Family Reunion and Mesa Verde

Right at the end of summer we attended the semi-semi annual McBride family reunion. :)  Past reunions have been held in Mesa Verde, Virginia Beach, a cruise, and this year it was in Monticello Utah. There isn't  much to do in Monticello, but it is near the canyonlands in Moab, Utah. I was excited as this is somewhere I've seen lots of pictures of, but never been.



We rented out an entire Bed and Breakfast (Old Grist Mill Inn), and hung out for about 4 days. There was hardly any drama, lots of cousin playing time, adults chatting time, and even a temple session with the new video! It was a blast.

On our 'excursion' day, we went to Dead Horse State Park up in canyonlands with a bunch of family members. I wasn't terribly awe struck by it, though it had a lot to see. Maybe it was because it was like 90 degrees and we hiked both rims. I was hot and tired! :)  After Dead Horse we drove through Arches National park since we were right there. I'd love to make it back there and hike to the arches!

Dead Horse State Park

Colorado River

He's such a trooper!

These cairns marked the trail. Dan added the top rock to this one.

This is a view of the cliff where the horses got stuck and died. I understood their pain on this HOT hike!

Arches National Park

On our way home we decided to camp at Mesa Verde for a few nights and take in the sights. The campsite was beautiful and the tours are awesome, but the boys had apparently had enough of our trip. Their behavior was bad enough for us to pack up camp one day early and head home. *sigh* All pictures at Mesa Verde were taken by Dan since I was wrangling kids.

 Mesa Verde National Park (don't be fooled by the smiles, i was seriously seething in anger...)

These are Kevas, big pits in the ground, Alex truly almost fell in two of these because he ran away from us

Like my death look? :)

Nice face Cade!

So not everything in life is glorious or glamorous, but we get through it. We were glad to get home and get settled into life before school started again. :)

I say we do a cruise again for our next reunion! 

Back to School!!

I can't believe I'm already writing this! I am SO glad that we had a very busy and memorable summer. But I am equally as glad to send my kids off to school. It's just the honest truth.

See, Alex spent the last year at home with me all day. No Pre-K, no mommy taught preschool group, nothing. He started out as my sweet little Alex, but by the end of the school year and throughout the summer he transformed into some strange little creature with a hot head and a loud scream. So as if the sibling rivalry wasn't contentious enough, now Alex was ready to give it his all too. I like my silence...

School will be great for both of my children and their very active minds. In fact, last year we applied to Cheyenne Mountain Charter Academy, and I got a call about 2 weeks ago that Alex had moved up enough on the list to get a spot! This bumped Cade up on the 2nd grade list considerably, but still not enough to get a spot this year. However Cade will start out much higher on the list for next school year and will almost definitely make it in. This school is great and Alex has come home so happy everyday!

So here's some pictures of their first days of school!

Dan and I made this growth chart just before school started so I could measure just how much they grow this year. 

Wish us luck for the coming school year!