Arizona activities

I was not the best at taking pictures on this trip, but I stole a few from other photographers in the family! We spent a day at Slide Rock State Park. This is a fun place, where the "waterslides" are part of the river. They are smooth and slick and you can slide right down. But, the water was COLD and the sliding could be a little rough, so most of the kids spent time jumping. Dave and Wayne snuck away at one point and were jumping off the big cliff. When Ty found out he really wanted to give it a try. I will admit I was a little nervous, but not Ty. When his turn came he didn't even hesitate, just went for it, and loved it! It is hard to tell in the picture but the spot he jumped from is where you see a person at the top right of the picture.

Everyone else spent a lot of time jumping from this smaller cliff. Here Bryce is waiting his turn behind his cousin Corrine. Paige did not try it this day but went back another day with some cousins and had a great time jumping too. One day we drove to Sedona. We stopped at another state park (Red Rock, I think) with Dave's sisters Wendy and Beth and their families. The sisters families headed out on a hike, while Dave, Bryce and Ty decided to try the bike trail. Paige and Brett did not want to hike so we hung out at the visitors center. The bike trail ended up being really short so we headed back to Flagstaff and discovered that the A/C had gone out in the van. Not a huge deal in the mountains of Flagstaff, but not good for the long drive home. So, we took the van in and spent the next day and a half divided among the others Anderson siblings and their activities.

We spent another morning driving up to the ski resort, where some played disc golf and rode the ski lift, which went up to 12,500 ft above sea level!

The ride up took about 30 minutes. Paige, Brett and Ty spent a few minutes at the cold top with their cousins and Aunts and Uncles, before heading back down. They ended up with pink sunburned noses and cheeks after the long ride.

Grand Canyon

This summer we spent a lot of time with Dave's family. His parents celebrated their 50th Wedding anniversary, so everyone gathered in Flagstaff, near Wayne's house, to celebrate. Our first day was spent at the Grand Canyon. Dave, Bryce, Ty and Wayne did a nine mile hike (no pictures). The rest of us went on a shorter, 4 mile hike, with Beth's family. Beth, Paige and Brett are ready for all those switch backs. Hiking down in the canyon is not bad. It was mostly overcast and not too hot. You can enjoy the beautiful scenery.

When asked, the kids continually wanted to go further. Brett, who wasn't even sure he wanted to hike, kept right up with Paige and his cousins...on the way down that is.

There were lots of friendly squirrels. Some mules passed us by. There were lots of friendly people from all over the world.

The thing about the Grand Canyon is as far down as you go...you have to go back up just as far. The hike up was not so fun. It was hot and tiring and steep. No pictures were taken on the way up. We rested a lot, drank a lot of water, and with lots of encouragement to Brett, whose shoes were hurting his feet, we made it back to the top. Whew!

Quote of the day (from Brett's friend)

Brett had a friend over one day this week. As they were playing Paige overheard him tell Brett, "It would be cool if there was someone as smart as you in real life."

The Wedding

The real reason for our trip, or at least a good excuse, was for Alex's wedding. He was the only nephew when Dave and I were married. He and Kelsey make a beautiful couple and although we didn't see much of them on our trip, we had a fun time at their wedding and reception.

The candy bar at the reception was a big hit with the kids (and adults).

We got everyone on the floor for the Chicken Dance!

Game Night at Aunt Robin's

It was fun to get everyone together at Robin's and play some games, soak in the hot tub, and tease her dog Gizzard! Bryce taught everyone his new favorite game, "Dutch Blitz".

Ty helped grandpa out with his uno cards.

Turkey Run

We have been trying to fit in a hike at Turkey Run state park (Near Terre Haute, IN) the last few times we have gone, so, it was fun to finally get to go. Dave made the boys wear their big packs to get conditioned for their upcoming Philmont trip and Brett wanted to carry a pack too! It was a nice day, not too hot and lots of shade. There are a variety of trails and difficulty levels.

The "ladder trail" is everyone's favorite. We opted for the direction that lets you go up the ladders, leaving lots of downhill afterward.

Paige, Brett and I took a "short-cut" and waited in the visitors center for the boys to finish. We enjoyed watching the birds, squirrels, chipmunks and racoon as we waited.

The rollercoaster park of all rollercoaster parks!

The day after school let out we made the 14 hour drive to Indiana to go to our nephew's wedding (wink, wink). It was a good excuse to go to Cedar Point the amusement park with the most rollercoasters in the country. Sure it is another 6 hour drive, but when will we get closer! So, along with Aunt Beth and cousins Chloe, Corinne, and Kelli we drove half way and crashed at Dave's childhood friend, David Lunceford's place. Dave was not concerned at all about calling him the day before to see if 10 people could spend the night at his house. And in reality, he didn't mind he has a big house with lots of space. The kids were so excited to get to the park. We really hadn't planned on going until Brett was tall enough to ride all the coasters, but when an 8 year old is tall enough to ride Millenium Force which has a first hill of 200 feet I think we can find enough to keep him entertained. Paige liked Mantis, It was a big stand-up rollercoaster.

Bryce and Ty were mostly interested in Top Thrill Dragster: 420 feet, 120 mph. So, fast you don't know how high you are and don't have time to be scared, but we couldn't talk Paige into trying it.

Brett would have spent all day on Millenium force if we would have let him. It was the biggest coaster in the world in 2000. But he had fun on a lot of other rollercoasters too. Absolutely no kiddie rides for this boy. The bigger and faster the better!

I have always told the kids that Millenium Force was my all time favorite rollercoaster and it still is : tall and fast, but doesn't beat you up!

The Corkscrew was fun for the kids not so much for the adults, a headache maker for sure. We spent 2 days at the park and the kids will be talking about it for years to come. They all loved it.