Windy Weekend

We headed to Moab for a crazy weather Spring Break weekend.  We had planned to go to Baby Animal Days on the way but bagged that due to pouring rain.  We did hit Chuck-E-Cheese though.  That's right.  It was a party.  Way back in November our kids filled up this good deeds chart and for some reason they wanted to go to Chuck E. Cheese for their reward.  We've put it off but finally bit the bullet and went.  We've never been there before and I'm not a huge fan of places like that, but the kids loved it and we finally fulfilled our promise!  Jer actually had quite a good time reliving his glory days with the skee ball and basketball shooting.  We finally got to Moab after Luke had asked no less than 100 times if we were there yet!  We checked in at our fine campground in the city.  Even back in January we couldn't get the camp spot we wanted in Arches, so we decided to get a camping cabin in town.  Considering the weather it was perfect and of course the kids thought it was awesome.  Bunk beds and sleeping bags are hard to beat at this age. There was not a blade of grass in sight, but Ian had fun playing in the rocks and they all loved the playground.  We cooked breakfast and made lunches and ate out for dinner, so it was the best of both worlds. 

Our first day trip was to Canyonlands.  It was overcast and chilly but no rain.  There was no lack of wind though.  Ian had fun hiking the 0.5 mile loop to Mesa Arch.

At this point the wind really picked up and blew a bunch of sand in everyone's eyes.  We pretty much had sand in every crack by the time we got home that night. 

It was so windy at lunch time that we fixed lunch and ate it in the van.  Mr. Ian was so cute and quite a trooper about the wind.  He only freaked out when we went on a little hike called Whale Back, and we were high on the mountain, and the wind was literally blowing us around.  He was not a fan.  I can't say I blame him.  We headed back to town for a yummy dinner, way too much ice cream, and smores by the fire.  We had a scare when Ian choked on a marshmallow.  He inhaled a big chunk and was moving no air for what seemed like forever while Jer worked on him.  We finally got it to resurface, and I fished it deep from his throat.  I said how scary it was and the rest of the trip Ian would say "it's scary."
We bought Ian this new jacket for the trip, and he hated it.  He pitched a huge fit whenever we put the green coat on.

On day 2 we hooked up with our friends the Snyders, and it was so good to see them again.  They are great friends, and the kids have lots of fun together. 

Jer with Ian on his back at Double Arch in Arches National Park.  The kids loved climbing on any and every rock.

Miles was even quick enough to catch a lizard and Seth was excited to have a turn holding it.  He was quite disappointed we couldn't take it home with us.

We had another windy lunch, but it wasn't quite as bad.  For some reason the kids were all running and climbing and eating their lunches in full wind, and the adults were all huddled by the van wishing for more shelter. 

After lunch we went to Sand Dune Arch.  The kids took off their shoes and had fun running in the sand.  I thought Ian would love the sand like he did last year, but he hated it.  He even went to a complete stranger crying and wanting to be held and didn't want to come back to us!

There was a wedding party up there taking pictures, but the kids just had fun anyway.  Once again the wind picked up, and we had to high tail it out of there before we were sandblasted!

When we got back to the campground, the kids wanted to go swimming.  It was maybe 50 degrees and super windy.  We tried to talk them out of it, but they were set on it.  They loved it despite shaking and shivering!  We watched and Jer said he would fish someone out with a hook but no way was he setting foot in that pool!

Dinner at Zax where the napkins became headwear.  After dinner we shopped around town a bit and picked up some sweet souvenirs.  Seth even picked up one we didn't pay for, and we didn't realize it until quite a few stores later.  We had to head on back with an apology!

Finally some sunshine on our last day!  It was still cold but a beautiful day. 

When we could get the kids down off of the rocks we hiked to Landscape Arch.

Miles, Brighton, Stella, Seth, and Luke.  Ian was stuck in the backpack, but he had fruit snacks so life was good.

Hitting the trail and heading for home.

A final group shot.  Despite some crazy wind we had a great time with good friends.  I can't wait until next year!