Goblin Valley!

A couple of weeks ago we had a fun visit from some "GREAT" grandparents!! Nate's grandparents were on their way down to Goblin Valley & Lake Powell and stopped by our house for the night. It was sure fun to see them. It's crazy for me to think my kids actually know their great-grandparents! All my great-grandparents had died long before I was alive. Nate sure does have wonderful grandparents! I consider them to be my own! And they truly are great!

Grandma Card helped put the kids to bed by reading stories!

What a treat to have them stop by and see us! Our place is always welcome for anyone traveling down this way!

We decided since we were only a couple hours away from Goblin Valley we would take our first road trip of the season and go visit Grandma & Grandpa Card and Grandma's sister Bev and her husband Howard down there!

Surprise! Here we are! It was fun to have a day being with the grandparents and relatives! Grandma Card fixed us lunch and we all had a picnic before we went hiking.

Speaking of little goblins...here are three little goblins playing in Goblin Valley!

It looks like Caleb is crying--but actually he is counting because we played hide-and-seek in the rocks!

Ah-ha! We found you hiding in what looks like a slot canyon!

You've heard of 'Where's Waldo?' Well...where's E?

Glad we could have a play day together! We had the perfect weather, even though we thought at times it might rain and thunder on us!

Ty looks like a part of the rock structure up there!

Look! No hands! Caleb was a great hiker and only needed a few rides along the way!

We learned that this place used to be called 'Mushroom Valley' because these look like mushrooms! It's true, they do!

A perfect little seat for E!

There was even an arch in Goblin Valley!

And look what's inside!

Can you see Ty's little face?

Two friends just chillin together!

If you've never been to Goblin Valley it is well worth the drive! I love this place and can't wait to go back!

Strong man! Ty is so strong he can even hold up a huge bolder!

We really had to keep an eye on that Caleb boy! He wanted to go everywhere and do everything his big brother did!

This really was the perfect day! I just love playing with my kids! Can't wait for more fun times this summer!

It was pretty warm down there while we were hiking! I felt wonderful! The kids kept trying to find shade where ever they possibly could!
While the kids were sitting there resting another family walked past us and said just around the corner was a cave that we could climb inside!

From the outside it doesn't look like anyone could possibly get in there! But we all did! There was tons of room!

It was nice and cool in the cave perfect to rest and have a snack! This is inside looking out!

Here is Miss Princess at the top of her balcony!

We hiked and hiked and hiked through the valley of the Goblins til we couldn't hike anymore!

This was really the end of the valley! When we got to the top and over looked all you could see was a flat desert ground with a little greenery!

The mountain you see on the clear-far side is where our car was parked! That was quite the hike!

We hiked to the tallest white mountain we could find! It sure wasn't easy getting there! At times we thought we were done and we would have to turn around but our daddy found a way up!

There were even flowers in bloom of all colors!

And we hiked back to the car and turned around and saw how far we had gone! See that
mountain peak in the distance?! That is where we hiked to!

After the hike we went back to Grandma's campsight for a little snack and cold drink. Caleb found a seat in the fire pit! Glad it wasn't hot yet!

Then we went for a rock hunt around the camp site and found quite a few treasures! We all laughed at Caleb who kept picking up any and every rock he could find and gave it to Grandpa! "More rocks Grandpa" he would say!

And if I hadn't hiked enough and my legs weren't already sore I decided that I would do a 5k that night! As soon as I got home I changed my clothes and walked out the door to complete a 5k with my friend Erin. When I got home the kids were getting ready for bed and we were all exhausted from an eventful and fun day! Caleb and I snuggled on the couch for just a minute before we were both fast asleep!