Random Photos

Summer is gone and we are now knee deep in school work. But here are some final random photos of the girls from our fun times this past few months. It was the last summer of "toothless Abby" photos -- I'm sure next summer will be full of "toothless Ellie" photos. And it was the last summer of the girls being a quartet. Stay tuned!

Arches National Park

Our last major stop on this exciting adventure was at Arches National Park in Utah. The rock formations are an absolute wonder to behold! We spent hours hiking, climbing, studying the rocks, and drawing what we saw. Some day when the girls are older it will be fun to come back and hike the more difficult trails to get close up to the more remote arches.

Four Corners Monument

It's amazing how far into the middle of nowhere I actually convinced Brian to drive on this trip. The Four Corners Monument marks the point of the only place in the United States where the boundaries of four states (Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado and Utah) intersect -- in a perfect perpendicular corner intersection. Anyway, it was a fun photo op and the girls thought it was pretty funny to have our family standing in four different states at the same time.

Aztec Ruins National Monument

Our first big adventure in New Mexico was at the Aztec Ruins National Monument. This site really is a misnomer since the ancient pueblo wasn't built by the Aztecs but rather by Anasazi people. Probably built in the early 1100's, it originally contained over 500 rooms and stood at least three stories high. The sense of history here was simply overwhelming. Since my degree is in Cultural Anthropology I really get excited in places like this!! The girls were quite impressed too.

Petrified Forest and Route 66

Our next stop was the Petrified Forest National Park. The girls enjoyed seeing the "rocks" but were much more interested in all the dinosaur skeletons that were on display inside the visitor center. And the temperature was much more comfortable inside there too!!

As we drove, we followed the historic Route 66. For some of the way we drove on original stretches of this legendary road. At other places we saw parts of original road that have been abandoned and taken over by wilderness. It was fun to imagine what it must have been like to drive on that road back in it's heyday.

Petrified Forest National Park

Some sisterly love

An historic pueblo style inn along Route 66

Getting their kicks on Route 66

The Grand Canyon

Sorry for the delay in posting the rest of our road trip photos -- I guess life just got a bit busy around here!

Our first stop after visiting with family in California was the Grand Canyon. I have wanted to go there since I was a little kid -- it was so worth the wait!! We rode the historic Grand Canyon Railway from Williams, AZ to the Grand Canyon. We bought tickets in the "cheap seats" in the restored 1923 Pullman car. We chose that car because it has seats that can reverse so we could all sit together facing each other. The trip is about two hours each way and the girls did great. They enjoyed seeing all the sights along and way and listening to the strolling musicians. Although the first thing they say about the ride now is that they got to drink free sodas on the train. It was very hot at the Canyon, in the upper 90's, making our hike a bit uncomfortable. We stayed in the shade as much as possible and wimped out at the end and took the bus back to the railway station instead of hiking back.

Waiting for the train to arrive

On our way

We arrived at the historic Grand Canyon Railway station

Photos just don't do the beauty of the Grand Canyon justice!!

Resting in the 90 degree shade during our hike

Hanging Out With The Cousins

We had a fabulous time in California with my brother and his beautiful family. The girls all get along so well and have non-stop fun. S is like a wonderful little mother hen and takes such good care of the younger ones. Ellie and L were inseparable the whole visit, spending much of their time together in front of the piano. We went to the girls' favorite Pinecone Park and experienced an pretty big earthquake while we were there. Our planned trip to the local Children's Museum had to be rescheduled for the next day because it closed to inspect for damage. So we went to another park and Auntie A bought our girls their very first ice cream from an ice cream truck. We are always so happy to get together and so sad when it is time to leave. Oh how I wish we lived closer to each other.

Abby and Ellie with their cousin L

Maddie knows her body parts

Ellie and L were inseparable

Maddie and her beautiful cousin S

Maddie loves dinos

These girls are the best!