Zion's

Since we hadn't been on a trip for a good day and a half, Scott and I took four kids and went to Zion's.  Scott had a convention there, and it seemed like a great opportunity to have fun with some of the kids who didn't get to go to New York.  We went back and forth on who to take and ended up with Ari, Free, Ptolemy and Tziporah.  There was no way I was leaving my two babies again!  Golda and Ruby chose Xanthe as the "special person" who got to stay home and hang out with them.  I felt a little guilty about leaving Xanthe out, but she hates the car.  The first time we took her to California, a few months after we brought her home, she moaned out these anguished wails, one after another, all the way there.  For twelve hours, she did that.  And it's just gotten worse since then, really.  Just kidding.  She has developed some good skills for being confined to the car, but why torture her and everyone else when she could be here, shopping for leotards and visiting Nana?  And she loves to be the center of attention, so it seemed right that she be the one to stay with the big sisters. 

Ever since I didn't pack anything for the Kingston trip, it seems a little pansy-ish to pack a bunch of stuff that I could theoretically survive without.  I did pack way too much stuff, but forgot the baby backpack.  The regular backpack worked just as well.

This is Freestone, feeling very unsafe about the canyon walls being so high.  Potential flash floods and what-have-you.  We were talking about the Chunnel and I asked Freestone if he would want to go on it.  He said no way, because the ocean could crush the tunnel with him in it.  I told him that never happens and he replied, "It would happen to me."  What is it with this kid's overdeveloped sense of doom?

Flash floods, Mom.

Tizzy ate sand while the kids played in the river.  Ptolemy had to remind us that Johnny went to the creek and his mom told him not to.  Point taken, Ptolemy.

This friendly little squirrel unzipped the backpack and stole Tizzy's bottle!  It was so cute, we had to retrieve the bottle and do it again on camera.  Then a third time so a group of French tourists could video the tiny thief.  We were careful not to feed him.  It's a $100 fine if you get caught!  The squirrels were not the least bit scared.  While I was filming the squirrel thief, I was holding Tizzy.  I glanced at her just as she was reaching out, about to grab the squirrel's tail.  Phew!  I don't think the squirrel would have liked that and it would have been difficult to explain to Scott that I let Tizzy get attacked by a wild squirrel because I was busy filming.

Relaxing while Ari and Free waded up in the Narrows.

Walking around town with Dad after his meetings

After Tziporah enjoyed a candy stick, we got on the shuttle bus with her messy face.  A guy we were visiting with laughed and asked how she ever got the candy up in her eyebrows.  Yeah, that guy didn't have kids.  Of course she got in in her eyebrows!  She probably got it in MY eyebrows!

View from the pool

Ari wanted to do a picture of the kids looking serious.  She was probably just tired...and sunburned.  Amazingly enough, we got to Zion's with NO sunscreen.  There is always sunscreen in the car and in all of our purses. But we didn't have a drop.  Sunscreen at the hotel was fifteen bucks, so I told the kids to stay in the shade.  A little vitamin D probably won't be the thing that kills them.

Day Two:  hiking to the Emerald Pools

On the way home, we stopped at Cove Fort Days for entertainment and free hot dogs. 

When we got home, Golda and Ruby had done a fine job of holding down the fort.  Tziporah was exhausted from her hiking and swimming and road tripping.  She put her little bum in the air and zonked out.  Home Sweet Home!