10 days, 8 states, 2 countries, 2 national parks, 2 sets of grandparents and lots of driving

We recently returned from a delightful 10 days of Spring Break. One of the wonderful things about working at schools is that we still get a spring break. Wanting to see some sunshine, spend time outdoors and see grandparents, we set out on our road trip. Our first night we spent with my mother's parents. The next morning we got up early and drove to Southern Utah where we spend the night at Bryce Canyon. However at over 8,000 ft, Bryce was not exactly offering the southwest weather for which we were looking. It was snowing and 15 degrees that night. Needless to say, both John and I have decided that snow camping is not for us!


This is John at our campsite. The wind was so strong we had to hang up the rain fly of another tent to shelter our fire from the wind. Thankfully, the next day was beautiful and the hike down into the canyon was amazing.


After a few hours of driving south we reached Zion National Park. Pictures don't do justice to this majestic place. After driving through the canyon, it is evident why it was named Zion. We loved hiking there and even hiked up the narrow ridge of aptly-named Angel's Descent.

Miniature Edible Holiday Architecture

I am aware that it is the middle of February, and as such Christmas is long past, however, I could not resist the temptation to post these photos. Over the holidays we had a bit of a Gingerbread decorating contest with John's mom and sister. We each had a kit that provided us with a basic structure, but the rest of the creating was left to us. It turned out to be way more fun than any of us were expecting. This was definitely a tradition in the making. If you can't tell from the pictures, ours is an African hut (karibu means welcome in Swahili) and John's mom and Rachel's is a log cabin.