I love to go to Arches with my family. It is a tradition to go around Easter and it dates back to my childhood. It is where I learned to love my cousins. It is where I gained a relationship with my aunts and uncles and grandparents. It is where we would get the first rays of sunshine after a long Idaho or Utah winter. It was very renewing for the soul.
I want my kids to have the same experience. They need to know my amazing brothers and sisters. They need to have fun with grandparents who adore them. They need to appreciate nature. They need a break from their everyday life and the electronic world we live in.
They need to see beautiful things like Delicate arch in real life. Not just on a liscence plate!
We had a beautiful day for our hike to delicate. It had been a long time since we did this hike.
Having little kids we were doing shorter hikes, and different hikes the last few trips.
I hadn't done it since I had Jace. Or since my thyroid problems and gaining a lot of weight. I almost died! Literally. At the top I couldn't catch my breath and I was so embarrassed. It was a real wake up call for me to get in better shape. I have always loved this hike and this time was rough. Never again. I have got to get myself in gear. I don't want to miss out on these beautiful experiences.
We sat at the top eating orange slices, trail mix, fruit leathers, and drinking in lots of water and sunshine. What a beautiful day.
I had to throw this picture in because Jace did the majority of this hike barefoot! I got a lot of strange looks from people because of it, but oh well. The rocks weren't hot that day and "something was poking his pinky toe." He kept sitting down and he was wanting to go back. I knew he would love it at the top, so I thought it would be good to get him there however I could. He did great and got a piggy back at the very end from Curtis and thought that was the best part of the hike!
Abbie was an awesome helper with Makia (maybe too helpful) holding her a lot and following her around. It was cute to see her trying so hard to help.
These cousins loved every minute of each other. They loved the freedom to run around. They loved looking for lizards and digging in the sand. They loved climbing on the rocks and wearing holes in the rear end of their jeans. (Jace= 4pairs, Abbie = 3) Jace loved going on hikes with the big kids. He was loving Uncle Nate for taking him to the top of some fins. Nate has a fan for life because of it.
Here is the whole Jaussi clan (except for my hard working hubby Shane) just before we left. My kids have definitely caught the Arches bug. Jace kept saying he wanted to move to Moab. When it was time to leave he ran to a picnic table and hugged the bench. He didn't want to leave and was holding on for dear life! We had so much fun!
