Ford Family Reunion in Zion Nation Park

This weekend we went with the entire Ford clan to Zion National Park and stayed at Zion Ponderosa. It was a lot of work getting everything we need for the boys packed up and the car ride there was an eventful one that seriously made me question why I was attempting to take my 5 month old twins camping for the weekend, but we made it and we ended up having a great time!

Fortunately I had insisted that we stay in a small cabin instead of camping outside with most of the fam. It paid off in the first 10 minutes of being there. In the last 30 minutes of the car ride Jefferson got car sick and through up all over himself and his car seat. On top of that he had a major blow out. Poor little guy had to be so uncomfortable sitting in all that for the last part of the drive... Anyway, it was really nice to be able to strip him down right away when we got there and give him a bath in the tub.

After we got that settled we unpacked and put the boys to bed. We shared a cabin with Abe's parents and his sister Amy and nephew Dakota. We were out on the hide-a-bed and the boys both slept on the floor next to us in their car seats. I will admit that the first night was probably the worst night I have had with the boys since we fist brought them home. It was mainly to do with the fact that Jace is not used to sleeping at night in his car seat and the bed Abe and I were in was horribly uncomfortable and it squeaked loudly every time we moved and it woke him up every 30 minutes to an hour all night. Not to mention the fact that I was super nervous he was going to wake everyone up so I was already not sleeping well because I had anxiety and every time he made a peep I was rushing to put the bottle in his mouth to quiet him. Then on top of everything our nephew Dakota woke up in the middle of the night and through up in his bed so we had Abe's parents up with the lights on trying to help him and clean it up for about an hour. Somehow Abe slept through almost all of this, I on the other hand had less then 2 hours sleep total all night and had a major head ache in the morning. I was fully ready to pack the boys up and drive home with or without Abe when we got up that day. Fortunately Abe compromised with and said if I could stick it out another night we could leave together Saturday evening instead of staying till Sunday morning and I am glad we stayed.

Now onto the fun parts of the trip...

The whole family went into the park that day and we did a couple of little easy hikes. This picture is at Weeping rock. The water actually drips right out of the over hanging cliff like it is crying. Jefferson was pretty fussy until we got to the top and then we was able to fall a sleep with Abe holding his head up.

They both did really well though for their first big adventure. Jefferson had a harder time because he had a difficulty falling a sleep in strange places, but Jace seems to be able to fall a sleep wherever and cat naps enough to stay happy.

This is Abe supporting Jefferson's head while he slept at Weeping Rock.

After Weeping Rock we went on another short hike to the Virgin River and the kids played in the water for a little bit. By this time I was exhausted from lack of sleep and I decided to go back to the shuttle pick up and sit in the shade while everyone else went up and did more of a hike.

This was beautiful right above the river.

After hiking we went back and had a late lunch and let the boys nap. Abe and I did some laundry and then everyone ate dinner together. We BBQ'd and hung out for a while. Abe and I thought it would be fun to take the boys swimming so we put on their new flotation swim suits and headed to the pool. I was super disappointed though because the water in the pool was too chilly for them and they both cried when we put their feet in. So we tried the hot tub but that was too warm for them... so we went back to the cabin and put them to bed. That night Abe slept out in the car with Jace and I stayed in the cabin with Jefferson. It worked out great because Jefferson only woke up once about 5 am and then he slept again till 8am. Abe and Jace did pretty well out in the car too. He got up with him several times but Abe said it wasn't too bad.

On Saturday we all ate a yummy pancake breakfast supplied by Abe's sister Allison. Thanks Allison! Then we took a family picture in front of the cabin which I will have to get a copy of and post later. Then all the men left with most of the older kids and did a really strenuous and scary hike called Angels Landing.

Abe took some videos of the hike. I did this hike once as a child and my fear of heights was born. I was glad to stay at the cabin with the boys that day...

I packed up a lot of our stuff while Abe was hiking and when he got back we loaded the car and took off. The trip home was so much better then the trip there. We stopped in Ceder City for some yummy Cafe Rio and then headed home. It was after the boys bed time so they pretty much slept most of the ride. We pulled in at about 11pm last night and got the boys to bed easily and left most of the unloading for today since it was so late. Last night I was extremely grateful to be sleeping in my own comfortable bed with the boys far away in their room in their own beds.

It turned out to be a lot of fun and it was good to spend time with the Ford family and be out side for a change. The weather couldn't have been better and we were reminded of how extremely beautiful Utah really is. We made it through our first vacation with the boys and in the end I was glad we went. I will post more pictures once I get them from family members.