A Weekend in Capitol Reef

During the 2019-2020 school year, Daisy was in fourth grade, so we got her the free National Parks pass for fourth graders and visited as many National Parks and monuments as we could. When COVID hit, we had to cancel trips to Canyonlands and Mount Rushmore, and then the pass expired. Because of the pandemic, the NPS gave the passes to fifth graders for this school year, so we were able to get Daisy a new pass!

We used the pass at Muir Woods and Point Fort (though Point Fort is free anyway) while we were in California. Then over this past weekend, we took a trip to Capitol Reef. 

Capitol Reef is about 3.5 hours from Salt Lake, but it took us about five hours because of traffic and stopping for dinner. We left Friday at 4:00, which is not our preferred time of travel, but Eva had dance class and Scotty had to work. 

Two days before we left, Scotty's mom invited herself to come along (she's been known to do that), so we were able to have a rotation of kids from vehicle to vehicle. 

On Saturday, as we entered the park, we started off with a visit to the Gifford House to buy some cinnamon rolls and mini pies. Then we went to the trailhead for Cassidy Arch and got the last spot in the parking lot. 

From the parking lot to this sign is about 1/4 mile

This hike is rated "strenuous," so I confess, I was pretty nervous to take four kids and my in-laws. There were some pretty miserable points, and it took us five hours, but we made it there and back!

I was so grateful to be able to do this hike considering three weeks ago I could barely walk. I have never before felt such a sense of awe at my ability to climb a stair or step over a rock. I can never take it for granted! I did things on this hike I wasn't sure I'd ever do again. 

Starting off on the hike - when everyone was still feeling optimistic and full of energy

The first view of the arch (looks like a dark cave entrance right below the skyline)

A little heart at the top of the mountain

Me, my father-in-law, and Nicky out on the arch. The group to the left of us are rappelling down to the bottom. It's much deeper than this photo shows. They have to do 8 different rappels to get down. You can only see the depth of the first rappel in the picture, so imagine 7 more! It's really high up! 

Cactus blooms

Right when we reached the arch, it suddenly got very windy, so we spent the rest of the hike with sand blowing in our faces. We all had a nice film of dirt coating us when we finished, and we were pretty exhausted. 

We went to the picnic area and had lunch. They have a really nice grove with picnic tables and trees. There's a river nearby, and you can cross over a bridge into an orchard. There are lots of orchards in Capitol Reef, and when the fruit is ripe, you can pick it and eat it! (I don't think I'll ever want to deal with the heat in Capitol Reef in order to be able to be there for fruit season).

After lunch, we took it easy for a while and went to see the Fruita School and the Behunin Cabin.

Fruita School - built around 1896

Behunin Cabin - pioneer house built in 1882 (how would you like to live there with 13 kids?)

 

A scenic potty break

After taking it easy for a while, we did the Pioneer Registry hike. It was short and mild and took us past some mountain walls where pioneers signed their names. I didn't really take any good pictures on that hike, other than Grandma crossing the finish line:

Hooray for Grandma!

After the Pioneer Registry, we drove into Torrey, where we were staying and had pizza at Slackers. It was hot and fantastic, and the employees there were delightful!

The next morning we headed back into Capitol Reef. We hit the Visitor's Center to get the stamps and cancellations in the kid's National Parks Passports. Then we went to see some petroglyphs before we hiked the "moderate" trail to Hickman Bridge. 

On the hike, we were discussing the difference between an "arch" and a "bridge." From what we researched, it seems that a "natural bridge" is formed by water, while a "natural arch" is formed by weathering. I vote we call them whatever we want and forgive each other. If all else fails, just call it what's written on the signage.

Shortly after starting the hike

A fun little set of bridges about 3/4 into the hike

Hickman Bridge

Hanging out under the bridge with snacks

The other side of the bridge (if you look closely at the mountain wall, it looks like there's a heart on it)

Grandma and Grandpa coming down one of the last sets of stairs on the way back

A caterpillar silk nest at the trailhead. These were all over in the trees, and if you looked closely inside the silk, you could see hundreds of caterpillars wriggling about. 

After the hike, we went to the picnic grove for lunch and respite. Then it was time to head out, but first we stopped at the Goosenecks lookout to check out the view. 

It was a view that a photograph can never truly capture

It was a great trip, as indicated by the mass amounts of dead bugs and red sand on our van. Capitol Reef is a really cool place. 

What You're Getting

Perhaps, like me, you’ve perused social media and seen this about a million times:

Every time I see this prompt, I think about how lucky the person who steals everything on top of my fridge will be.

Seriously. 

You see, I use the top of my fridge as the catch all for things I take away or try to hide from my kids. It’s the probationary place where things await their ultimate demise. Say my kid comes home from a birthday party with ten pounds of piñata candy (allow me to interject once more that I think my kids participate in an abnormal amount of piñata destruction. How many piñatas should the average kid be exposed to in a year’s time? Really. I need to know). At some point, that piñata candy goes up on the fridge to be forgotten about so I can eventually get rid of it. 

So what is this hypothetical fridge thief getting? A hecka lotta piñata candy. But that’s not all... Halloween candy, Christmas candy, Easter candy. ALL THE CANDIES!!!

But also...

Bubbles.

Lightbulbs.

Fireworks.

Gum.

Lighters.

Kinetic sand.

Sharpies.

Packaging tape.

Things that make noise (whistles, harmonicas, and clacker toys).

Slime.

And just to keep things interesting - protective phone screen covers, a spray bottle/fan, a ukulele, and two cabinet doors that we never put back on after we re-did our kitchen, plus a bag full of hardware. 

Quite the haul, I dare say. So bring a big bag, Fridge Thief. 

Now, based on that list, you may be thinking I have the most cluttered fridge top of all time, but look:

It's actually not that bad. 

Everything is in these two bins - hidden out of sight. Yes, even the doors to the kitchen cabinets! If you do steal what's on top of my fridge, please leave the bins. I'll need to restock them after you leave. 

Lately

I have a bit of writer's block, but I've got the blogging bug, so I'll take the easy route and post about what we've been up to lately. 

Eva turned six on April 15. Time is flying! She got pretty spoiled for her birthday. I took her to lunch and to pick out a summer outfit and a few fun things for her birthday (she picked some sunglasses and a unicorn hat). She also got to go shopping with some of her grandparents, and then she got some birthday money that she used to buy a Present Pet. We had no idea what a Present Pet was, so Scotty and I were freaking out a little bit when the thing came alive in its box and started barking and busting out. 

The birthday girl in all her charm

Eva's cake (made by my mom)

I always let my kids pick the menu for their birthday dinner. Eva wanted pizza and crepes. Then my mom offered to head up her party so I didn't have to plan it. We had her party the Sunday after her birthday. 

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Our elementary school launched a LEGO mini figure (Lil Neil - after Neil Armstrong) into the stratosphere last week. This was a project two years in the making. We drove an hour and a half to Tremonton, Utah (to be clear of airplanes) to watch the launch. 

They were hoping Lil Neil would reach 90,000 feet. He ended up making it to 111,000 feet! He landed in Mantua, Utah (where my dream church/house is), and the principal was able to track him down. It was a really fun activity that helped keep us busy on a "distance learning" day. 

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Last year I joined a book club, and we've stuck it out through the pandemic and made book club things happen (sometimes creatively). For the month of April we read Among the Lesser Gods by Margo Catts, which I really enjoyed. 

Our book club met last week, and the author joined via something-like-Zoom-that-is-not-Zoom. I admit, I felt really intimidated by the idea of having the author "there," and not being able to be my normal brain-dead-by-Friday night self, but it ended up being really cool! 

For a few minutes, I was even inspired by Margo Catts to write a book. The feeling was fleeting, though, and by Saturday morning, I was back to the assumption that my life's mission is to write obituaries and eulogies (honest truth. I've been asked by some of my friends and family if I will write theirs. The pressure to outlive everyone is intense).

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I've started wearing overalls. I don't care how unflattering they are on me. You can't beat the food pocket!

They aren't convenient for bathrooming, though, so I have to make the choice between easy bathroom trips and food accessibility. 

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While I was in California, I developed some edema in my feet and ankles. 

Check out that pitting!

I'm happy to report that it has cleared up! Now I look down at my ankles everyday and admire how skinny they are. I think, "Wow! I'm as delicate as a bird with those little bones!"

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Scotty's dad and step-mom gave the kids a butterfly kit for Easter. We released the butterflies yesterday. 

Nicky setting a butterfly free

We had five painted ladies! One had an injured leg and possibly a deformed wing, so that one ended up back in our house. The other four are off on their own! This is the second time we've raised some butterflies. It's a fascinating experience. 

The Messes We Make: 2021 Edition

This morning I was working on tidying up the house and thinking about how monotonous it is to clean up the same messes over and over... A few years ago, I wrote a blog post about the top mess makers in my house, and I started wondering if our messes have changed at all over the last few years. I haven't yet located that post to compare, but I figured I'd make a list of our current top ten messes and then go back and see. 

10. Golf balls

We have hundreds of golf balls around here. They are everywhere but mostly in the yard. When we mow the lawn, we have to spend half an hour picking up golf balls first. 

Just a normal days' golf ball findings. 

9. Jackets and outdoor wear

This problem clears up a little bit in the warm months, but in the heart of winter, we have coats, hats, gloves, boots, and scarves all over the place. 

8. Books and magazines

With four kids who hate reading, they sure have a great capacity for leaving books all over the place. There are books on every flat surface. Books piled up on their beds. Books on the floor. Books in the van. The bookshelf always looks like a tornado recently passed through.

My kids love to read magazines when they're on the toilet (just raising them up right, ya know), so there are always magazines on the bathroom counter and on the laundry hamper (which they use as a toilet desk) and on the bathroom floor. 

7. Blankets

My kids love their blankets and drag them everywhere. I had to make a "no blankets at the kitchen table" rule, which I have failed miserably at enforcing since I find at least one blanket under the table everyday after the kids go to school. 

6. Socks

Clothes come in at #5, as you will soon see, but I had to give socks their own spotlight because socks are a huge problem around here. At any given time, I can walk around my house and probably find 20 socks on the floor. It drives me crazy. 

Okay, maybe I exaggerate. I only found 11 socks just now. 

5. Clothes

This doesn't really need an explanation, right? We have six people living in our house - none of which are nudists. There are clothes everywhere. 

4. Holiday and party junk

Our house is constantly littered with the latest holiday/party favors. Right now it's all the Easter stuff. Plastic eggs, candy wrappers, silly little toys... My kids always have bags of pinata candy (I think we experience more pinatas than the average family. I should take a survey). 

3. Food

This is another category that doesn't need an explanation. We eat. Therefore we have food messes. 

2. Barbies, LOL dolls, and LEGO

SO. MANY. THINGS. Vacuuming is fun. 

I'm all up in your house with my tiny clothes!

1. Projects

The number one mess maker in our house, hands down, is my kids' arts and crafts. I love their artistic, little souls, and I give them a lot of freedom to create. Thus, I have a never-ending battle with getting all the crap put away. I don't think a day goes by where our kitchen table doesn't get completely covered in supplies - paper scraps, glue, markers, googley eyes... whatever it be. Our recyclables are always dragged back in the house, chopped up, and pieced together with hot glue to make doll furniture or pinball machines. I often resent the mess, but I hope someday my kids look back fondly on their creative childhood, and that will make it worth it. 

One of 5,000 cardboard box doll houses my girls have made. 

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I've now gone back to my previous mess post (circa 2017) to compare, and not much has changed. There are some things on that list that I didn't think about this time that are still a problem - like hair stuff. That should probably remain in my top ten (maybe I should bump golf balls?) Other candidates for the list include electronics and charging cords, shoes, bags/purses/backpacks, and the infamous COVID masks that are tucked into every nook and cranny. 

I have to confess, after writing this, I feel kind of like a slob. I better go clean something! (That's a weird urge I don't normally have). 

Currently {April 2021 Edition}

 Reading:

This is our book club selection for this month. 

Watching: Inception and The Big Year. I can never watch an entire movie all at once, so I'm about mid-way through both. 

I haven't had time to dive into The Chosen Season 2, but that's high on the list. 

Buying: birthday presents for Eva. Her birthday is on Thursday, and she picked out all her own presents, so there will be no surprises. She told me she is going to act like a queen on her birthday, and I have to be her butler. So... ya know... pretty much like every other day of the year.

Craving: water. And not because I'm a noble and devoted water drinker. I'm just legit craving a big glass of water. 

Trying: to use my energy wisely. I don't have very much, so I have to budget it. 

Singing: "Boom Clap." I hadn't heard that song in years, but it came on the radio the other day, and it's been stuck in my head ever since. I'm indifferent about the song - I neither love nor hate it - but it's one that just sticks! 

Listening to: 

This audiobook is read in a lovely Irish accent, but it has quite a few swears. 

Needing: to vacuum my van, which happens to be what I wrote in this same spot last month. I've been pretty good about keeping my van vacuumed since I got a car wash membership last year. I vacuum at least once a week - usually on Mondays, but I haven't gone this week yet. 

Annoyed by: Smith's never having cucumbers. Has anyone else noticed this? 

Playing: Wingspan on the Nintendo Switch. We haven't had game night in a while, so I've been playing a lot on the Nintendo. I win 9/10 times, and I have it set to "hard." I can't say it's because of my awesome Wingpspan skills. I think it's more that my AI opponent just isn't that great. 

Working on: moving our garden boxes. We've been "remodeling" our garden for like... four years now. Maybe this year we'll actually finish... maybe...

Struggling with: Eva and Zoe. Ok, that's a pretty standard answer, but seriously, those two are giving us such a hard time lately. In sacrament meeting on Sunday, they were fighting like feral cats - trying to claw each other by diving across Scotty's and my laps, all fingernails and teeth! At home, they scream at each other routinely and call each other "idiot" and "moron." Today I found the wad of hair that Zoe ripped out of Eva's head last night. They're just delightful! Absolutely delightful! 

Eating: a chocolate chocolate chip bundtlet from Nothing Bundt Cakes. I had a BOGO coupon, so Eva and I went on a little date to get bundtlets before I took her to school today. 

Looking forward to: going to see Les Mis at Hale Theater in a few weeks. I've missed live theater and performances, so I'm really excited!

Worried about: the usuals... my kids... their friends, their education, their mental health, their safety, their development, their habits... am I doing enough? Am I good enough? 

That.

Enjoying: KIDS AT SCHOOL!

I can't believe how fast summer break is coming. I've had two other moms tell me this week that they're so excited school is almost out. Meanwhile, I'm hyperventilating in a corner because I don't know how to function with school out. I feel like this school year never really got going, and with distance learning Fridays and multiple quarantines, my kids were home ALL. THE. TIME. and I don't know what to do with them being home for summer when I haven't even recovered from them being home for SIX MONTHS STRAIGHT. I'm still completely depleted from that. How do I do summer??? I can't entertain them anymore. We've done EVERYTHING. I have no creativity or energy left. We will watch TV for three months because that's all I can handle. 

Wearing: a black shirt that I refer to as my "flu shot shirt" because it has slits in the sleeves, and I wore it for my flu shot once. 

Grateful for: books. 

Sigh.

I just love them.

Feeling: dang good. 

My Mystery Condition has much improved over the past week. I don't know why it has improved, but I'll take it! I'm feeling 90% better. I can get out of bed, I can dress myself, and I can move from standing to sitting and vice versa. For a few weeks, I couldn't do those things until I'd had 800 mg of Ibuprofen in my system for two hours, and even then, it was very painful. I would have to wake up at 4:00 or 5:00 every morning and take meds from my nightstand so I could get out of bed at 6:00-7:00. 

Now I'm able to move pretty easily, and I am so grateful! I thank Heavenly Father multiple times throughout the day that I can move. I hope it stays this way, but since I don't know what caused it, I don't know what to expect. I'm just keeping my fingers crossed that I am healing and not just in some form of remission with something that will flare up again. One of my doctor's theories is that it could be a post-viral myalgia. In other words, I may have had a virus back in February that made my body go wiggety whack. There were a few things going on that indicated this may be the case, but it held on a little longer than the anticipated time frame of 4-6 weeks. So we'll see what happens from here. 

At this point, I am comfortable. I still have some pain in my ankles and feet. My leg muscles are still struggling - I can go up and down stairs, but I can feel pain in my legs when I do, and I can't squat. I keep learning this the hard way because I feel pretty good, so I forget that my legs are still having issues, and I'll do something like squat down to look at the bottom shelf at the library, and then have to use the shelves to pull myself up and think, "Oh gosh! Please don't fall over! Please don't fall over!" (meaning myself and the bookshelf). I also have some weakness in my wrists, so I have a hard time doing anything that requires me to put any weight on my arms (there won't be push-ups anytime soon), and sometimes my hands don't want to work (I can't open a new jar of anything). 

But like I said... I'LL TAKE IT!

A week and a half ago, I would stand at the edge of a curb and have to take a deep breath and brace myself for excruciating pain just to take a step down onto the street - something I've never experienced in my life (and now a permanent bad memory of a vacation in San Francisco). 

I am so very thankful to be able to move. 

Epic Spring Break Adventures: San Francisco

Early Friday morning, we loaded up the van and headed north to San Francisco... because we’re nuts. 

Several years ago, Scotty had to go to San Francisco for work. When he came back, he said, “I never need to go back there.” Then we ended up going there to see Hamilton, after which I said, “I never need to go back there.”

Why is it, then, that we decided to go back there? I guess because we thought it would be cool for our kids to see, and we were already in California, and we had bookend weekends on our vacation, so we had to do something, right?

Well, I’ve now been to San Francisco twice, and I never need to go back there. 

As we headed out of town, we stopped by Randy's Donuts for a photo op (giant donut? Heck yes!) and breakfast. We went there once when Nicky and Daisy were really little, but I couldn't remember if the donuts were any good. I got a powdered sugar lemon-filled donut and a raised maple donut, and they were both excellent!

(In fact, I kind of need a Randy’s donut right now).

We really enjoyed the drive to SF - we loved seeing all of the orchards off the side of the freeway. We came in across the bay bridge, which was fun. When we got to the city, we had to pop into a CVS to pick up a prescription that my doctor had sent in for me. I was in rough shape that day, so it was a pretty brutal drive, and walking around SF was really hard.

We drove across the Golden Gate Bridge, which wasn’t what we’d planned, but we missed our turn to avoid being rear ended and had no choice but to continue on the bridge. Since we ended up across the bridge, we got out of the car and took some photos and then walked out on the bridge. My edema had gotten worse, so I couldn't fit my feet into my shoes. I ended up walking 10,000 steps in slippers that day, which probably wasn't wise. My family left me in their dust as I shuffled out on the bridge. 

I appreciate the bridge so much as a historical landmark and an engineering marvel, but walking across it is miserable. I feel like everyone hates each other on the bridge, and rightly so. The pathway is narrow and is supposed to accommodate two-way foot traffic as well as bikes. Everyone out on that bridge wishes ill upon their fellow men - I promise you that - and it doesn't help that your senses are on overload from all the traffic noise, the wind, and trying to not get plowed down by someone on a bike ringing an angry bell at you. 

After we crossed back over the bridge, we went to Point Fort under the bridge. It's in the National Parks Passports, so we had to take the kids to get their stamps and cancellations. The kids seemed to enjoy exploring the fort. It was a little different with COVID regulations, but it was still cool. 

I'm not sure how we still had time left in the day, but we ended up going to Pier 39 to see the sea lions. It was really crowded, so we didn't stay long. We did take a quick break to enjoy some Coke and a loaf of sourdough bread before we left, though. 

One thing I noted from our last trip to SF is that it doesn't feel like a place where you can "sit down and stay a while." That remained true for this trip - I feel like everywhere we went in SF, we needed to leave as soon as possible due to lack of seating, bad smells, or cost of parking. There is nothing relaxing or comfortable in San Francisco. It's just busy and claustrophobic, and with COVID, they have signs that say "Stay Home," and that just made it even worse!

For dinner, we really wanted some pizza. We booked a hotel away from the downtown area (good choice) and found a pizza place nearby. We checked into our hotel, and Scotty went and got us some pizza, and it was delicious!

The next morning, we headed out early to go to Muir Woods. You have to reserve a parking spot and time to go to Muir Woods, so we were on a tight schedule. We got there around 9:30 and barely missed the chance to park in the close lot! 

Entrance to Muir Woods

The kiddos (I tried to get them to move their masks for the photos, but my kids are die-hards about keeping their masks on)

Some of the forest-y details

We spent a few hours exploring Muir Woods. Last time we went there, a lot of the trails were closed. This time, a lot of them had opened back up, but since I could barely walk, we still weren't able to check any of them out. That's okay, though, because that meant we didn't have to push some of our lazier kids up a mountain. I only have so much endurance for that. 

The kids thought the forest was pretty cool. 

After we left Muir Woods, we stopped at Muir Beach. There are lots of rocks and tidepools at Muir Beach, and therefore, all sorts of disgusting creatures.

Sea life! 

Ew!

There were claws laying around, and possibly a dead jellyfish, and then there were these giant pulsing, slimy things, and mussels, and everything a person with tryphophobia can't deal with. 

Things with holes and pores... 

Things that shouldn't be living, yet somehow are...

Excuse me while I vomit.

But the beach is beautiful. 

We had a hotel booked in Reno for that night, so when we left the beach, we started heading that direction. We wanted more pizza, so we stopped at a pizza shop in Sacramento. When we got to our hotel, we let the kids swim for a while, and then we made everyone take a bath and go to sleep. 

The next day was Easter Sunday. We dragged everyone out of bed and left by 7:00 a.m. It was definitely a non-traditional Easter for us. We had continental breakfast on the road (the front desk had packed it "to go") and then we ate lunch at Wendy's in Elko. Wendy's was ready for an Easter crowd, and they had coloring pages sitting out waiting for kids. Right after we got there, they had a pretty big lunch rush. I didn’t know Wendy’s in Elko was such a popular place to celebrate Easter!

A few hours after we left Elko, they announced the Elko, NV temple in General Conference, so that was kind of fun!

Easter lunch at Wendy's

We got home right around 4:00 and discovered that the Easter Bunny had been to our house! The kids found all their eggs, and then we went to Scotty's mom's house for dinner. 

We had such a wonderful time and made great memories. We feel so blessed to have been able to take this trip. Our souls needed it!

(And I’m already itching for another trip).

THE END