Kanosh Easter Party

To finish off our trip to Elsinore, we always go to Rayma's family Easter party in Kanosh. Every year has just gotten more and more fun for Jace. There are a lot of kids in the family that are Jace's age and it is fun that he can play with them.

The day was a bit cold, especially for it being April 23rd! (we had the cutest family outfits picked out for the event too ... grr!) Very very fun day!

Family Picture Tradition

It is our family tradition to get our pictures taken at Grannie Annie's house every Easter. We have gone down for the last 3 years the week before Easter Sunday to spend a few days down in Elisnore. We love our little tradition and we love spending time down south. Thanks for being such lovely hosts Ann and Wayne! Here's our family photos up until this year!

Easter Sunday

Last Sunday we had an amazing Sacrament Meeting! One song that particularly touched my heart was sung by a friend, Carrie Cahoon. I had loved this song while in High School, but lost the CD and no longer have it. I don't get brought to tears often by the spirit in the room ... but I did with this.

If I had been there at his trial,

And watched as they mocked Israel’s King,

I wonder if I would have tried to turn their hearts to Him,

If I had been there when they whipped him,

And watched as he fell to his knees,

Would I have been willing to offer my own life for Him,

For His friends, how he bled

His love for them was just as he said

Greater love he showed the greatest love, of all

If I had been there at the hillside when they fastened his hands to the cross,

I’m sure that my heart would have broken,

For His friends, For His friends,

And that’s me if I do what he said

Would I give? Could I live my life like Jesus?

Jesus

Well now, it’s been years since his lifetime,

But he and his love still remain,

And all that I want is to be like him,

He was all I hope to be,

I would give my life to be,

The kind of friend, Jesus was to me

Our Trek To Zion

We have not been on a family vacation for a long time. Probably before Jace was even made. Joe has been working some crazy long stressful hours at work and we decided to take a break from the world and go to Zions.

What a week we had! It was BEAUTIFUL!

70 degrees

not too crowded

open air

beautiful sights

and most importantly

FAMILY time!!

Here are some highlights from our vacation:

We weren't super prepared for our vacation. I brought a lot of food and snacks so we only ate out for our dinners ... but we forgot all containers, baggies, and utensils. SO we got creative. Our Wheat Thins ended up being a spoon and a knife for a day or two!!

After climbing up Walter's Wiggles (on the way to Angel's Landing) we turned to another path and went another 100 yards or more and got to a relatively flat space that we could let Jace out of his pack and wander without fear of falling off of the cliffs. We went and ate our lunch and had a fabulous time before heading back down the mountain!

He carried around that apple for about an hour or two ... a bite here, a bite there. He loves his fruit!

Jace did an awesome job this trip. Luckily he loves being outside and loves walking around in his little back pack. He pretty much was smiles the entire time!

This is where we stayed. It was beautiful! It was equipped with 2 large beds (bunk beds ... but queen size beds) a nice living room, bathroom with shower, sink, microwave, and mini {mini mini} fridge. It really wasn't camping!

Day 3 walk in the valley ... SO beautiful!

On our way up to the weeping rock.

This is the weeping rock waterfall. It was amazing. Jace didn't much like the cold water, but it felt good to be sheltered from the sun for a bit!

Many people would comment about how "lucky that little guy is to be carried" or "when is it my turn" or "I wish I could be carried" or whatever.

This last pic was taken on top of a major hill (and cliff ... so scary!!) But it was so rewarding once we got to the top ... (well the top before we got to the chain part of the hike. I stand firm that a good hike shouldn't require chains!!) We were able to see the whole side of the valley. It was awesome!