This past weekend we went to Goblin Valley with the Hadlocks and it was a blast! It was the first time I had ever been down there and the boys had so much fun playing with their cousins. This was a pretty big family reunion seeing as how in the past 8-10 years there have been no camping trips or reunions that last much longer than a day. This was just Morgan's immediate family, except one sister who wasn't able to make it. We missed you Laura!
I started getting ready a few days before, I hate last minute packing and planning. I think I had all our bags packed Monday and Tuesday since that was laundry day, even though we weren't leaving until Thursday morning.
On Thursday morning we all headed up about the same time and stopped together at a rest stop in Spanish Fork Canyon. I thought I had been through that canyon before, but I hadn't and it was really pretty with the fall colors. Logan's favorite part was the windmills. We made really good time and ended up in Goblin Valley about 12:45pm. We got camp all set up and unloaded and then we went to the Valley of the Goblins.
The boys had so much fun running around and getting dirty. We were all pretty much covered in dirt for the three days we were there, but it was awesome. They were good little climbers and hikers. Tragon liked being in the hiking backpack and Morgan carried him around on all the hikes we did. Damon is usually the one that loses his energy first and he did pretty good that first hike I only had to carry him a little ways. I was surprised at how much I held up too being 5 months pregnant, but it was so nice to be outdoors and hiking and watching the boys have fun that I just sort of set that aside for a few days.
That night we had a campfire and made smores and visited. Tragon woke up with little croupe cold, but he was so good the entire time, especially for being sick. The boys were really good to go to bed when they were tired and we didn't have too many meltdowns. Tragon fell asleep by the fire with me the first night and I just enjoyed holding him. Most of the boys and older kids went down to play "Spotlight" in the Valley of Goblins. It sounded like everyone had a blast down there!
Friday morning we woke up and got some breakfast and packed some lunches and headed out for another hike through Wild Horse Slot Canyon. It was quite the hike and quite the climb in some places. Again our boys did great, Tragon slept most of the way in the pack. Logan loved being with the cousins and Damon was trying to keep up. This hike was a little longer though and I think I basically carried him the whole way home. We made up a game that I would hold him until I was getting out of breath, then I would make him walk with me while I counted to 100 and caught my breath. It worked out pretty well and averted any severe meltdowns. I was pooped by the end though. :)
We spent most of that afternoon hanging around the campsite and watching kids climb all over the mounds of dirt or up the little hill that hugged our campsite. We went to a little program, nature hike that the ranger put on and we got to walk around the Valley of the Goblins at night and hear little tidbits about it. Of course Tragon fell asleep in my arms and I think he doubles in weight when he's asleep.
At one point they asked for some volunteers when they were talking about the phases of the moon and had a little display with a big foam sun, and blow earth, and a little moon on a stick. Logan was devastated that he didn't get picked and when we were in the car and hiking back he kept saying through his tears, "I didn't get to be the sun, or the earth, or the sucker moon" haha, the moon display really did look like a lollipop. We really got a kick out of that.
That night we told stories and played "Fortunately, Unfortunately" around the campfire. Papa got a little carried away and scared a lot of the little kids with a spooky story, but I think we were able to convince them all that the story wasn't true. :) We made fire churros instead of smores and they were awesome! We're totally going to use that on our next campout. One by one people started going to bed. We were all pooped from the days adventures. They kids all went to bed pretty good and the second night was much warmer than the first.
On Saturday morning, Damon woke up sick too, so we decided to pass on the hike that we wanted to do and just headed home after we got camp all cleaned up. The kids slept pretty much the whole 3.5 hour drive home. They woke up about an hour in when we stopped for gas, and they ate a sandwich and then fell back asleep. Needless to say, it was a great drive.
They only real inconvenience I felt throughout the camping trip was all the bathroom runs, mostly for myself, especially middle of the night potty runs for me and my puny bladder being squished by the baby, but we didn't have any accidents from any of the boys and that was truly a blessing. Logan did not want to come home he had such a good time. He kept threatening to throw everybody in the camp's cars in the dump if they stayed when he had to leave.
I'm so glad that Morgan was able to get time off work so we could go down and go on our last camping trip of the year. It's our goal to take the kids at least once a year, even if it's just an over-nighter. I'm not sure what the plan is next year after the baby and when it warms up, but I think I will try to remember the camera. :) Until next time...
