Get your kicks...

We followed route 66 from Calico to the Grand Canyon. We listened to Natalie Cole's version of "Route 66" more times than necessary, for obvious reasons. I actually bought the whole album, remembered every lyric to every song, and thought of my mom the whole way.

Remember how I mentioned that it was 40+ degrees at Disneyland? Well, less than a week later, we found ourselves at the Grand Canyon and it was freezing. It was snowing on and off all day. Mother nature sure threw us for a loop. The older kids thought it was great, but Sawyer was less than impressed. With the weather, that is. They all loved the Canyon.

No matter how many pictures you see, videos you watch, or people you talk to, nothing can actually prepare you for looking down into the Canyon. It literally took my breath away. It's dizzying. I honestly felt a little nauseous, but in a good way.

Like I said, no picture will ever do it justice, but we have to try.  Matt gets the credit for this. 

This crazy was in the goofiest mood. 

I almost want to frame this one. 

For some reason, Sawyer was afraid of the man who was taking our picture for us. It was weird. 

His favourite ever bear hat has been put away since we left Victoria. He was so excited to wear it.

Matt couldn't help but hike down lower. It's a good thing I was there, because if he was alone, he wouldn't have been able to resist the urge to explore and would have found himself deep in the Canyon in the dark with no food or water. Taking the boys for a week long hike down there one day is the newest item on his bucket list. 

There is this gorgeous old lookout that we went too. We got there a bit too late in the day, and it was closed, but it was still worth seeing.

Monument Valley. John Wayne filmed several movies here. Doesn't it just make the perfect background for a spaghetti western? It was a crystal clear, blue sky day. We had lunch in a restaurant that had giant windows and Navajo fry bread. It was picture perfect. 

 

See the necklace I'm wearing? On the way to Monument Valley, there was a jewellery stand on the side of the road. There were tables and tables of handmade, genuine turquoise necklaces, bracelets and earrings. Matt loves turquoise, partly because of his time on the reservation, and partly because he just loves the colour. He's been telling me for years that one day he'd bring me to New Mexico and buy me some turquoise jewellery. He was very insistent on picking it out, which I love. 

After we left Monument Valley, we drove down to Shiprock, New Mexico. It's part of the Navajo Nation. Matt spent about 6 months living in Shiprock more than 10 years ago as a missionary for our church. He really fell in love with the people and the culture, and was really excited to show it to us. I loved hearing stories about the families there and seeing places he remembers so fondly.

The rock! This is why the town is called Shiprock. 

Then on to Colorado. Matt was singing Rocky Mountain High and I was embarrassed because the only John Denver song I know is Country Roads. Apparently everyone knows Rocky Mountain High. I blame my parents. In Colorado is this incredible place called Mesa Verde (green table in Spanish). The Anasazi, or Pueblo peoples lived here hundreds of years ago. Their homes were built into the side of the mountain. It was really incredible to see this different way of life. There are several hikes you can take, all of them including large scales up mountain sides using tall ladders. We really wanted to do one, but the kid were too young (well, Sawyer and Hayden were- Oliver would have loved it) so we did a small and family friendly walk instead. 

Because Mesa Verde is a national park, they have a Junior Park Ranger program, where the kids need to fill out facts they've learned at the park, spot wildlife, and do a nature scavenger hunt. They enjoyed doing it, and they got their badges, which are now proudly pinned to their jackets. 

Here you can climb a ladder down into one of the underground homes that the Pueblo people built for shelter. 

Learning how to grind grains and corn. It reminded me of an oversized mortar and pestle. 

It was one of those places that makes you incredibly grateful for our modern conveniences, yet amazed at the ingenuity and creativity of these ancient people. We are really looking forward to going back once our kids are older so that we can do a full day hike. 

We are currently in Durango, Colorado. We have been really struggling to find a place with a solid internet connection, and Matt was feeling pretty behind on some work. With it being the off season for skiing, but not quite summer, we found a pretty affordable ski condo rental. We are staying here for a week so Matt can work and the boys can get a lot of school done as well. We are almost finished our curriculum! Home schooling for the win! Let me just say I have a new appreciation for both school teacher and home school parents. 

Jonathan and Lisa and kids (my bro and his fam jam) are coming tonight to stay for the weekend and celebrate Matt's birthday with us tomorrow. We will play Super Smash Bros and Scattergories and eat cereal, greek salad and pie all weekend. 

On Monday we leave for the Pagosa Hot Springs (there are 23 different springs here!) and then after that it's due East! I'm missing the ocean already. 

Saloons and Silver mines

Once we left California, we got really excited about being on the road again. In my normal, everyday life, I am a super planned, hyper organized, list loving kind of person. Somehow, however, I haven't been feeling the same way on the trip. I mean, of course I still keep the inside of the RV organized and I plan school lessons and what not, but I am kind of loving the freedom of being able to go where we want, when we want, with no prior planning.

We were on the way to Vegas, just for fun, and then we were going to go to St. George. But, on the way to Vegas we saw signs for an old mining Ghost town, called Calico, and thought the kids might have more fun doing that. So, we literally made a 10 second decision, turned off the freeway, and changed our plans.

Isn't that a great view? I love travelling to such different areas, where the beauty is so different than what we're used to, but always present.

Hands off my gold!

Draw!

We sat Hayden up here and right after the picture was taken, the surly old cowboy shop owner yelled at us and basically kicked us out of the store. Oops. 

This guy was so great. He was just wandering around the town, singing cowboy songs and talking to everybody with his thick southern drawl. That moustache just doesn't lie. 

We actually got to walk through the silver mine, which was pretty neat. They had some replicas of little kitchen and sleeping areas and such that the miners would make for themselves while underground.  

Boys boys boys. Sometimes I don't mind having all sons because it means I'm the queen. 

There was a little train that took us to some of the old mines right in the side of the mountain. 

It was a fun little stopover and I  think the kids will definitely remember this one. 

The happiest place on Earth.

It really is the happiest place on Earth. I just love Disneyland. A whole bunch. This was my fourth time here (Matt's fourth too, but only our second time there together). Jonathan hadn't been in over 20 years! We came when we were kids with our siblings, Mom, and Oma. It was really fun to have some brother time and do all the rides we remembered going on together, like Space Mountain.

I loved that my kids could create Disneyland memories that include their Uncle and Aunt, and their cousins. And of course we got some nephew/niece time too!

They were so happy! See the t-shirts? Lisa made one for everybody! She's awesome like that. Isn't Sadie's outfit just the best?

Sistas. I am literally wearing this shirt as I write this post.

Marshalls! They're almost all looking. It was the best I could do. 

Sully! We didn't get a ton of pictures of us with the characters, because honestly, if I'm going to wait in line for something, I'd rather it be a ride. 

These two totally bonded. I loved it. 

Look at all these cute cousins! This whole trip was a surprise for the Marshall kids, and the best part was that Oliver and Hayden got to tell them the news. When they got into the hotel room we all jumped out and surprised them! Then the boys told them about Disneyland. It was a very intense and loud 5 minutes. 

She is so good at smiling for pictures. 

Watching the parade. I'm honestly not a parade person, but this one was pretty incredible. 

She is just so cute. And the only girl amongst 5 boys. Which makes her somehow even cuter. 

Last time we were there, Cars Land was under construction. I have to say, it was really cool. I don't even like the movie very much, but I loved the Land. The Radiator Springs ride is awesome. So awesome, in fact, that the wait time was NEVER less than 2 hours the whole time. We got fast passes so that we didn't have to wait. 

I know it's all red-eyed and blurry, but the red-eye fix on iPhoto is really more like a turn-yourself-into-a-demon button so I just left it alone. If I were less lazy I'd photoshop it. 

I just noticed the kid who doesn't belong to us in the bottom left of the picture. Oops. 

Maaaaaaybe she will be enough to satisfy Matt's wish to have a little girl and he will quit bugging me about it. 

It was 40+ degrees this day. Not exaggerating. That is just too hot to be outside. In fact, Oliver even got a bit of heat exhaustion. So went into the animation studios in California Adventure for a few hours in the afternoon to wait out the heat. 

I know it's so cheesy and cliche, but it's still kinda cute, right?

All in all, we had a really amazing time. It was slightly tricky dealing with the different height restrictions on the rides, especially since Sawyer and Sadie wanted to to everything and were very jealous of their brothers. But with 4 adults, we totally made it work. I think we will wait for about 4 more years to go again, and then we won't need strollers and naps, and no one is left out of any rides. I'm already counting down!