RED CANYON

We spent Memorial Day in Red Canyon. I had only driven through this canyon, so it was nice to spend some time exploring. Our first stop was a bike ride to the top of the canyon. This was the last I saw of Tyler and the girls. Yep, I can't keep up with him even when he's pulling 75 pounds behind him. At least I made it to the top....right?

Then we went on a hike to a waterfall and mossy cave. A storm was moving in making a striking contrast between the pink cliffs and gray sky.

The girls taking a break along the way. There are some really cool windows above them.

The waterfall

The mossy cave

COUNTRY COTTAGE

Zoe had a great school year at County Cottage preschool. She did great on all the end of year testing and is ready to be an East Elementary Eagle next year. On the last day of school Mrs. Clark had water party (that's why she had her swim suit on at school) for the kids and spoiled Zoe as usual with treats and prizes

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GOBLIN VALLEY

Last weekend was our annual Knudsen Spring camp out. It is always great to get together with Tyler's family for an outdoor adventure. We decided to camp at Goblin Valley this year and hike in the San Rafael Swell. this was our camp site in the state park.

Hiking in the valley of goblins. Zoe was happy to sing her version of The Killers song "Human" on demand during the trip. The video for that song was filmed in this valley.

Zoe has a handful of caterpillars she found during this hike up Wild Horse Canyon in the Swell. Good thing we brought the bug cage so that we could bring a dozen home with us :).

Every year Tyler puts together a killer treasure hunt for all the cousins. This year it included some amazing hiking to a huge cave with a window, up a slim crack in the red rock, and finished at some Indian petroglyphs. the kids had a blast.

My favorite hike we did was down Muddy Creek. It was beautiful, and a relief from the heat to hike in the water. The kids went crazy splashing and swimming the entire way.

The Creek had weathered this rock perfectly for climbing. I managed to make it to the top, but underestimated my fear of heights (while climbing). I don't think I could ever be much of a real rock climber. Tyler of course flew up it with no hesitation.

Zoe cooling of in one of the pools.

We had a great time and look forward to next year. Tyler was insisting on coming up with the short list of options for next year....let us know if you have any ideas. He really is an amazing tour guide. As usual, there will be more pictures of our adventures at Cedar and Sand.

ON STAGE

Zoe had her Spring dance concert last night. She loves to dance on stage and always does a great job. She really enjoyed dance class this year and plans to keep it up during the summer.

BONES

While enjoying some grilled KFC the other night, Zoe kept asking about the chicken's bones. So, Tyler put together this skeleton for her, which posed the question; Is KFC really cookin up chicken or little men?

SPRING CREEK

Last weekend we went for a hike up Spring Creek in Kanarraville. It is a beautiful slot canyon, and very unique in that it has lots of vegetation. It was a fun hike for the girls only a few minutes away from home.

We had to cross the creek continuously during the hike. Zoe got really good at balancing on rocks or logs to cross it.

SAN JUAN 2009

We were lucky enough to get invited back on my brother Kenny's annual San Juan trip. We floated the lower half of the river this year putting us on for 4 days and 3 nights. This is our group from the left: Casey, Susan, Millie, Danica, Tyler, Susie, Zoe, Tom, Dallin, Kailey, Carson, Kenny and Maggie. It really was a great group and so much fun.

This is our first day getting the boats loaded.

Zoe was so excited to invite her good friend Dani along on the trip.

The girls were enthralled with all the caterpillars, lady bugs and butterfly's. We learned our lesson from last year and brought a bug cage to keep all the little fellas.

The only thing better than the bugs....MUD and SAND and WATER. What more could any kid ask for?

During our third day on the river we pulled off and hiked up Slickhorn Gulch to some swimming pools. The water was ice cold and just deep enough to clif jump into.

The girls had a great time with the water squirters, games and puzzles. We had a few long days on the boat and they did great.

This is our camp on the last night. It was full of toads and lizards for Tyler to catch.

We had a "girls only" night hike with our little ladies. They enjoyed every minute of it.

We had a great time and can't wait to go again next year. Thanks Kenny and Tom for a great trip! If you are interested in more pic's check out Tyler's blog cedarandsand.