Mother's Day

This Mother's Day has been particularly special. With so much upheaval getting to this Sunday morning has been such a BLESSING.

As our lives begin to transition in a direction we couldn't have totally planned for we are so grateful for the mothers in our lives.  I feel a large sense of reverence for the women that paved the way for me.  

So grateful Memaw got to spend it with us at church.  Nowhere to go but up from here!

 

Easter

Easter hit just a little bit differently this year. This day came right in the middle of Mommas hospital stay and the hope of whats to come.  I am so grateful that Grandma Jill and Steve could make it to the service with us, and absolutely loved our dresses.

 Easter is a time worth celebrating every year.  An this year is no exception.  Sharyl, Taylor and the kids brought us Easter dinner and we celebrated the day that Jesus walked beyond the veil and returned.  So much symbolism, so much hope.  We truly rejoice that "He is risen indeed!"

Disney Show Choir

Lily,

Amidst all of the stuff going on with Memaw, you had the opportunity to go to California on a Show Choir tour.  I am so glad that you went and took all the photos.  I can tell you had such a wonderful time and have some of the best friends around. 

Taryn is so spunky.  I think this teacher will go down in your memory as a huge favorite.

The pirate show......Im pretty sure there was a hot guy involved.  

and DISNEYLAND!!!!

You are a queen love.  Keep having adventures.

 

To the River and Back

A few months ago, my girlfriend Bridgit and I asked our girls if they would like to train for the Grand Canyon.  Not just a little hike, but from Rim to River to Rim.  Its a doozy and a minimum of 20 miles or so with a lot of elevation gain.  Lily and Kyla were all in and so we trained.

When our time arrived we all piled in the car and headed to the Canyon.  I won't lie when we drove into the park we were met with snow.  In my mind I was wondering if we all had enough clothing.  BRRR it was cold.

We snuggled in for the night and prepped ourselves for the journey.   Booking rooms in at the rim is actually challenging and we were only able to find a room with a large KING.  Poor Lily got relegated to a mattress (well 2 piled up) on the floor.  Needless to say I don't think we will ever live down the fact that we asked her to hike this distance while sleeping on the floor.....but I digress. AND she survived!

We had the most amazing group of women + Bob.  We all met up at the hotel to begin our descent into the canyon.

There was snow and a little bit of ice at the top so we navigated the descent with a lot of intention.  We headed down the South Kaibab trail and I was so excited because I had never gotten past OOH AAH Point.

3 miles in we made it to OOH AAH and let me tell you, it never disappoints!

Cool KID

With 4 miles to the river left to go we all stopped for  a picture together. With some construction down in the canyon we had to get creative about how we did our route and to get over to the Bright Angel Trail we had to go to the river, then on the ascent we had to take a cut over trail called Tonto West.  We stopped to take this big group photo on the way down because the trail was easy to miss and we wanted everyone to know where it was......right across from that little water reclamation house.

We rounded the bend and looked down to see the Colorado rushing away.  So close!

Handstands because of course.

The final stretch down to the bridge was such a cool descent on the Kaibab.  Lots of switch backs but the views were amazing!

We pulled into Phantom Ranch feeling good and enjoyed a lemonade and our lunches!

It just wouldn't be complete without getting your toes in the water so Bob and Lily did.  I think these two pictures are my absolute favs!  At 14 I don't think I did something this cool!

We headed back up hill and took a bit to get our legs under us.  Time for some stair climbing.  We made it back to our turn and headed across the Tonto West trail to get to Bright Angel.  The Tonto was beautiful in its own way but a little monotonous....and hot.  We ended up running 2 of the 4 miles (yes we are that family).

Lily was an absolute monster.

We made it across Tonto to Indian Gardens.  From Indian Gardens down to the river was severely damaged in some heavy rain so there were detours and new trails galor.  We ended up having to follow the "Big Black Pipe" for far too many miles. You can see it below.  It was our least favorite part of the journey to be sure.

At Indian Gardens we refueled, reconnected with the group, got some food and got ourselves ready for the final 4 miles to the top.  Its a doozy and nothing but stair stepping.  We were all feeling our tired, but ready for the final climb.

The miles feel like centuries when you are at this point in the climb.  Each mile takes about 45 minutes and the switchbacks never end.  The girls were feeling it.  After the 3 mile house you could see the feeling of "this will never end" creeping in.  Thankfully I have been there so I had a secret stash of Lifesaver Gummies and Sour Patch Watermelons that I pulled out.  Eating "Trail food" just gets old, but the body still needs fuel.  Pure sugar to the rescue.  It was just what they needed to feel the boost. 

The Canyon will make a woman out of ya real quick.  Its challenging in ways you can't express.  Just when you think you cannot go on any longer, you do.  And as the miles and switchbacks drag on, you just keep on keeping on.  AND THEN......you see the top.  There is absolutely nothing like taking that final step out of the canyon knowing you have been down to the bottom and back.  Less than 1% of the population ever see the bottom of the canyon having gotten there on foot.  It was truly something special to do it with Lily and Bob.  Watching your kids find the gumption, and do the thing is just incredible.

We welcomed Lily and Kyla to the 1%.  And the consensus was they would do it again just definitely not this day.....or in the near future.

We made it back to the room to enjoy our soup that we had brought and heated in the crockpot all day.  Bob affectionately called it floor soup.  Man was it good though.

There is just no place like the Grand Canyon and we cannot wait to do it again!