Tuesday March 30, 2021 - Covid Tests and Sapwi Bike Park

Here they are.  The kids Covid tests all done!!! What a pain!!!   I got up early and called New York to see if we could use these tests for the kids.  I explained that the lady last night couldn't do their tests because they were all connected to my email.  The lady told me that it was no problem that the kids were on my email and that the lady last night should have been able to figure it out.  OOffff.  Oh man. So you are telling me that the kids could have done their tests last night??   And that now we are on this huge time crunch to make sure we get their results on time??  Oh man.  So at 8 AM this morning, the kids did their tests and I took them immediately to the UPS place to be shipped over night. Now we have to wait and pray that we get the kids tests back on time.  I feel confident that it will be ok but it's still very unsettling.  

Monday March 29, 2021 - Beach, Covid Tests and More Fun!!!!

Zuma Beach!!

Sunday March 28, 2021 - Church at our Home Ward in Simi Valley!!! Friends and Family!!

This was the best shot I could get today of us at church.  Hahahaha.  We felt so blessed to be back in our home ward.  Our Ward Family is the best.  Everyone welcomed us back with warm hugs and lots of questions;). The boys blessed and passed the Sacrament and caught up with their buddies.  Everyone commented on how tall my kids have gotten.  It's true, they are all so tall now.  

Saturday March 27, 2021 - Back In the Hood!!!!

Today was so great.  We are back in our hood!!!  So what do you do when you've gone for 10 months???  We went to play with all our friends!!!!

Scotty rode Gibralter today with all his buddies in Santa Barbara. Rode riding in California is world class.  We have the most scenic passes to climb with the best views of the ocean.  I know Scotty has missed riding here.  

Friday March 26, 2021 - Travel Day to Newbury Park

Today we drove about 3 hours to Newbury Park, CA.  Scotty's parents live in Newbury Park and we are going to stay with them until we jump on the plane to Hawaii.  

Thursday March 25, 2021 - Palm Springs/ Joshua Tree

Today we spent the day not in Palm Springs, not in Joshua Tree National Park but in our campground.  Yup.  I know, it's sad.  We had beautiful, fun thing to do around us and we did nothing but clean, pack for Hawaii and rest.  It's all good, Palm Springs is close to our house so we can come here easily another time. 

Wednesday March 24, 2021 - Travel Day to Palm Springs California

The Beautiful St. George Temple.  Ahhhh I love it.  

Tuesday March 23, 2021 - Maintenance Day in St. George UT

Look at that silly face!!

Monday March 22, 2021 - Zions National Park - Angels Landing

Zions National Park

Angels Landing

Sunday March 21, 2021 - Church in St. George with Joe and Trav

Happy Sabbath!! 

 We were blessed to go to church in my parents ward in St. George.  Asher and Graham got to pass the Sacrament.  

Saturday March 20, 2021 - Boot Leg Canyon then Travel Day

Scotty and Graham got up early to ride!!  They rode trails over at Boot Leg Canyon which is in Boulder City.  They said it was epic and had a great ride.  

Friday March 19, 2021 - Hoover Dam and Austin Hunt!!

Happy Day!!  We made it to Hoover Dam!!  Ever since we watched Madagascar and the penguin said, "Hoover Dam", I've wanted to go there and say, "Hoover Dam", while standing on it!!  Well, we all did it, we stood on the dam and said, "Hoover Dam".  I know, we are weird but it was fun.  Hahahaha.  One surprise was how cool the history of this dam was.  We didn't know but a lot of people died of dehydration while building the dam.  Rummer has it that their bodies are built in to the dam.  Eerie!!!  Austin Hunt came to play with us today!!  We love him.  He is family.  

Thursday March 18, 2021 - Travel Day to Las Vegas

Happy / Sad Travel Day to us.  Happy to leave the cold, sad to leave the Grand Canyon and all its majesty.   

Today we completed our East loop of the trip.  We have circled back to where we started.  If you've been following us, then you know that this was our very first stop on the trip, Sams Town KOA in Las Vegas, Nevada.  We can't believe that we are back here.  It's a weird feeling.  Time has gone so fast that it's hard to believe all that we've done in just 10 months.  Only four months remain on our trip.  Scotty and I agree that this feeling of, " Oh wow!  Our trip is done in just four months", is just like how we felt on our missions when the time came to go home.  We were happy to go back home to certain things, but so very sad that the wonderful experience of a mission would be over.  We feel the exact same now, excited to go home to see those we love, so very sad to leave this magical experience.  

Wednesday March 17, 2021 - Sun and More Sun at the Grand Canyon!!!

Funny thing the weather here.  If you don't like the weather, just wait a day and it will be totally different.  Today was super warm and sunny.  Most of the snow melted and it felt like Spring instead of Winter.  

Tuesday March 16, 2021 - Another Snow Day

Snow pilled up last night while we slept.  We woke up to bright, new snow everywhere and cold, chilly air.  Honestly, I'm over the snow by now.  A few days is fine, but man I'm done.  Not done with the Grand Canyon, just the snow and cold.  We live in California for a reason :). 

Monday March 15, 2021 - South Kaibab Trail - Deeper!!!

I LOVE RUNNING AT THE Grand Canyon!!!!

Sunday March 14, 2021 - Church and our Sunday Walk!

We were blessed to attend the branch here at the National Park.  They hold services right here in the park at a building called The Shrine of the Ages. The mural we are standing in front of is a member of our church.  

Saturday March 13, 2021 - Grand Canyon South Rim Trail

Scotty and I ran along the Rim Trail together this morning.  We felt so spoiled to be exercising in such a magnificent place!!

Friday March 12, 2021 - Snow and the Grand Canyon!!

We woke up this morning and looked outside and look what we saw!!! Snow everywhere!!!  We had about 3-4 inches of snow on Doug.  Homie kept us very warm and he didn't freeze at all.  We have the best trailer.  

Wednesday March 10 and Thursday March 11, 2021

Wednesday March 10 was a "get it done" kind of day.  I didn't take one picture, not a single picture. That is why I am combining Wednesday with Thursday.  

Sadly my parents left this morning.  We were all sad but we will be seeing them in like 2 weeks when we pass through St. George. We made so many great memories with them that we will never forget!!

Wednesday we finished a ton of school, cleaned the trailer, went food shopping, packed up the trailer and many other odds and ends.  Thursday was a travel day so taking a whole day to prepare is necessary for me.  Literally I don't clean the trailer unless we travel.  I'd rather play when we are at our destinations.  We got everything done on my list and went to bed in peace knowing that we worked hard!!

Thursday we traveled about 3 1/2 hours North/West to the Grand Canyon National Park!!!  How excited am I???  So very!!! I've never been to the Grand Canyon.  Wednesday night we watched the weather app and found that we were going to have to drive through a bit of snow.  The bulk of the storm was actually between 2-6PM so we planned to leave early and miss as much of it as we could.  We only had a few spots on the road that were full of slush.  For the most part we were blessed to have clear roads.  Here are a few pictures of our slushy roads. 

Tuesday March 9, 2021 - Meteor Crater National Landmark

This is Meteor Crater National Landmark

Extra Pictures

These are all pictures that my dad has taken while he's been with us.  I could have gone back to past posts and added them to the right days, but I'm lazy so here are extra pictures from the last couple of weeks!!

Monday March 8, 2021 - More Petrified Forest and Pati!!!!!

Guess who drove up from Mesa to come play with us!!!!  Pati!!!  Patricia was one of my companions from my mission in Chile.  I love her. She is family.  

Sunday March 7, 2021 - Happy Sunday in Holbrook, Arizona

We enjoyed church this morning with a wonderful ward here in Holbrook, AZ.  Church wasn't until 12 PM so we were able to get all our Come Follow Me done before church.  Today was Fast and Testimony  Sunday.  We really enjoyed the sweet testimonies which were born that testified of Christ and his ever watchful eye over us. One thing I have really enjoyed on our trip is going all over the country and hearing people bare their testimonies of how great the blessings they've received from Heavenly Father. He truly knows and loves all his children.  He is aware of all our trails and our heart aches.  He stands waiting to bless us!!

Saturday March 6, 2021 - Travel Day to Holbrook, AZ

Graham and I during my run today!!

Friday March 5, 2021 - Natural Bridge National Monument

Taj made his own bike jump.  What a cutie!!!  Graham tested it out and found it acceptable.  :)

Thursday March 4, 2021 - School and A & W

Today we basically spent the whole day doing school, resting and playing.  Then for dinner we drove to Blanding, UT  and ate at A & W.  That's all I have to report for today!! Its so fun to have my parents share this part of our journey with us!!

Wednesday March 3, 2021 - Bluff Fort

Beautiful Bluff Utah.  

This is a very small town and honestly, there isn't much to do here.  It's absolutely gorgeous here though.  The town is surrounded on all sides by steep, shear cliffs of sandstone formed and molded by time and elements.  Ahhhhh.  We feel happy and calm here.  

Tuesday March 2, 2021 - Travel Day to 4 Corners and then to Bluff UT.

Our time in New Mexico is over.  Today we packed up the trailer and traveled an hour and a half to see the Four Corners Monument.  This is where Utah, Colorado, Arizona and New Mexico all come together.  One can stand in all four states at the same time if they use their arms and legs hunched over like a dog.  We were excited to go see it.  Unfortunately, it is located on the Navajo Nation Reservation and they still have all their stuff closed.  We couldn't go see it :( Booooooo

Monday March 1, 2021 - School, Arch Hike and Bike Ride!!

This morning I ran by the Aztec Monument.  It's been so fun to run all over the country!!

Sunday February 28, 2021 -Church and Aztec Adventures!!!

This morning we were blessed to go to church with a ward here in Aztec, New Mexico.  The bishop was so cool and asked us a lot of questions about our trip.  My parents went with us.  The talks were so good and we were all uplifted. This stake is wonderful.  

Saturday February 27, 2021 - Travel Day to Aztec, New Mexico

Our time in Santa Fe has come to an end.  It's time to move on.  Fortunately, my parents are still going to stay with us!!!  It has been so much fun with them. 

This morning was spent packing and cleaning the trailer.  The drive from Santa Fe over to Aztec took us probably around 4 hours.