The Great Grand Canyon

My parents wanted to come down for a visit to see us and our new house, so we made it a trip. First we met them at Grand Canyon, which truly is amazing, and stayed for 2 nights. Then they came and stayed at our place for a couple of nights. While here we went to the Phoenix Zoo and saw the Mesa Easter pageant which was fabulous too. We loved seeing them and look forward to being able to see them more often.

No, Dallin doesn't have a twin. My parents brought with them our nephew Ross (their grandson) so Ross & Dallin could hang out together. All of my boys enjoyed seeing their cousin.

The whole crew at the Grand Canyon.

It really is such an amazing site to see, no wonder it's one of the "seven wonders of the world".

We were able to see the sunset on the canyon which really highlighted some of the colors - it was so pretty!

On the far end there is a watchtower which gives you a panoramic view of the canyon.

Dallin & Ross inside the watchtower.

There are trails along a lot of the rim that you can hike, so Tad, Dallin, Ross & my dad did some hiking. Logan and I opted for the shuttle as it was really windy. Poor little guy still ended up with wind burn on his cheeks.

One of my favorite views.

The second day we listened to a ranger presentation and the boys worked on becoming Junior Rangers.

Note: my mom is hiding behind this rock holding onto Logan, so he wouldn't fall.

After completing their booklet and answering questions about the Grand Canyon, they are being sworn in as official Junior Rangers.

Dallin & Ross finished theirs and became official too. They earned their ranger badge.

On the way home from Grand Canyon (which is about 4 hours for us) we all stopped at Montezuma's Castle to see a cliff dwelling. I think Gavin was expecting something a little more "castle-y".

The next day we headed to the Phoenix Zoo.

I loved this shot of Gavin - getting him to cooperate for a picture is the impossible.

Grandpa bought the boys new hats so they didn't get sunburned. Poor Dallin was back at school and had to miss out.

Ethan & Gavin enjoying the splash pad at the zoo.

That night we went to the Easter Pageant which is held on the grounds of the Mesa Temple. It goes through Jesus' life and is really touching. We got there early and were able to take some pictures with some of the actors. The cast was amazing and huge. I was really impressed with the production.