“What a Gorgeous Gorge!”

Setting quite the standard for anniversaries, we spent our 4th looking over the Grand Canyon’s southern rim. Counting backwards our 3rd was in Michigan on the lake, the 2nd on the Maine Island Trail kayak camping on an island in the middle of the ocean, and for our 1st we explored the islands of Maui and Kawai. M says not to get too used to it…but I say every year is cause to celebrate because it took us so long to find each other.

Our family vacation to Arizona couldn’t have been more perfect if we planned out every moment. We arrived in Scottsdale on Saturday, and promptly jumped in the pool to splash around and cool off. Thankfully, Arizona had a bit of a cool front come through while we were there—so the highest temperature we experienced was only 107. We did escape the heat of the desert three days out of the week by driving North to the mountains.

Monday we headed up to Sedona to check out some of the sights. First we stopped at Montezuma’s Castle, and then took a scenic drive to see Cathedral Rock, a beautiful formation of red rocks, before finding a delicious place to eat dinner (we ate cactus for the first time ever—yummy.)
Tuesday we returned to Sedona to finish what we started…or to try to anyway…there was so much to see and do that we just couldn’t fit it all in. Chapel of the Holy Cross, our first destination, proved to provide an amazing view of the red rocks of Sedona.

Then we picked up some sandwiches and drove to a remote location to take a hike. We chose a five mile hike to Devil’s Bridge. Little C comfortably rode in her little back pack carrier and M and me got a great workout. The hike started out pretty easy. Then it dramatically became steep and much more difficult—which we like, but we weren’t sure if we should be taking C all the way to the top. She didn’t seem to mind at all. In fact, she fell asleep on the way up and completely missed the stunning vista.

After the hike we so desperately wanted to cool off so we swam at Slide Rock State Park. We even took turns going down the natural rock slide—so fun.

We wanted to check out even more of the scenery a little farther North, but simply ran out of time and energy. So we ate dinner and headed back to Scottsdale. Another amazing day under our belt.

Wednesday we got up early to experience an adventure tour of the desert in a military designed Tomcar (all-terrain vehicle). Dusty, hot, fun. Again, C fell asleep—but she did get to see a lot of the desert before passing out from the extreme rocking of the vehicle.

We saved the Grand Canyon for the 17th, our anniversary. On the drive there we passed through the largest Indian Reservation in the US. We saw wild horses, beautiful vistas and chatted with some of the local Navajo Indians while checking out their roadside stands. We entered the Grand Canyon State Park on the eastern side and drove west checking out almost every single vista. Even after standing on the rim looking down, I still can’t seem to take it all in. It was really something else—other worldly. We did a small three mile hike along the rim and tried to experience as much as we could without actually hiking too far into the canyon. Some day we will camp out in the park and make the journey to the bottom and back…but not with a baby in tow. As a little gift we stumbled upon the most delicious Italian restaurant called Pasto in Flagstaff. Their Gnocchi by far was the best either of us had ever tasted and the rest of the dinner was simply to die for.

What a trip. Friday we relaxed, checked out Old Town Scottsdale and hung out at the pool. We had a wonderful time and wouldn’t change a thing.

Friends from Afar

Our dear friends Steve and Michelle came to visit for a few days this past week. We only get to see them every three years so this was a real treat. We had so much fun catching up and hanging out that the time flew by way too fast. Little C had so much fun playing with everyone. She was beside herself with joy the entire week—and so was I.

We started our time with a trip to the zoo. Believe it or not, there are exhibits that C and I had not seen until Tuesday. One of the highlights of the day was the dinosaur exhibit and the funny signs posted throughout.

On Wednesday we drove into Chicago to visit the Museum of Science and Industry. We read that the entrance fee was waved for the month of September so that is why we chose to go there. However, once we got there we found out that the website page we saw was actually last year’s. But since we asked so nicely, the lady we spoke to put in a call to her manager and gave us free entry anyway. Praise God for really thoughtful people.

Thursday we got to play all morning long before everyone had to go. The afternoon was so quiet and lonely. We all really miss you. Hopefully we can come visit you in South Africa next time!!!
Here are some highlights from our time together.

[The Museum had a bit of everything...including baby chicks. C pounded her hand on the glass and a cluster of little chicks came running over to her.]

Freedom from Homework

M finished up another term at Kellogg and we celebrated by cramming a summer’s worth of activities into one weekend. Last Friday we walked to Chipotle, got take out and had a picnic in the park. Saturday we drove to Indiana Dune State Park and hung out on the beach for the day. Then on Sunday we took C to her first ball game to see the Red Sox play at Cellular Field. We topped off the long weekend with a quick trip to the zoo on Monday. C got to play in the children’s zoo for the first time ever. She went in to pet the goats, watched the geese waddle around, pointed at the chicks and chickens as the clucked about in their pens and saw many other farm animals—some up close, and some from a distance. She loved it.

[At some point over the weekend, C learned that her finger fits very nicely up her nose. Joy.]