Brave Boys!

 We visited Rosie the Tarantula at the Butterfly Pavilion yesterday.  The boys were very brave, solemn and calm as Rosie crawled over their palm.  Too bad I had to be the one taking pictures;-)

 We had a great time petting starfish, horseshoe crabs, hermit crabs and feeding crawfish in the creek.  It was a long drive to get there, but a fun experience for sure!

Rainy day fun at the Science Museum

We love the Denver Museum of Science and History.  Their mythical creatures exhibit ends with this fun photo op (funny, the boys never choose the unicorn!?).  What a fun way to spend a rainy morning.

Our swimming hike: Mill Creek Canyon Wilderness

We did a local Moab hike to a swimming hole.  We weren't quite prepared for what we found.  It was more of a diving hole, with people hanging out up top.  We stood in the water for awhile, then Darin hiked up to the top and jumped in.  This will be the perfect adventure spot with the boys are a little older:-)

Night Hike #2--SUCCESS!

 We re-tried our night hike, this time after taking an afternoon nap.  That made all the difference....we had a ball!  We hiked to Landscape Arch and then continued hiking to Navajo arch.

 We love being in the park at sunset--the colors are amazing!

Our little night hikers posing in a tree before turning their headlamps on and heading home.  We had fun telling stories about the ancient dancing people painted on the cliff walls coming alive when the stars came out.  They said they didn't believe us, but were gripping our hands very tightly:-)

Our first attempt at a nigtht hike--FA

 

 Our first attempt at a night hike started off rocky.  All three boys had fallen asleep in the car on the way (no nap that day), and awaking at the trailhead with a hike on the horizon wasn't appealing to any of them. 

 Everyone rallied by the time we got to the first arch.

 The boys had fun building their own trail markers (piling rocks in a tower).

 Darin and Kenny are the specs of people under this arch.

 And then Jacob hit the wall.  He refused to hike anymore.  So while Darin, Kenny and John explored arches, Jacob sat on the trail.  I managed to get a picture of his back (he turned away from me as I circled him:-) in front of every arch in the Windows Arches area.  I had to amuse myself somehow!?

Moab: Corona Arch

 We LOVE this hike...especially since it starts by crossing a train track:-)

 John spotted a lizard, which was thankfully too fast for him to catch.

 A cool "window" along the hike to Corona Arch.

 We made it!  The hike was much easier than it was 1.5 years ago (prodding & packing 2-yr-olds tends to put on a damper on the hike:-)

 Corona Arch

 John was on a mission to spot and catch lizards.  He saw many, but hasn't mastered the catching part.

 This hike is an adventure!  Climbing a ladder.....

 ....traversing lots of rock.....

 .....steep parts with cables.

It was all in a days work for these expert hikers:-)

Arches National Park: Delicate Arch

 This 3 mile hike was uphill the whole way.  We found a good spot to break for a snack.

 The arch was fabulous!

 The boys had a great time playing on the rock surfaces. 

Black Canyon: Camping & Hiking

 We took the scenic route through Grand Mesa to get to the Black Canyon.  Jacob couldn't resist doing some dangerous moves during a stretch break!

 Kenny colored a picture of himself as a park ranger.  Each national park as a Junior Ranger program that you can complete to earn a badge.  We're not quite there yet.

 We hiked the Warner Point Nature Trail.  It was gorgeous, with views of surrounding mountains and lots of points to look down into the canyon.

 John's favorite part of the hike were the caterpillars.  He named this one, hiked the whole way with him, and was sad when it was time to find a home for him before we loaded the car.

What an incredible place!