Zion National Park

(I started this post a while back and never finished it. Seeing how I haven't posted anything on here in ages and how I am about to lose it because I am trying to get ready for our big Germany adventure (which, by the way, starts in less than 24 hours!), I figured now is a good time to publish this. Unfinished. Because there is a lot of unfinished business around here this days... 

During Spring Break the boys also went to Zion with Grandma and Grandpa. I hope you are not sick of pictures yet. I promise to actually write something in the next post. But, to be honest, March officially wore me out and I am trying to recover in time for spring and summer fun! Since March was basically all about training and racing, I have been telling a lot more stories over on my triathlon blog than here. 

I was a little sad I did not get to go to Zion with everyone but, luckily, I had just been there in January and am still vividly remembering its beauty! If you have not been there, I highly recommend a visit. It will not disappoint! 

The boys did very well on a hike to the Emerald Pools (which look anything but emerald in these pictures) and enjoyed climbing over and skipping rocks. 

The MaxMan. Love him. 

The End. 

Cub Track Meet

While Karl was out of town last time (he is out of town again right now getting his field work ready for this summer), the kids and I went to the boys' 2nd track meet. The Coconino High School track team puts it on as a fundraiser and we think it is a fantastic idea! We wish there was a little track club for young kids as well but that is still in the making... 

The boys had been excited for days. Finally, it was time for the warm up to begin!

Max (3) is such a crack-up! He was really into it. His leader, Victoria, did a great job with the the little ones. He was in the 2-5 age group. 

Warming up together. 

First up for Max was the long jump. 

Practicing from the side:

They then lined up and did it one by one like the big kids but I didn't get any pictures because I was busy watching Noah do the 'shot put'. But, obviously, I didn't get any pictures of that either. No good excuse here...

But I did take pictures of Jake and Noah duking it out in the 100 and 200 meter dash. These two good friends are pretty competitive and were not about to let the other one off easy. That said, Noah can't do a thing without Jake right by his side, so he would turn around and if Jake wasn't right on his heels, he would slow down and wait for him... 

Having fun. The most important. 

Checking out their well-earned ribbons. 

In the meantime, Max was busy throwing the ball:

He must have thought I missed it because he then went on to tell/show me exactly how he threw that ball: 

The 200m dash

Maybe we need to work on starts a little more:

What makes his late start funny is that after the race I heard him tell his friend Nixon (orange shirt) very excitedly: 

"... and I almost got a head start!" 

???

200 meters can be quite long for a little guy!

Am I there yet???

The highlight of the day: 

Max's 100 meter dash

Going strong. No time for lollygagging during this one!

Since they had the 3 and under kids run in a separate heat, 

Max won his race and got a 1st place ribbon! 

He couldn't have been more thrilled and talked about his win for days! 

Good times. Very good times! 

Already looking forward to next year...

Wet and Wild

Getting crazy in the bathtub! 

Love these kids!

Family Fun at the Grand Canyon

It's Saturday and I am still recovering from my smashfest the week prior, so we decide to pack up the kids and bikes and head over to the Grand Canyon for some quality family time. The kids can't quite believe that I'm not going anywhere (i.e. leave to go biking or running) and Max keeps asking: Are you leaving now, Mom? Yes. It's definitely time to just hang out with the kids from the minute they get up until the go to sleep. Not an easy feat for me but definitely worth it! 

We are taking the bikes because the Grand Canyon isn't necessarily the most kid-friendly National Park, at least not for young kids. All of the fun hikes go down into the Canyon and then back up. Not ideal for a 3-year-old. There is also a paved path along the rim but what kid is entertained by hiking on pavement? Not ours! 

Biking seem like a good idea until we get out of the car and realize that it's much colder than anticipated. And, of course, windy! We head out on the bikes but quickly realize that it's just too cold to have fun. I hate to admit it but we weren't prepared for 40 degrees. Instead, we take the shuttle bus (always a highlight, at least for a few minutes) to the Kaibab Trail and head down into the Canyon. The view is just phenomenal! It never gets old. 

You wouldn't believe how difficult it is to keep these kids from hiking all the way down to the bottom. It's obviously downhill and thus basically effortless. All we can do is try to keep Max from running too far ahead and falling off cliffs. Fortunately, there are plenty of rocks to climb on as well. 

I knew it would be hard to get the kids, especially Max, to hike back up by himself. But, don't you worry, I had a plan. It involves an Easter bunny...

...and plastic eggs with candy inside. I, the easter bunny, would hike ahead a little, hide an egg, and then the kids would follow looking for the egg. It worked out great! Each egg only had 2 little candies inside, which would get them just far enough. 

The both made it all the way back up without complaining or whining.

Yes. I know. I am a genius.  

Once we got back to the car, it was time for lunch and Playmobil. 

Their play figures needed to do some off-roading and such. 

I mean: Why wouldn't they?

Then we gave the biking another try. 

Much better this time around. It had warmed up and the wind was much more bearable. 

We brought the trail-a-bike and Max's balance bike. He would ride his balance bike as long as he wanted to and then take a break on the trail-a-bike until the next downhill. 

We didn't make it all that far but who cares? We had fun!

Karl was itching to go for a run. So I let him go. How nice of me! This must mean that I am not only still smashed but also injured... At least one of us was running! 

The kids wanted to see the little presentation at the Visitor Center and I didn't mind a little break either. 

The boys showing off the Playmobil guys and pointing out a mule deer munching on leaves:

Then we took the shuttle all the way to Bright Angel's Point because Noah insisted that we get ice cream at the same place Oma and Opa bought it for them last summer. It was worth the ride!

The kids love the Grand Canyon. They really wanted to go back again the next day! It's super nice to have such a great place so close to home and I am sure we will go camping there as soon as the nights get a little warmer. 

If you take a trip to the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, make sure you stop by in Flagstaff and say Hi!