Zion National Park - Family Vacation 2008

Our first stop of our trip was to Zion National Park. We left really early in the morning so that we could have some time at the park before moving on the next leg of the trip. It was a beautiful day to walk along the river and enjoy the sights and sounds. When we got to the end, there were tons of squirrels that weren't afraid of getting up close and personal.

Las Vegas, Day 1 - Family Vacation 2008

After a nice afternoon at Zion's we were on to our next stop. Las Vegas! Elizabeth was really excited to be staying at the Castle (Excalibur). The kids had a lot of fun seeing all that goes on in Vegas. They enjoyed going to the M&M's World and seeing the fountains at the Bellagio's.

Las Vegas, Day 2 - Family Vacation 2008

Our second day in Las Vegas, we went out to Hoover Dam and took a tour of the electric plant. It was interesting to learn more about the dam and to see the new bypass bridge that they are building to get traffic off of the dam. We then headed to the Ethel M. Chocolate Factory and Botanical Cactus Gardens. We watched them finish up with the last batch of chocolates for the day. My were those chocolates yummy! We then explored the cactus gardens and saw all of the different plants that they have growing there. Watch where you sit down. They may look like cushions, but they sure pack a punch.

Sequoia National Park - Family Vacation 2008

My what big trees you have! The trees here are amazing with how large around they are able to get. It was a long drive from Vegas to here, but it was well worth the travel. We had fun walking down to the General Sherman Tree and also seeing the Sentinel Tree. What amazing trees they are.

Yosemite - Family Vacation 2008

Yosemite is an amazing place! We stopped up at the top for lunch and a view of the valley below. The granite cliffs were awe inspiring along with all of the different types of vegetation at the different stages of the canyon. We enjoyed an easy walk to the view of the "Lower Falls". The mountains there are very different from the ones around our home.

Yosemite National Park

Monterey Bay Aquarium and Cannery Row - Family Vacation 2008

We had an amazing time at the aquarium. There was so much to see and do that the 5 hours we spent there wasn't even close to enough time to see everything. The kids especially loved all of the hands on exhibits where they could touch some of the fish and also push tons of buttons and pull many levers to make sound or find out answers to the questions that were asked. We also had fun walking down Cannery Row and seeing all of the bikes that were lined up on both sides of the street. Everyone was also excited to be able to go down to the ocean and get a little wet. All in all it was a fantastic day!

Monterey Bay Aquarium

4th of July

We decided to head out with the crowds at Sugar House Park to watch the fireworks. There weren't as many people as in years past, but still a good number. We had ourselves a little picnic and then because we had about an hour before it was dark, Todd took the older three children to a playground on the other side of the stream. We had ourselves a little scare when Geoffrey decided that he would leave and find me by himself. This is the second time that Geoffrey has given one or both of his parents a fright in the last two months. He doesn't quite get it that there could be bad people out there. When I told him this, he said that he would just run away from them. It would be better if he just stayed with one of his parents, then there wouldn't be a problem.