Sledding!

A bright side to all the snow that we had to drive through; we got to go sledding with all the cousins! 

Same spot I went sledding as a kid:

Fun fact: we bought this hat at a gas station somewhere in the middle of Kansas.  Hey, when you move across the country in the middle of a snowstorm, sometimes you just have to buy random stuff.

Maggie and Alison:

 

Moving in a snow storm

We were watching the weather and knew a snow storm was coming.  We decided to leave Albuquerque and drive as far as we could...we made it to Amarillo, TX.  Maya kept us laughing during the stressful drive.

The roads quickly got very bad and there was a huge truck pile up on the highway and they had to completely close it down.  Unfortunately, I was rear-ended while trying to bypass the pile-up.  Thankfully we were all okay and able to drive to a safe place to stop.

 The snow continued the next day, but we changed our route and slowly made our way up to Kansas.  By this time, we were VERY ready to be at grandma and grandpas.  My mom had soup and a fire waiting for us and Katherine and Maggie were also there to greet us.  I have never been so excited for a council meeting in all my life.

Another goodbye, back on the road

We said goodbye to the White's and Flagstaff.

We stopped at the Petrified Forest National Park on the way to Albuquerque, New Mexico.

 

Snow skiing!

We have talked for years about taking our kids skiing...COVID made those plans impossible, so it was amazing to finally make it happen!

I am so thankful for these friends who are always ready to take on an adventure with us.

We put the kids in ski school and then had a little time to ski ourselves on the bigger slopes.

Colin:

Ben took this picture of me:

Altitude was not our friend and Alison, Eli and Jon didn't feel very well the first day.  We learned a good lesson and brought food with us the second day so we could eat lunch right away after ski school...snacks and hydration helped.

In the afternoon, we got to ski with the kids and see all their new skills.

**Will add video soon**

The kids all did a great job with skiing!  I was impressed with all of them.  On the second day, all my kids and Jon were feeling done, but the rest were not, so I took the done crew sledding at our favorite park.

Second stop: Flagstaff, AZ

From the Grand Canyon, we went down to Flagstaff and met the White's at a cabin that we rented together.  There was a pool table in the living room, which provided hours and hours of entertainment.

The view from our cabin:

The house was perfect for our two families and it even had a dog run for Maya.  Every day, a group of deer would meander through the field right outside our cabin and Maya would about lose her marbles watching them.

On the road! First stop: Grand Canyon

Photo taken by Alison:

Ben, Alison and Maya were in the truck,

And the boys and I were in my car.

We made it to the Grand Canyon in time for a late dinner at the lodge.

The next morning, Ben and I went for a sunrise run at the rim of the canyon.  It was an amazing experience!

We picked up the kids for breakfast and then soaked up some views of the canyon.

Ben, Alison and Colin walked a little down one of the trails.

This is where I learned that Eli is not a fan of heights and we stayed at the top.  The great thing about the Grand Canyon is that it's beautiful no matter where you are.

Unfortunately, Colin got hit with altitude sickness and we had to recover in our room for a few hours before we could leave.  I was so impressed with the staff at the Canyon and they went above and beyond to accommodate us.   This was our first time staying in the canyon and we had some amazing views from our room.  Maya could have stayed right here forever.