Brady Ties His Tie

For a scout goal as well as just because it was time, Derek taught Bones how to tie a beautiful Double Windsor Knot.

Here he is after the lesson.

Twenty nine years ago Derek and his dad stood side by side in front of a mirror and he taught Derek how to tie a tie. Now Derek was able to teach Bones the very same way.

It was a fun moment in time for this father and son!

Grand Canyon Easter Trip

We left our home at 5:20 am Thursday morning. The morning went so great. The kids mostly just slept for the first few hours. We packed a snack bag for each one stocked with a banana muffin (see last post), a nutri-grain bar, a cheese stick, apple wedges and peanut butter dip, a banana, sixlets, Mn M's, a drink, and other munchies. They were set for the whole 12 hour ride (and especially breakfast.) Every hour we had a gift that one could open and they all could share. It was so funny when Natalie unwrapped two boxes of tin foil. She was so perplexed as to why we would consider this a gift. Once I started to explain all the things you could make out of foil she was totally on-board. The kids had the funnest tin foil creations to show us. They later opened a package of pipe-cleaners for each of them and then they really got creative!! We finally stopped for a breather somewhere between Panguich and Kanab at this great Rock store. The men were so cute and very rough around the edges (just like their rocks!) They gave the kids their choice of two rocks each and we also bought a cool rock for our rock collector Grandpa Atkinson.We were making good time so we continued on our way to Glen Canyon Dam and Lake Powell. We all loved the huge bridge and we walked nearly all the way across it. It was suspended 700 feet above the ground and gave us a great view of the dam. We also visited the dam visitor center and we saw all kids of dam information, and dam booklets. They had pretty much any dam thing you might be interested in, but we decided against buying any dam souvenirs because they cost too DARN much (hee-hee!)

We had lunch in Paige and then we headed on through the most boring stretch of road ever constructed. Top speed allowed? 55mph!! Ugh!

We made it to the Circle Pines KOA in Williams, AZ shortly before 5 pm and we were thrilled with our cabin. The KOA calls it a lodge so as not to confuse it with their smaller camping cabins. It is really just a rustic looking 40 foot single wide trailer. We love it because it has a kitchen and beds for everyone.

Der took the kids swimming and I got us settled in and started on dinner. Danny barely made it through his dinner before climbing into his bunk to await kisses goodnight. Day Two was a lot of fun. We started out at the Williams Visitor Center where we got some more useful info. Then we tooled down Historic Route 66 before heading to the Grand Canyon Deer Farm and Petting Zoo. Feeding the deer was the best part. The kids all jumped right in and just laughed and had a ball. Danny especially loved the miniature goats. Then we went home and had lunch and the kids watched a movie while Der and I had a little snooze. After our break we headed out to Bedrock City and had a great time in our make believe Flintstones world. This place was a lot of fun. We had a great time. It was set up like the town of Bedrock. It had everything but the bowling alley. We even sat in a stone age movie theatre and watched a few episodes. It was a lot of fun. We finished off the day with dinner at Denny's. Day Three. We had originally planned to hike through Walnut Canyon but when we awoke to 2 inches of snow we decided to go south through Oak Creek Canyon and into Sedona where it is 15 degrees warmer. For us that ended up just being rain instead of snow. So after the beautiful drive into Sedona we stopped and had a subway and then headed back home. Der and the kids opted for a swim and I did some laundry. Then we all met up in the game room and played air hockey, pool, video games etc. We had spaghetti for a late dinner and collapsed into our beds.

Day Four - Easter. The Easter Bunny remember to find us in Arizona and Danny was very excited about this. He brought the boys each a new hat filled with Easter Grass and some munchies. He brought Nat the newest Fablehaven book and Laurel the HSM3 cd. Everyone was pleased. We had a yummy breakfast of pancakes, fruit, and sausage (if you haven't tried Turkey Sausage you are truley missing out!!) Today we loaded up and headed to the Planes of Fame Museum in Valle, AZ. Only about 35 minutes away. We had a great time looking at the antique planes that can still be operated and are a few times a year. We also toured the Antique cars display at the Valle Airport. It was very cool. After the museums we headed through Williams for a subway and then Westward on Route 66 to the Grand Canyon Caverns tour. This was about an hours drive and we enjoyed the city of Saligman. Very reminiscent of Radiator Springs from the movie Cars. The caverns were so cool. We got into an elevator and headed down 210 feet and then were amazed at the huge chambers (bigger than football fields) that we were able to walk through for 3/4 of a mile. The kids were really amazed by this tour and we just really enjoyed ourselves here in the caverns. Our camera began to take it's last breaths on this trip. Alas we have no pictures of the caverns because the flash quit working. We headed back home and I grilled hamburgers while Der took the kids swimming (notice a trend? Swimming before bed makes for heavy sleepers!!)

Lolly hitching a ride on Route 66!

Day Four - The weather cooperated and the day arrived!!! We are finally going to the Grand Canyon. First we ran into Williams to take the girls shopping for souvenirs. Then just a short 45 minute drive and we are at the entrance gate!!! We parked at Mather Point and went to a lookout there. Then we sat off to the side of the trail and had our picnic lunch. We hiked the South Rim trail all the way to Grand Canyon Village and then on to Kolb Studio. It was an amazing experience. Danny skipped most of the way. It was a surreal experience at times as you look at the majestic beauty of the canyon. We could have spent three days just at the Shouth Rim and still had more to see!! It was knee shaking at times because of the sheer cliffs with a one mile drop to the bottom and the only thing between your child on the trail and the edge is about 2 or 3 feet at times. The designated view points had small railings that plenty of crazies were climbing over to get right to the edge for a picture!!!

After exploring the balconies and terraces at Kolb Studio we stopped for an ice cream cone in the Village. Then we trekked some more to where we could find an Eastbound shuttle stop (about 1/2 mile away.) The kids loved the shuttle ride and we were able to get a better idea of just how big the community that is the Grand Canyon is. We saw a small cemetery too. Once we reached our stop (the kids loved the bus ride) we had to hike a ways again to find our car and in the process found a few more amazing view points that we hadn't seen earlier. Five hours and over six hiked miles later we decided to head home. Once there we had chili dogs and then Der took the kids...you guessed it...SWIMMING!! I cleaned up sinner, got in my pj's and put in a movie. When they returned they all had a Popsicle and finished "The Man From Snowy River" with me (it's one of my fav's.) Everyone was dead within five minutes of prayers and we slept hard and long until morning.

Day Five - We got up n' at 'em early so we could get a good start on the drive home. After breakfast the kids went to the playground and Der and I loaded up the van. We were on the road by 9:40 AZ time (10:40 UT time.) We had lunch in Paige and then dinner in Richfield, UT. We pulled in to home at 10:10 pm and prayed quickly and got the kids into bed.

What great trip!!!

Very Healthy Breakfast Muffins

Banana Breakfast Muffins 5 eggs whites - beaten 1 cup white sugar 1 cup brown sugar 1 scant cup applesauce (unsweetened) 1 tsp. salt 3 cups bananas 2 tsp. soda (mix into mashed bananas) 4 cups wheat flour (I prefer fresh ground white wheat) 1 cup finely diced walnuts 3/4 cup quick oats Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Beat egg whites. Add sugars, applesauce, and salt. Mix well. Add bananas with the soda in them. Mix well. Slowly add flour, walnuts, and oats. Place foil muffin cups in muffin tin and spray with Pam. Fill the cups completely full. Bake 23-25 minutes or until top springs back when pressed. I like to eat these chilled. Makes 24. Enjoy!