Our Trip to Vernal, Day Two

Our second day in Vernal was a lot of fun. Of course we slept too late to take advantage of the continental breakfast, so we stopped at JB's on our way to Dinosaur National Monument. Brigham normally eats pancakes, but these pancakes were huge and overcooked, so Brigham wouldn't eat them. Luckily, I made banana muffins before we left and we also had plenty of juice and snacks for the car ride.

The monument is about 20-25 minutes outside of Vernal so it didn't take long to get there.


Our first stop was the Visitor's Center. There actually wasn't much to do there but it did give us a chance to talk to the park rangers to see what we were supposed to do. They said we could just go up to the quarry on our own. So we did. It's just a short ride up.


This is the view from the parking lot. The rocks are so cool there. Unlike any rock formations I have ever seen. If you click on the picture you can see it bigger.



The quarry itself was really cool. I had kind of seen it on tv before but I had no idea it was so big.

It's really amazing how many bones are in just this one mountain.






So many cool bones!

After the quarry we went on a short drive through the monument to see petroglyphs. The first stop wasn't too far away.


Pretty cool.

The second one was a lot longer. I wasn't even sure if there were petroglyphs at the end of this trail. We never saw any, but it was a fun little hike anyway.


Such cool mountains.


I love this picture of Jonathan. That tree in the distance was really cool looking. I thought it was dead but there were little leaf buds on it. Still, it was the only tree around so kind of creepy.


We saw this little lizard on our walk. It was sitting in the perfect spot on a rock, but I took too long getting my camera. Luckily, we could still see it and it held still long enough for me to get a picture.


Such cool rock formations!


We hadn't seen any petroglyphs and we'd been walking for a long time so we decided to turn back. It was still fun and we saw a lot of cool things.

We headed back for Vernal to see the temple before we headed home. Jonathan was really excited to see the temple, he wanted to see it as soon as we got there but we told him he had to wait. Finally, it was time.


We were still kind of tired from our hike and we were covered in red dust, but it was nice and peaceful.


The gates were open so we went in on the grounds. Jaaromy felt a little guilty walking around in our street clothes while there were sessions going on inside. So we just took a quick picture.


It was a nice and relaxing stop before the long drive home.

We stopped in Heber for a late lunch/early dinner and even got home before dark. I'm glad we have fun things to see so close to home.

Another successful trip. We really should do this more often.

Our Trip to Vernal, Day One

So we decided to take a short trip to Vernal over Spring Break. Sounds exciting, I know. You know what, though? It was a lot of fun. It's not a terribly long drive so we were able to do a lot in a short amount of time.

Jaaromy didn't really have any time off so he took a half day and we left early in the afternoon. This was Friday, April 6th. If you live around here you remember that was when the weather started to turn cold. In fact, Parley's canyon was closed that morning. We were worried we wouldn't even be able to leave the valley. We were even contemplating going to St. George instead. Luckily the weather cleared up in time for us to go. We stopped in Heber for lunch and I wish I had taken a picture but as we were leaving Heber and heading into the mountains it looked pretty ominous. Through the mountain pass it was kind of snowy but not too bad and it cleared up when we left them behind.

We got to Vernal around 3:30 and went right to the Utah Field House of Natural History.



One of the first things we did was watch a short film about Dinosaur National Monument and how the land has changed to bring dinosaur bones and other fossils closer to the surface. It really made me appreciate their extensive fossil collection.


Very impressive.

There were a lot of fun activities for the kids.




When we came through this room the first time it was full of little kids, so we actually came back through just before we left to give the boys a chance to try it out.

One of my favorite parts was the life-size displays outside.





The boys and I thought they were super cool. Jaaromy thought they looked too cartoon-y. He was not impressed.

After the museum we checked in at the hotel and then went swimming. I don't know if it's a rule or something but this is the second hotel in a row where the pool water was freezing. I was with Brigham and I put up with it as long as I possibly could and then took him to the hot tub since he was shivering. The hot tub was, of course, super hot so I didn't dare keep him in for too long. Jonathan and Nathaniel decided that the cold was worth it and wanted to keep swimming. So, we compromised and sat on the edge with our feet in the cold water. This must be a favorite vacation spot because I saw a family at the pool that I had seen at the museum. There were a lot of families with boys at the hotel.

We went to dinner and then came back and watched Kung Fu Panda 2 on our tiny portable dvd player. There really should be dvd players in hotel rooms.


I was worried how Brigham would do sleeping in a strange place. I ended up sharing a bed with him and that made him happy. He cuddled right up next to me and went to sleep. It was nice. Of course I slept horribly. The beds were just a little too hard. Oh well, over all, it was a lot of fun.

A Sunday Afternoon Trip to the Temple

Some Sundays when we aren't visiting family for dinner, we go for a drive to one of the many temples that are in the valley. This particular Sunday we went to the Oquirrh Mountain Temple. It's a long but easy drive and you can get out and walk around.

I also wanted to take some pictures since it had been a while since I've attempted anything remotely artistic.


Not all of them are fancy, of course. This is just cute.


So is this one.


One photography element I have seen a lot lately is angled shots. I think this one works, but I'm not sure about my other attempts.


Another attempt at an angled shot. I can't decide if I like it or not. What do you think? Overall, I don't think I like them and probably won't be doing them in the future. Not that I think they can't be done right, but because I don't think I can do them right.


One photography tip I learned that was immensely useful was to stand farther away and zoom in. I really like the way it brings out the subject.


The walk itself was fun, and the boys had fun with the crusty old snow.




A couple of fun pictures:


I saw this jet in the sky and immediately tried to take a picture of it. I would never have found it in the camera's view screen if it hadn't been flying behind that tree. Plus, the tree makes the shot much more interesting.


I love taking pictures of the moon and this might just be my favorite one yet.

Most of all I love taking short little relaxing trips with my family. That was the best part.

Valentine's Day Cookies

My boys are starting to get into my new forced family tradition of decorating cookies.



They don't mind the eating part, but sometimes they aren't as patient for the decorating part.


Nathaniel has been enjoying our new tradition. He likes to create different designs.


Jaaromy's been getting into it more too. See how happy he looks!


This was one of my cookies. Sorry about the blob that is supposed to be an "I", the little frosting tubes pool up when they haven't been used in a while. I probably should have tested it out on a napkin.


In the end we had some fabulous looking, and fabulous tasting, Valentine cookies.

On Valentine's Day I decided I needed a picture of myself and Jaaromy together since...well, since it was Valentine's Day. We had a few good ones.





Yep, that's why I married him and I stand by my decision.

Jonathan's Baptism

Jonathan was baptized on February 4th. We decided to wait a month since December was so busy and we wanted to make sure we had enough time to prepare him. I found a great book about Baptism from Deseretbook.com that really simplified the promises he was about to make. I also had the bishop give us a copy of the questions he would be asking in his interview. I'm so glad we were able to prepare him for it.


The baptism itself went well. Along with the spiritual preparation, we also prepared physically by going to the pool and practicing going under the water. Jonathan did okay and was ready to go under. I heard later that the water was really cold. On top of that, the first time Jaaromy put him under his foot came out of the water. Jaaromy told him that he would have to go under again and Jonathan said "No thanks, I think that's enough." It made everyone laugh, but he was a trooper and did it again, this time Jaaromy stood on his toes so his feet wouldn't come up again. The second time was a success.

After the baptism and confirmation Grandma Hand gave Jonathan his very own set of scriptures with his name on them any everything.

Pretty sweet. Add that to the new scripture case he got from Grandma Patti and Jonathan is looking pretty righteous!

We all got together in the gym afterwards for a delicious lunch. I'm so glad we were able to get the gym because there are so many of us, and I'm so thankful that everyone was able to come. Plus, the food was super tasty!

I'm so proud of Jonathan for making the decision to be baptized. He's been looking forward to it for a long time.

An Exciting New Treat

My sister-in-law posted on her blog a while back about making mini S'mores with her kids using Teddy Grahams, chocolate chips, and mini marshmallows. She posted about them, like, forever ago and I finally got around to trying it out. It's perfect for our family since it is highly unlikely that we will go camping to make the regular kind.


The kids loved it!


It's entertaining in itself too. If you hold the marshmallow in the same place for too long it catches fire. So we'd hear a lot of silence followed by an "OH!" and then blowing. Jonathan thought it was particularly entertaining.


I think this picture is a perfect illustration of the activity's volatility.


I don't know if I would quite trust Brigham with an open flame but it was a moot point since he doesn't like marshmallows. He was plenty happy with the Teddy Grahams and chocolate chips though.

It was so fun that we've done it a few more times since then. Thanks, Sara!