Weeping Rock and Emerald Pools

I'm way behind on getting these posts up about our trip. We stayed at a hotel for 2 nights in Vegas and we didn't have WiFi in the room, so that really hindered my blogging ability. Then, the next night in Death Valley we got into the hotel late and I was too sleepy, so didn't get any blogging done that night either. SO, I am going to try to get caught up. We're in Yosemite now, and will be till tomorrow morning, so I am going to work on getting caught up. I will post the actual date of when these things occured at the top of each post....

Monday, March 14th

The stay at Desert Pearl Inn was great! It was such a fabulous little Inn. If you ever go to Zion National Park, we highly recommend it! Something that made it even more fabulous in Mark’s opinion is that their little café served Starbucks coffee. He was quite thankful for that little blessing!
After our breakfast and fueling up on caffeinated beverages up for the day, we headed out to hike. The first hike we did was a short one, called Weeping Rock. I guess it was called Weeping Rock because the rock was kind of crying. It was like sprinkling rain from the rock, from a water supply up above.
The second hike we did was the longer one of the two. It was about a 3 mile round trip. This hike took us to 3 different water falls. It was a very pretty hike and was quite enjoyable. There was one area of the hike that was very muddy. I tried to capture the extent of the mud we had to walk through, but its hard to get the full idea through the picture, but I’ll post it below anyways. Jonah did really well in the pack again. He seemed to enjoy himself and was very patient with all the hiking we did.

Below are some pictures of our hikes…


Me & Jonah on the hike to Weeping Rock


The larger waterfall at Weeping Rock


Amazing view near Weeping Rock


Another amazing view from Weeping Rock


Starting out on our hike to Emerald Pools


The muddy path we had to walk through


We let Jonah out of the backpack for a break and he wanted to climb up on the rocks with Daddy :)


Mark and Jonah at the 3rd and highest falls at Emerald Pools


Water fall on Emerald Pools hike


Beautiful view on Emerald Pools hike

After our hike, we went back into Springdale for lunch. We ate at a little Mexican place that was pretty good. We then decided to rent bikes with a bike trailer for Jonah to sit in. We went riding through Zion National Park for about 2 hours. We were able to ride on a trail that was designated for biking/walking/running. It was quite enjoyable and it was fun to get to bike in such unbelievable scenery. Jonah did well in the bike trailer. He did say he wanted to get out every now and then, but for the most part enjoyed himself. On our bike ride, we stopped by the visitor’s center of Zion, let Jonah run around some and picked up a few postcards, etc. while we were there.


Mark on his bike with Jonah in the trailer... can't really see Jonah too well though


This is a stellar picture of me -- at least the view is good :)


Jonah being adorable in the bike helmet


Jonah playing around on the 'steps' at the Visitor's Center

By the time we got done with the biking, it was getting close to 5pm. Jonah hadn’t had a nap for the day, so he was definitely exhausted. We hopped back in the car to head to Vegas, which took about 2.5 hours or so. Jonah slept for a majority of the trip. We arrived in Vegas, grabbed some dinner and then checked into our hotel.

Canyon Overlook Hike

This morning we relaxed for a little while in our hotel in Bryce Canyon. We then packed up and headed to Zion National Park. The drive was incredibly scenic and we even saw some antelope in the countryside along the way.

We came straight into the park and went on a mile long hike to get to a view point to see the canyon. The hike was beautiful, mostly straight up on the way there and down on the way back. There were many friendly people along the way on the hike. Zion National Park is apparently much more visited than Bryce Canyon National Park, especially this time of year. So, we saw a lot more people on the hike today than we did on the 3 mile hike yesterday.

Along the hike, our paths crossed with Barb and Norm. They were very friendly, they offered to take our picture for us. We talked to them a little bit and learned that they had wanted to come visit the National Parks out west for a long time, but never had enough time off of work to do it when they were younger. Norm was in the military and they moved all around for many years. So, they decided to come to the parks now, even though they were older. They said a lot of their friends and family thought they were crazy for taking this trip. They were so cute and so excited about their trip and adventures. I was quite impressed with them, hiking up this trail. It was only a mile long, but it wasn't the easiest hike, especially for someone their age. They held hands much of the way and were helping each other along. I told them how I was impressed with them and Barb said, "He has to do a lot of pullin', but I eventually make it all the way up!" She seemed pretty proud of herself, and she definitely should be. They took pictures of us on their camera and got our email address (using their iphone) so they could email us they pictures. They were so cute!! I hope I'm hiking like them in 40 years!

After our hike, we came to our hotel, The Desert Pearl Inn. It is a great place and we have a great view from our little balcony out back. Jonah loves playing on the balcony... don't worry, he can't fall off. There's a little river running behind the hotel and behind that are the beautiful mountains of Zion National Park. Stunning.

I was able to get a run in this afternoon... ran from our hotel into Zion Park. It was a beautiful run. We walked into Springdale for dinner. Its the same town our hotel is in. We ate at a great little pizza place. The weather has been perfect today. If the day wasn't already great enough, to top it off, UK won the SEC tournament. :) Here are some pictures of our day today.


Antelope we saw along the roadside on the drive to Zion National Park


Entrance to Zion National Park


Early part of the 1 mile hike


Barb and Norm on the hike :)


Barb and Norm at the top of the hike!


View at the top


Another view at the top of the hike


Jonah enjoying the view at Canyon Overlook


Mark and Jonah at the top of the hike


Gorgeous view of Zion Canyon


On the way back down... a more challenging part of the hike for Mark.. he had to duck down in order to make sure Jonah's head didn't hit against the rocks in this passageway.


Scenic view in Zion


Desert Pearl Inn - There are more hotel rooms in the back, you can't really see them from this picture, but you can see the view we have from the balcony off of our room!

"Trwee Urt Me!"

This is a quick story I forgot to include in the blog about our first two days....As you could see in the previous pictures, Jonah was riding up high on Mark's back in the pack. When we started out on the 3 mile hike yesterday, Mark accidentally let a tree branch brush up against Jonah. It did't leave a mark on Jonah or anything, but he cried. I think more than anything it startled and scared him. For the next little bit Jonah was crying and saying "Trwee Urt Me!!" (Tree hurt me!) He was scared that another branch was going to hit him in the face and scratch him and hurt him. He was actually quite scared and really wanted out of the pack.
Initially, this was a bit frustrating for me and Mark. We thought that we had ruined our chances of getting any hiking in with Jonah in the pack. We ended up getting Jonah down out of the pack in a flat, safer area and talking to him about the trees and how Mark didn't mean to let it hit him and we would make sure that no more trees would hit him or hurt him. Eventually, Jonah agreed to get back in the pack and give it another try. By the end of the hike, which Jonah ended up loving, Jonah was randomly shouting "Trwee No Urt Me!!" (translation: The tree doesn't hurt me!!)

Kolob Canyon & Bryce Canyon

As some of you know, Mark, Jonah, and I are on a trip! We are currently in Bryce Canyon, Utah. I am going to try to blog every couple of days on the trip in order to keep record (for myself) of what we've done and also to allow those of you who'd like to read about our adventures!

On Friday morning, we flew out of Newark Airport and 5+ hours later we landed in Las Vegas, NV. Jonah did great on the flight, especially considering he has a horrible ear infection and his Pediatrician was even concerned that his ear drum could rupture on the flight with the increased altitudes. He fussed once or twice about his ear, but really it didn't seem to bother him too much. He was a bit restless towards the end of the flight, but overall he was very well behaved.

After we landed in Las Vegas, we got our rental car, and loaded up to head to Cedar City, UT, which would be our first stop on our travels. Along the way, we made a few stops. The first was at REI to get a couple of items we would need for the hiking we planned to do on the trip. After being in REI and being able to run around for awhile, Jonah fell asleep in the car, which was nice because he slept for a big part of the driving we had to do that afternoon. On our way to Cedar City, UT we were able to stop at Kolob Canyons. It is part of Zion National Park, but an area that is highly visited due to the location. It is on the north end of Zion National Park, and most people that visit Zion, go to the southern part of the park. The Kolob Canyon was BEAUTIFUL! Well worth our little excursion off the interstate. (pictures below). We arrived in Cedar City, UT, checked into the Holiday Inn Express and then headed out to get some dinner (at Chili's) and then to Walmart (a refreshing trip to a large supermarket for this manhattan momma).


Kolob Canyon


Kolob Canyon

Saturday morning, we packed back up and headed out for Bryce Canyon National Park. It was about a 2 hour drive. The drive itself was beautiful! Just being in a car and driving out in the middle of nowhere is so refreshing. Once we arrived at Bryce Canyon National Park, we went to the visitors center to see what hiking trails would be open and what all we could do. Jonah loved the little muesem in the Visitor's Center. It had real stuffed animals that were native to this area and Jonah loved looking at them. They were enclosed in glass cases and he would squat down really close to them and say in his sweet little voice "Hi Bear" or "Hi Squirrel". It was really cute. He didn't want to leave this little muesem, but we finally convinced him there was more fun to be had!

At Bryce Canyon, we were able to do a 3 mile loop hike. It is very possibly the most amazing hike I've ever been on. I've been on a few others that compare, but the beauty that was saw was awe-inspiring! One of my favorite Rebecca St. James songs was running through my head "God of wonders, beyond our galaxy, you are holy, holy... the universe declares your majesty, you are holy, holy." It was truly beautiful and even the pictures I will be posting here will not do it justice, I am sure.
The 3 mile hike we did was actually through snow most of the time. Surprisingly, it was quite warm. We were dressed too warmly and even got hot. We were shedding layers as we went, the problem was we then had to carry them. We even saw one guy hiking with his shirt off and wearing shorts. That tells you how warm it was. The weather was perfect actually. Mark did not heed his wife's advice and ended up getting sunburnt on this hike. Mark carried Jonah in a pack on his back for the whole hike. It was quite impressive. Many of the people made comments about how he was carrying Jonah so far on quite a strenuous hike.

One of the groups of people we passed asked where we were from, to which I replied, NYC. The girl said, "Oh! I love NYC!", so then I asked where they were from and she said they were from Northern Utah, Salt Lake City area, to which Mark replied "We LOVE Utah!".... and that pretty much sums it up!

Enjoy the pictures. Next we are headed to Zion National Park for a day or two... I'll blog more as we go.


On the drive to Bryce Canyon.... they had just a bit of snow this winter... just 40 feet or so.


This archway was over the road before the entrance to Bryce Canyon National Park


About to head out on our 3 mile loop hike


Bryce Canyon, the view as we start out on our hike



Mark and Jonah on the hike


Jonah loved getting to walk on his own through one of the 'tunnels'


Jonah thoroughly enjoyed tracing the letters on the sign with his fingers and saying each letter outloud


Mark and Jonah heading up the trail.. if you look above them in the picture, you can see where the trail is headed... it zigzags back and forth as you go up the hill.


The trail we just came up


Beautiful view and our friends from Salt Lake City


Another beautiful view on our hike

A natural bridge or arch in Bryce Canyon National Park

Hot-hot!

Anytime we walk by a Starbucks, which is every few blocks in NYC, these are the words you will hear from Jonah's mouth "Hot-hot!", or "Dada get hot-hot!" Its really quite adorable and sometimes, he will just see the starbucks logo and loudly and proudly proclaim "hot hot!"

This all started because, as many of you know, Mark is a pretty avid Starbucks coffee drinker. He drinks a starbucks coffee nearly everyday. I know, its pretty ridiculous that we don't brew our coffee at home... but we won't get into that, this is just how it is. Anyways, Mark would bring his cup of coffee into the apartment on a weekend morning and say to Jonah, "Don't touch daddy's coffee, its hot, hot!" So, Jonah has since associated the words "hot hot!" with Starbucks coffee. Anytime Mark has a cup of coffee, Jonah wants to barely touch it and say "hot hot!".

On weekday mornings, when Mark is already at work, Jonah will often say, "Dada - choo-choo, hot-hot, work" This is Jonah's version of what Mark would say to him before he left for work. Mark would say, "Daddy is going to go get on the choo choo, get a hot hot and go to work." Jonah is so proud that he knows the outline of Dada's morning. Also, randomly thoughout the day, Jonah might say, "Dada at work, drink hot hot". Its so cute to think about what is going through his little mind.

There have been several occasions recently where Jonah has announced that he is going to get dada a "hot hot". He has wanted me to put his little back pack on (as pictured below) and then he will say "bye bye Mama, go get Dada hot hot". He made a similar announcement after getting on his little riding car, saying he was off to get dada a hot hot.

Don't worry, we won't be letting Jonah drink his own "hot hot" for quite a few more years. :)


Jonah heading out to buy his Daddy a coffee :P


Riding the car to get Daddy a coffee (or hot hot as he would call it)


Daddy and Jonah walking in NYC, Mark with coffee (hot hot) in hand


Jonah touching Daddy's coffee saying "Hot hot!"

Tumble Time

Jonah recently started a Tumbling Class at the 92nd Street Y. I personally think it is the cutest class! The class starts off with some stretching. It is ADORABLE watching him attempt the little stretches. After the stretching, we move onto an 'obstacle course' which involves walking across the balance beam, hanging on to the parallel bars, climbing over some round mats, jumping on a big spongy/bouncy mat, doing a forward roll down a wedge mat, etc. He LOVES it! He is so proud of himself after he accomplishes each thing. There are usually 2 or 3 different obstacle course type things that are set up and the children do for the first half of the class.

Towards the end of the class, the teacher opens up the climbing area. Its one of those things that has tunnels and a ball pit and a slide, etc. He also LOVES this. He usually cries when we have to get out and go home. I'm pretty sure this class is the best money I've spent all winter.
Here are a few pictures from the class. Not the greatest pictures because I have to try to keep up with him during the class too. He isn't really thrilled about the idea of posing for pictures for me.


Doing some stretching


More stretching


Balance Beam


Playing in the tunnels


Ball Pit!

The In-Laws

Often. the term 'In-Laws' carrys a negative connotation. I am so blessed to say that I absolutely adore my In Laws... not just Mark's parents, but everyone in his family. I am thrilled to be a part of such a wonderful family.

When I was a little girl, I always longed for a sister.. (I had 2 brothers). I just happened to marry someone who has 3 sisters, so I now, have 3 sisters! Additionally, my 2 brothers also have a wonderful wife and girlfriend that are now my sisters, so I have 5 sisters total. What a blessing!

We had a fabulous time with Mark's family over Christmas. We were lucky enough to be able to spend close to 2 weeks with them in Kentucky. I missed being able to spend time with my family, but how incredibly blessed I feel to be able to spend time with a family that I love so much. We have such a great time together!!

The time spent there started with celebrating Susie's (Mark's youngest sister) graduation from nursing school, where I had the privilege of pinning her in her ceremony. What an honor! Then we celebrated Jonah's 2nd birthday. How fun! The adults were even good enough sports to be blindfolded and played 'pin the number' on Thomas. It was quite entertaining. And then, of course, we celebrated Jesus' birth, Christmas. What a sweet time we had together. We were able to play in the snow that came on Christmas day!

As I get older, and because I live far from family, I believe I have come to cherish these times with family even more. I have always been a huge fan of spending time with family, but now more than ever, my family (which includes Mark's side of the family) means more to me than I know how to express.

Here are some pictures of our time with them... in no particular order (b/c I'm too lazy to try to get them in the order I want them to be in) Enjoy!