Easter Weekend 2011

This year for Easter Weekend we took a trip down to Goblin Valley State Park. Normally we would have camped, but since we had a new (2 week old) baby and the temperatures were cooler, we decided to stay in a motel in Green River. That Friday evening we drove to Green River. We got there pretty late, so we just went to bed. The motel didn't offer continental breakfast, so we brought along some bagels and fruit to eat in our room. After breakfast we drove to Goblin Valley. I grew up down there, so I had been a few times and Josh had also, but we had never taken our kids yet so we were excited for them to see it. I couldn't believe how much it had changed since I was last there!! When we used to come down when I was in high school, it was just a small little parking lot with a picnic area (that was still there). Now it has a BIG parking lot with a fee station and even a little gift shop!

We got there, ate some lunch that we had packed, nursed the baby and then hit the valley! :)

Quinn stayed nestled in his carrier the entire time and we had lots of fun roaming through the rocks. The weather was PERFECT! It was nice and warm, but overcast so we didn't get roasted in the hot sun.

The boys and I getting ready to walk down into Goblin Valley.

Josh and the boys walking down into the valley:

Josh & Bryce:

Isaac & Parker on top of one of the rock formations:

Josh and his new five-finger shoes

that he got for Christmas:

Bryce just had to climb up on this rock he found:

Parker is always so good at helping Bryce:

I think Josh looks like a Ken Doll in this one... haha:

Goblin Valley:

Bryce found this little crevice that he just loved playing in:

A close up of Josh's cool shoes:

Josh & Parker in a little cave that they climbed up to:

Josh and the boys (minus Quinn) by another little cave:

Isaac wanted to pose by one of the rocks:

Parker and Bryce. Bryce had SO much fun playing

in the dirt. He didn't want to leave this spot!

After we hiked around for a few hours, we drove back to Green River and had dinner at one of the restaurants there. After dinner we went back to our motel room and dyed Easter eggs.

Quinn hanging out while we dyed eggs:

Easter morning we woke up and found our Easter baskets that the Easter Bunny had hidden. I didn't even get any pictures of the baskets! Oh well. Isaac & Parker got a baseball mitt & ball & a few other things. Bryce got a Melissa & Doug Tangram puzzle set and some other things. Baby Quinn got a little bunny. After that we sat down together and read from the scriptures of Jesus' resurrection and had a little discussion with the kids. I'm always amazed at how much they know and remember. It's always fun to have these discussions with them.

After that we packed up our room and headed out. We were meeting my parents and my sister's family & my brother at Castle Dale on our way home, so we took a different route home. It was such a pretty drive! We made a couple of stops at some scenic viewpoints along the way.


In Castle Dale we met my family (they had been camping nearby) at a park and had a picnic and a little Easter egg hunt. It was cold and a little rainy, but we still had a good time and it was fun to be able to see everyone.