Delicate Arch hike at Arches National Canyon

Best advice I have for anyone taking kids up the Delicate Arch--

1. Pack snacks.. or even a full lunch to eat at the top.  And obviously water too.,

2.  Plan for about a 4 hour round trip.  We didn't really stop for breaks and it took us about this long.  

3.  Sunscreen.  We went on a cold day, everyone had jackets.  But we still got sunburned.

4.  Take it slow and easy... you can totally do it!  It's hard, but so worth it once you get to the top.  We loved this hike and all want to go back real soon!

we went to the visitors center before the hike and it was pretty cool.  We decided to watch the 20-minute intro video about erosion. I thought it was kind of dramatic with scary music and thunder, but my boys liked it.  We looked around the gift shop and signed the kids up to be jr rangers before heading up to the Delicate Arch.

the hike was hard-- almost all uphill.  Our little ones did great, but I wish we would have packed more snacks and water.  Everything we brought got devoured at the top and we even had to share with others who didn't bring anything but needed something (low-blood sugar isn't something you mess around with!) so more snacks or a full on lunch would have been smart.

We wouldn't let Roma bring her doll Sally on the trail but we lost the battle when it came to her purple doggie/balloon.  Poor Luke had to carry it in his hood on the way down because she was done with it after an hour or so.  Love this cute family of mine.  

This 5 year old was incredible.  He stopped once for a break and I had to capture it.  He kept telling himself "Never give up.  Never stop moving."  Towards the end, I asked him how he was able to hike so well.  He responded, "When I would get tired, I would tell my brain to send energy to my legs, and then I was fine."  I am telling you, this boy knows something the rest of us are still trying to figure out about listening and talking to our bodies.  He is in tune!

Roma was carried for about 5 minutes on Aaron's shoulders and about 30 seconds on mine.  It was that difficult and uphill that we couldn't carry her for much longer.  She was a trooper, for sure.  especially in that outfit.. a dress, tights and snowboots.  Left her tennis shoes at home.  Oops.  

The 3 mile trail was perfect for this teenager.  He was in front the entire hike and could have lapped us if we would have let him do it twice.  

Luke was amazing with Roma and got her to push it when she didn't have any energy left.  they found a cheetos wrapper on the trail and filled it with sand for her to carry down.  Who knew that's what she needed to keep her excited...? Luke did.

Luke at Zack at the top of the world.  (you can view the delicate arch from this tiny arch on the hiking trail..)

Bedtime convo with my 5 year old about two weeks after the hike--
Simon: I've got this feeling like we really need to go back to the arch.
Me: you think so? 
Him: oh ya. When I turned the corner and saw it standing on that cliff, I was like, "Dang!" Me: It was pretty cool, huh?
Him: yes. It was like I had the best feeling in my heart at the top. 
Me: I felt that way too. You were an amazing hiker that day.
Him: I know, I was. I've just gotta go back.

the majestic Grand Canyon

I don't even think I can put words together to describe the Grand Canyon.  Maybe our expectations were low after leaving Moab..  And maybe at first when we drove up to the visitors center/watch tower in the Grand Canyon, we were kind of like, "Okay, that's cool, but not that cool."  But then the longer we stayed and the more we drove, the more majestic it became.  The loop through the Grand Canyon is what? 30 miles?  And it never stops!  It's just right there for you to pull over and gawk at and even though we already pulled over a dozen times to look at the view, it was like we couldn't help ourselves but get out and be blown away again.  It was so amazing and so unbelievable.  Pictures do not do it justice.  We spent several hours there and didn't hike at all-- it was cold and snowy and we all bundled up with hats and gloves and we had such an unbelievable time together.  The lodge and gift shops were fun.  But the Canyon itself was just.so.Grand and amazing.  I would go back in a heartbeat.  tomorrow, if I could.  

Bedrock City (Williams, AZ)

About thirty minutes south of the base of the Grand Canyon (where highway 180 meets the 64) you will find BEDROCK CITY-- an old rustic campground that totally ROCKS!  You can explore faux-stone buildings, the Flintstone and Rubbies houses, slide down a brontosaurus' tail, visit the beauty parlor, gas station and police station with a jail. It's all rather old and some of the recorded messages on the statues are starting to fade away, but we'd love to go back and have more time to explore.  (obviously, before we do, we'll have to introduce our kids to the Flintstones because they've never seen an episode.)

I LOVED being able to talk to the owners... this little campground/city was started by a single family, a mother and father with 5 daughters.  All of the girls were raised on the grounds and it's still currently owned by their grandchildren. Enjoy the pictures and check out their website if you plan to see it yourselves.  (or just visit... you'll have a gay-old time walking through the Flintstone memorabilia in the gift shop.)

our first bump in the road

Let's start off the journey document with the negative..  Because then the only thing left to tell you about will be rainbows and happiness and sunrises.

But there was this one morning that was SUPER stressful for about five minutes.  I wish those five minutes would have been on video but we were just so stressed out to think about anything other than breathing in and out.  It was Ben and I who were freaking out..  My responsible teenager is just so cute.

Okay, so Ben has a few more months of braces.  When we moved, we figured we'd just finish them up with a new orthodontist in Utah.  But because they were paid for in Vegas and because every new ortho wanted $3K to finish up, we figured it would be worth it to drive back down to Vegas every 6 weeks and party with our friends there.  According to Ben, every six weeks he has to be tortured so the rest of the family can have a vacation.  We're all so grateful to him :)

Anyway, Ben had an appointment at 8 in the morning.  The bus is NOT the vehicle we want to take on short errands, but the office is super close to our house and really, it was no big deal.  Ben and I got up early, had plenty of time to drive slow and enjoy the ride :) but as soon as we got on the road, we knew there was a problem.

I thought it was a flat tire at first.  We were slowly creeping along and heard the loudest clunk every time the wheel turned over.  I think we passed 2 houses before we pulled over and got out.  I was really stressed before looking at the tires because these are basically brand new tires and they are kind of pricey.  So Ben and I walked around the bus and couldn't find any problems.  Phew.  No flat tires.  So we get back into the bus and drive another 2 houses and still!  The same loud sound.. now I start really freaking out because it's something worse than a flat tire... like the axel is about to blow up or something!  

So Ben gets out of the bus to watch while I drive and we can see what is making the sound.  I can see him from the mirror, in the back of the bus.  Right away he flags me down and says, "You are not going to believe this.  There is a HUGE bolder stuck in the middle of back tires.  It's huge.  And it's making a dent in the road when you drive!"  So, I pull over and Ben runs to grab Aaron and a hammer.  We had a couple of small pieces of wood in the bus so I grabbed those and tried to pry the rock out.  It was so stuck, I knew we needed Aaron's help.  

Luke stayed home with the girls and Aaron, Zack and Simon came to help.  Aaron tried to pound it out with the hammer and a little bit of it did chip off, but it would have taken a hour to try to get it out that way.  I am not sure how Aaron had the idea to use the force of the bus to pry it out with the piece of wood, but that's exactly why I needed him!  I actually didn't even know what he was doing.  I was just behind the wheel reversing back and forth and doing what he told me to do.  And really, I was just having a good time.  After I realized it was a rock and that we would be able to get it out, I thought the whole thing was totally entertaining.  

Okay, so here's the video.  It took about 20 minutes to get it out.  This is the last minute and a half and I wish Ben would have been able to get Zack and Simon's reaction when the rock came out (hugging and jumping up and down!)  But he did a great job overall... he was filming, telling me what to do and trying to narrate to tell you what's going on.  So cute.  

I don't know what the chances are of backing up at just the right spot for just the right size of a boulder to get stuck.. but really, there's no way we could have prepared for this kind of drama.  What cracks me up is that the desert across the street from us seemed like the perfect place to park the bus!  Also, it's not in the video, but the first time Aaron put the 2X4 behind the rock and had me reverse, the piece of wood went THROUGH the hard desert dirt.  So he had to use another rock to prop it up and keep it from sinking in the ground :)

We got Ben to the ortho okay... we had to reschedule it for an hour later and it was no prob.  Walking into the appointment, Ben took a big sigh and said, "That was a little bit stressful, but actually... kind of fun."

All in all, I loved the whole experience.  It was not a big deal, but it was a small taste of what we will do when something wrong happens.  Aaron came to the rescue and I tried to stay as lighthearted as possible.  The kids got into it and each contributed.  And it was just a little bump in the road on our journey.

The other "bad" thing happened on the drive home.  We stopped at a flooring store to figure out what we want to do with the remodel and all the kids were super hot waiting.  So afterward we stopped off for drinks and slurpees and Roma spilled hers all over... I mean, a huge slurpee all over our clean floor and inside one of Ben's shoes.  Luckily, we had a stack of clean towels and we were able to clean it up (relatively) easy while Aaron was driving.  Luke stepped in it and tracked sticky feet everywhere so it was annoying.,  But that really was at the end of the trip and everything else was so blissful.  Rainbow and sunset documentation coming up next..  but guys!  Maybe not for a few days because life is crazy right now!

documenting overload... pictures and videos coming soon.

hey! hey! hey!

We're back.  We cut the trip a little early (no Zions or Bryce Canyon) for a dozen different reasons, but not because we weren't having the best time ever.  If I could rate our 2 week (2180 mile) tour, I would give it 4.5 stars and a 9 out of 10 rating.  Almost perfect... and that was really without any prep or knowledge of what we were going to do or how we would do it.  Honestly, it was so much more fun than I was expecting it to be (it's all about low expectations, people.)

This long road trip has been planned for quite some time, but not with the bus.  The tennis tournament in Palm Springs and Ben's orthodontist appointment in Vegas have been set for a couple of months.  But looking back now, I can't believe we actually pulled off the bus trip.  I thought it could happen.  And that's why I bought it when I did (duh) but getting the registration done, the couch and mattresses in and being able to camp like we did worked out perfectly.

What I didn't plan for was the digital world and how I would document it along the way.  You seriously have no idea what I am dealing with currently when it comes to plugging into the internet world.  I currently have a $10 a month phone plan.  I can talk and text.  It's the most basic phone ever.  It's not a flip, so I CAN connect to wifi when I have it, but except for the 2 nights we spent in Palm Springs (at an RV resort) and the two mini-stops we made to McDs for ice cream, I was unplugged the entire 2 weeks.  Aaron has an older iphone, so I was posting insta pictures and updating my facebook page from his phone.  He was a total sport about it, but because we were on the road and at the beach, neither of us could really even charge our phones.. so it was kind of comical.  At the beach (no electricity) he would take his phone to the camp ranger and have him charge it for a couple of hours... and then I would take a few pictures and upload them and in 30 minutes his phone was dead again, so that was a big "problem" when trying to update our audience.

The fact is, I didn't expect an audience besides a few friends who knew we were going before hand.  I set up a new instagram and facebook page just for our travels while we were on the road.  And hey! We've got 800 fb followers in a weeks time and just by word of mouth.  I love you guys!  More than half of you are people we don't know... so I am looking forward to making new friends!  But I really wasn't expecting the private messages we got (75 in the first few nights.)  I will answer all of your questions soon, I promise.

So, now that we're home, I will be blogging and documenting our trip properly.  Not a single picture or video from my phone has been uploaded, so that will happen soon.  Aaron's phone storage is so completely full and then I ended up buying a small digital camera at walmart and we're overloaded there too.  I took video when I could, but not as much as I should have ESPECIALLY when it came to the interactions we had with total strangers.  I am going to need to figure out how to ask them to come on camera with us because our convos with people at the gas stations and camp grounds were seriously my favorite thing about the trip.  I will tell you about them later.  SO MUCH FUN.  I think it surprised Aaron how much fun it would be to laugh and talk with total strangers..

Oh, and about blogging.  My laptop that I am typing from right now is missing two keys.  I am so ghetto, folks.  I will figure out what kind of budget I have and what I can buy to run this new adventure like a business, because that's exactly what it is.  It's a way I can work while raising and homeschooling 6 kids.  Obviously they come first and we will do what works for us and our family best, but if I can make money along the way while including a fanbase, I am totally going to do it.  Traveling in this bus with my fam and running it as a business is really a combination of all my best talents.  I am super excited about it and will plan on running a Kickstarter soon.  I need to figure out HOW I will pitch it (ideas?) but I want to start before we do the official remodel.

I will do a bunch of interior pictures and videos of the bus and give you an idea of my remodeling plans as we go... the first thing we will do is gut the rubber flooring and put in wood.  We've already been to a few flooring places to price out what we'll need for our 300 square foot palace.  I am really excited that we have people who will be with us from the beginning.  Thank you so much for following along and cheering us on.  You guys are so aweshum.  And that trip completely refueled my plans for what we want to do this next year (and beyond.)

Oh, an update on our marriage-- we're still completely different but that's what makes us great.  Aaron was so unbelievably amazing on this trip... dancing and talking and laughing with everyone.  We had some serious conversations on the drive and really everywhere we stayed.  And I feel closer to him today than I did two weeks ago or two years ago.  I know that as I am true to myself and stick up for what I believe in, he will be more likely to be himself and stick up for what he believes in.  And we will work together, no matter what.  We are a strong team and there is really no one else I would want to share a family and adventure with.  He is so cool.  I am excited for you to get to know him better-- as well as my awesome kids.  They are the best travelers, the best of friends and really just the coolest kids on the planet.  Love them to pieces.

So, all in all.  I need to figure out my game plan before we hit the road this summer.  I need better equipment.  I will NEED the internet and probably a new phone..  and I will need to carve in the time to document it properly.  I wish I would have been able to figure that out before our first trip, but at the same time, I am really glad I didn't because we spent some serious quality time together as a family.  We have a no-screens rule on the bus which means besides Dad's phone which got us to and from locations (and allowed Mom to post a picture or two on the internet) we we're completely unplugged.  We watched zero movies, tv.. the kids played zero video games or apps.  We brought books, a microscope, a telescope and played a ton of board games together.  We told stories around the fires and stayed up late talking about our fears and dreams and laughed so much.  Such good times.

When we finally got to our house in Vegas, Aaron and I pulled our mattresses in our old bedroom and had the kids all sleep in the loft together... and what happened every night?  The kids did NOT want to leave us.  They missed all sleeping together.  One night when Zack and Simon went to sleep at their best friends house, Ben and Luke came into our room and said, "Let's get the girls to sleep and then we can just sit around and... talk."  It was the end of our trip and it summed up exactly what I wanted our kids to experience... just wanting and asking to be together.  We totally put the girls to sleep and the four of us stayed up, talking in the dark.  It was so priceless.  Yes, I wish our discussions were recorded, but the fact that they were just ours was so special too..  It was the perfect intro vacation for what is to come.

My laundry is all clean from the trip, but it's still in the bus so we need to unload and get settled before I can document like I want to..  Stayed tuned and thank you so much for all your love and support.

Indian Wells (Indio, CA)

If I had better internet connections, my pictures would be in the right places... but for now, just scroll to the bottom.  Sorry!

Attending the BNP Paribas tennis open has been a "thing" for Aaron the past few years.  We were only a few hours away in Vegas and it's a cheap (professional) tournament in the beautiful Palm Springs weather.  Aaron missed it last year because we had a beautiful baby girl the same weekend.  This year, we made it a family trip.

We had no problem parking the bus at the tournament.  I dropped Aaron and the kids off at the front gate and then used the RV parking across the street.  It's typically $20 to park a car, but the RV parking was wide open and they didn't charge us anything.  It's amazing how many RV parks and motorohomes there are here in Palm Springs!

We sat through one tennis match before everyone was too hot (actually, Roma and the baby didn't even make it that long.) So we found a perfect place in the middle of the arena with shade, grass and big screens to watch the games all around.  All of the kids ended up there eventually, although I give props to Ben for sticking with Aaron for a couple of hours.

Around lunch, we left Aaron to meet up with some of his buddies and headed back to the Indian Waters Resort.  We made these reservations several weeks ago and figured we'd camp it out, if we didn't have an actual trailor or rv (or bus) to sleep in.  We paid about $40 a night for a full-hookup grass site..  It's big and has plenty of room for another car or tent, if the kids chose to sleep outside.  It beats any other $100+ hotel room in this area, for sure.  And right now, the rates are even higher because of the tennis tourney.

This resort is so nice.  Two big heated pools, a spa, two pool tables, ping pong, tennis courts, work out room, laundry, nice heated bathrooms with big showers, shuffleboard, bean bag toss, game room with tv, movies and books to read.  It's been fun to hang here and put our feet up while Aaron does his thing down the street.

Yesterday was kind of a bitter-sweet day for me.  I mean, it was a really great day.  The kids and I had so much fun together, playing games, swimming, picnicking at our site, just enjoying the sunshine and breeze.  I loved mingling with the older residents (many of them have been here since December and just park it all winter long..)  Everyone was so complimentary about the kids.  And I have to admit, they were so well-behaved and sweet.  We swam and played until dark and then showered and changed into pjs and slippers before we headed back to the bus for bedtime.  Everyone was exhausted, so we cuddled up and read together.  And the four littles were asleep in the first chapter.  Ben and Luke wanted to wait up until Aaron got back, but I didn't have it in me, I was just too tired.  As I finally laid down and closed my eyes, I couldn't help but think about how perfect this day had been, except for the fact that Aaron wasn't with us.  I know I could HANDLE my kids on the road, and I know they would absolutely love our experiences, but if Aaron isn't with us, there will always be a sadness about it.  We need to decide exactly what we want to do and why before we buy another house.

Today Aaron is back with us and we are headed to the beach... we are so close to our favorite camping spot on the beach that we just couldn't start driving north until we've seen it.  Carpinteria, here we come.