Zion's National Park

Today we took a spur-of-the-moment trip to Zion's National Park.  It's only about 1.5 hours away from us.  My nephew, Kiernan, is in town from Pennsylvania.  My in-law's wanted to take him there, before he went back home.  So, they invited us along.  There was 7 of us in their van.  We got nice and cozy with each other.  The weather was perfect and not as hot as I expected it to be.

We got up there and decided to take the bus tour of Zion's.  Mike's parents aren't able to hike because of their age and some health problems.  The kids were a little bummed they didn't get to hike but, I still they had a good time.  They even got to pick a cool rock to take home with them.  I was surprised at the colors they chose.  Connor chose a pink one, Rylie chose a goldish/tanish colored one, and Corie chose a purple one.....I think.  She changed her minds so many times that I lost track.

The bus tour of the park takes 80 min.  You don't see a lot from the bus but, it was still just nice to be out of the house and be part of nature.  Corie and Rylie got really close to a squirrel.  I tried to feed it a Cheetoe but, didn't get to it in time.  The kids were VERY GOOD on the bus tour. They got a long, didn't whine or complain, and were just happy.  

Once we finished the bus tour, we went and found a park, and had a little picnic.  The kids loved exploring the river near by and all the bushes and trees.  Of course, they each found sticks they wanted to take home.  They sure do love their sticks. 

By the time we loaded up in the car to head back, the kids had hit their "get-along" limit and the rest of the way home was a wreck!  I lost my patience and the kids were whining and complaining and just picking on each other.  We couldn't get home fast enough!  However, I'm so glad we went.  With the kids starting school on Monday, I really wanted it to be a fun week for them.  Monday and Tuesday we went swimming.  Today we went to Zion's.  Tomorrow and Friday we have school orientations, I have appts. doing hair for people, and I also work the rest of the week.  My Mom is coming into town Saturday though, so the kids are very excited for that!