Memorial Day Weekend in Moab

Three years ago we started this wonderful Miller family tradition of going down to Moab over Memorial Day weekend. The first year was a spur of the moment trip with just a few of us, but it has grown to be one of our major trips of the year, and we had the entire Miller clan together.
We had such a fun weekend.

We started out our first day hiking Negro Bills. It is one of our favorite hikes for a hot day (and it was 90+ degrees) because the hike follows the stream up the canyon to a natural bridge. The trail crosses the stream several times, but our favorite is just to walk up the stream. There are a few places that the kids use as water slides. It is always a favorite & never too crowded since it is outside the park.

Aunt "Broke" & the girls - looking like a pack of sardines.

It's a good thing we had all these strong kids to hold up the boulders for us.

Saturday, we got up early & went golfing. And let me tell you, I forgot how much fun golfing is. I hadn't been in 3 years so I was nervous about being rusty, but it was a blast.

Then we hiked Delicate Arch, always a favorite too. This year was actually the most crowded that I have ever seen it, but we still managed to find some sitting space and snap some pictures.

After Delicate, we headed over to Sand Dune Arch. The kids absolutely love this one with all the sand to play in, and us adults love it too as it is a cool, shady place to relax in the hot afternoon.

We tried to get a picture of all the grand kids, which as you can see, didn't go very well. We have a bunch of criers, wigglers,, and one escape artist. Michael took off every time we set him down for the picture. We should get an "A" for effort at least.

Entrance to Sand Dune. I had to laugh because Michael was still holding onto his hat (see the bottom right picture). The first hike we did up Negro Bills was windy at the top & his hat blew off. From that point, he would not let go of it because he was so worried about losing his hat again.

Michael loved scooting down the sand dune on his bum & got us to join him.

Cute Hailey- 8 months old

Preggers

On Sunday, we went to morning church in Moab then had a picnic & drove through Canyonlands in the afternoon. But, let's start with church. I think this is uncommon, but correct me if I'm wrong, but they printed a full page of Mormon jokes on the back of the sacrament program. It was hilarious! I'm not sure if it was the jokes that were the funniest or the fact that they printed jokes on the back of the program. I wish that I had saved it so I could copy them down to share. There were several funny ones about how many Mormons does it take to screw in a light bulb.

The answer: It depends....

If it is the Relief Society, four. One to bring a table cloth, one to bring a centerpiece, one to bring refreshments, and one to screw in the light bulb.

If it's the Elders Quorum, four. Three who don't show up & one to screw in the light bulb.

If it's the Aaronic Priesthood, one. They just hold the light bulb and the whole world revolves around them.

I wish I could remember all of them. We thought is was pretty funny.

So, after church we went to Canyonlands. They have so many amazing lookouts there, but I think that they had a drunk design the roads. They are the more bends than driving up a steep canyon, but here there is no need to have so many curves. I really was going to stop & take a picture of this flat stretch where the road turned back and forth every few yards across a wide open field, but I was getting motion sick just looking at it. If you have been there, you know what I am talking about. Drunk roads aside, it is beautiful.

Papa & Nanny with all the grand kids (plus Dan & Johnn as Claire & Mikey were needing a little extra TLC).

The Fabulous Miller Ladies

The 6 original Miller kids

Upheaval Dome

The entire Miller clan. We were so happy to have Dave skip out on studying for his medical boards for a few hours to come with us so that we could get a picture with the whole fam.

Ants on a log- I love Noah & Mikey's cute faces.

Jump!

Cute Alli & Dan

On Memorial Day, the guys got up early and went biking. The rest of us went to McDonald's for breakfast & came in contact with the grumpiest fast food worker I have ever encountered. If anyone is looking for a job in Moab that requires customer service skills, but lacks customer service skills entirely, there is a spot for you. Anyways, after seeing the "golden arches" we went on to see more arches in the park. We did the Windows loop, which was just perfect for the little kids.

Later that afternoon, those of us that weren't in a hurry to get home stayed and hiked Corona Arch. It has turned into another favorite hike of ours. It's the same length as Delicate Arch, about 3 miles round trip, but it seems only half as long since it is relatively flat. Michael loves that we get to cross the railroad tracks.

Sneege & Broke

Fredricks

Mikey & Mommy nap time

Corona Arch

We were stuck in traffic in Spanish Fork Canyon on the way home and this crazy old guy was out on the side of the road performing for all of us with his huge hula hoop. He was surprisingly, really good. We were joking about next year setting up a port-a-potty on the side of the road in the canyon and charging people to use it. I bet you could make so much money since the traffic is horrible & there is nowhere else to go.

Until next year!

Zoo Day with Cousins

Michael had so much fun running around the zoo with Ellie & Noah.

Michael chasing the "ducky". All birds are duckies to him. We are working on it, but I just think it is so cute.

rhino

swimming tiger

How can you go to Lake Powell & not ski?

So, yes, I went to Lake Powell and didn't even water ski. I know what you are thinking, it's almost sacrilegious. It's the first time that I've been there, when I wasn't preggers, that I didn't ski.

It really is my own dang fault for not skiing at the first of the trip. The first day is always crazy with finding a spot, securing the houseboat, & getting settled. Who cares that the water was choppy & really cold? I do. That's why I didn't go. I've been a little spoiled with great water. What can I say, I like my glass. Okay, so the water was also extra cold this trip, but I've skied in Lake Mead in March so I should be able to handle just about anything. (I wouldn't recommend that btw). I think I am getting wussier in my old age. I don't like to be cold.

So, then the fun begins. One kid starts throwing up, then as soon as you know it another & another are joining in the misery. That's right, bring on the stomach flu. I tell you what, a houseboat really is not the ideal place to have a bunch of sick people. It's not like you can stay away from it as you are all in such close quarters. Not to mention, tiny houseboat bathrooms that people were constantly running for. TMI. By the end of the trip, most of us had suffered through it, or we're still suffering through it. It hit the babies worst of all, which was so sad.

We did, however, still manage to have a lot of fun together in between the sick parts. I made it out surfing and on the wave runners a few times, but no skiing.

I snapped a few pictures on he wave runners the last day, but when I got home I realized that I really didn't take pictures this trip. I only took two pictures of Mikey the whole time & neither turned out well. I failed as a Mom. I'll have to take a lot when we go again in August to make up for it.

Yes, I really am wearing my Uggs out on the wave runner. Make fun all you like. I did pass some fishermen who looked at me like I was crazy. But let me tell you something about Lake Powell in May. It is COLD! It was so much more enjoyable with warm feet & I managed to keep them mostly dry.

Johnn cruisin' Face Canyon

The new sandbox

Michael loves sandboxes, so I mentioned to Johnn one night that we should make a sandbox in our backyard. The next night when I got home from work, Johnn was out building this great sandbox. It's so great being married to such a handyman. Michael loves his "box" & has spent many hours in it the last couple months (shows I'm a little behind blogging, as usual).

The sandbox is 4 x 8 feet. I can easily fit in it... with the lid closed that would be a little scary, and way too much like being in a coffin. No thanks. But, I told Johnn not to be surprised when it gets hot this summer to see me out there laying out in the sandbox with my beach towel & a pina colada in my hand. I might need to go by a coconut cup & a little umbrella to go in it to complete the scene. But this is Utah, it's about as close to a beach as I'm gonna get.