Saturday March 30 we drove to John and Pauline's Escalante cabin to spend Easter with them and part of our Spring break week with cousins. We went to Easter sacrament meeting with both wards combined in town. This is the bell outside the ward building.
James gave me a cuddle in church and I wanted to sneak a look to see if he was asleep and ended up taking a picture.
Then we had an Easter egg hunt with the cousins! Ben — who was the oldest of the whole crew by a lot — helped hide the eggs and then helped Lou find some eggs.
The hunter-gatherers and their spoils.
There was lots of outside play, too, down by the creek and the fort. You'll notice our youngest child kept sneaking outside in her pajamas.
Making treats was also a hit.
Ben and Lou were often together. She would find him and hang out by him or he would go find her to tease her.
We did have a sad hour or so when James fell into a cactus and I had to pull out the needles as he screamed and cried.
Then later I found this selfie on my camera with the cabin's bear so he rallied.
On Tuesday we took a great hike to 100 hands, by the Escalante River trailhead. These are petroglyphs high up on a cliff face.
Papa and the grandkids (Lou also came and was such a trooper).
Papa accidentally stuck his hand in a cactus while gaining his balance on a hill. He was much more stoic and calm than James was earlier in our stay.
Seth brought BB guns and slingshots and the kids had fun shooting at the target.
And we had a couple rides in the side-by-side.
All too soon we were back at home in the city! I need to get my children out among sticks and dirt and nature more often. Thank you, John and Pauline!
