've never done before...

We went out of town for UEA (or fall break? Whatever.)

It was between biking in Moab or camping in Zion's National Park.

Zion's won and

it was fabulous!

(The whole dirty bunch. Isn't camping in dirt the greatest.)

Thursday we packed up the old "loaf of bread" and headed to God's country. This was the first real camping trip we've ever taken as a family so it was an experience. We stayed in one of the campgrounds inside the Park. Uncle Jonathan and Ethan came too.

I can't begin to tell you how beautiful it was!

It was totally amazing!

I loved how there were paved hikes that even a fat lady like me and a four-year-old were able to enjoy. We hiked and hiked and had so much fun!

Friday morning, Emma and I drove into Cedar City to pick up Elisabeth.

Can I just say, I never truly understand how much I miss her until I get to see her again.

It was a dream having my whole family together.

While we were in Cedar, the boys hiked Angels Landing.

(Angels Landing is right in the middle with the few trees on top.)

Had I known how incredibly scary this hike really is...all I have to say is

they are crazy!

There's chains you hold onto so you don't plummet to your death down 100's of feet drop offs! Max and Lee made it up half the chain part but Lee felt that it was too scary for Max so the headed down a bit and waited for the older boys who, I have discovered this weekend, are really monkeys. Seriously they, Max included, can climb up anything!

(Jake carried Emma up to this. It was way up there! This was taken with my zoom.)

(Scott is secretly Spiderman I think. Seriously, the kid was up EVERYTHING in no time flat.)

The best part was to just hang out and spend time together without any phones, computers, or t.v.'s to interrupt. We need more of that!

(Our dusty campsite. The one thing --other than sleeping on the ground-- that stinks about camping is the dirt! But it's still fun.)

Here's a few more pictures...

(I was so upset with myself because I totally forgot to charge the battery for my camera before we left so I could only get a few pictures. But we did have plenty of homemade brownies instead. I am learning that I can't multitask anymore but that's another post for another day!)

You're not allowed to drive through the Park so they provide a shuttle service to take you to the different trailheads and sites. It's pretty cool. It was nice to have a little rest in between hikes that's for sure!

(Here's Emma, Cole, and Elisabeth at Checkerboard Mesa.

I'm not sure what the heck Cole's doing but then again, I never am.)

(Jake with "Flat Stanley". Elisabeth needed to take a picture for one of her classes and Jake was willing.

This makes me smile.)

We saw all kinds of wildlife --wild turkeys, deer, tarantellas, mountain goats-- it was cool.

This is a deer that was wandering around outside Zion's lodge. I was only a few feet away when I took this. It was amazing!

This was just plain freaky.

This is one of our hikes to Emerald Pond. It wasn't really emerald but it was really beautiful.

There's actually 3 tiers to this hike but we just went to the bottom one where there's a waterfall that flows into this pool. Here's another picture of it:

Simply gorgeous.

We stopped by Kolob Canyon on the way home. This was breathtaking! Way worth the stop!

We are definitely going back someday!

There's still so much we didn't see.