dinosaurs!

I am a bit distracted by all the things I should be doing to get ready for our trip to Zion today. However, I want to update this thing before we go because after I'll have to write about Zion and simultaneously be a grown up again and go to work every day. I'll be training for an indefinite period of time five days a week. I haven't worked five days a week since who knows when. Being a floor RN, or direct in-patient care usually means you only work 3-4 days a week, depending on your shift. I'm in for a real treat putting in five days. This is not complaining, by the way, I won't be doing five days a week forever. It's just so you know I might slack off on other things quite a bit during this time.

We had a small invasion, so we hired a few helping hands deal with the  intruders. By a few helping hands, I mean hundreds. And by intruders I mean aphids.  Ladybugs are one of the organic ways to treat aphids. However, they are wild creatures so they may eventually wander off to eat someone else's aphids if we run out. Hopefully a few will stick around and become our garden guards.

Ladybugs love to eat aphids and we have lots!

Did you know they can eat about 60 aphids a day? They also are Delaware's state bug despite the fact the first ones in America came from Australia back in the day. Today we have the task of naming all our new pets... Got any suggestions?

Okay, okay... DINOSAURS!

So, HERE is the link to Libby's blog. She has better pictures from the trip and mostly of their adorable children. So, while Sarah was here, we met up with our previous downstairs neighbors/friends the Newells and Eric from Fort Collins for an overnight adventure to Dinosaur National Monument. We had great fun catching up, learning about dinosaurs, riding dinosaurs, camping, fighting off ground squirrels, eating, and exploring. It is a pretty cool place that Viola and Davis both wanted to check out and it is sort of in the middle of Salt Lake City and Fort Collins.

Oh, and just imagine the Jurassic Park theme song running through your head the entire time.

Dina, welcoming us to Dinosaur land

Didn't have to tell them to stand there akwardly,
they do it own their own :)

Jr. Ranger Viola touching one of the many dinosaur bones

If you ever wanted to see just a few dinosaur bones, this is the place. If you ever wanted to see hundreds of dinosaur bones, this is the place. I don't really know or understand all the where, when, why, and how of dinosaurs but they sure have a lot of bones here. I once had a professor tell us that God reveals himself through the Bible and creation. If the two aren't adding up for whatever reason, it isn't because God lied or messed up. It just means us fallible humans did not interpret something correctly.  I'll just ask God one day about the specifics of dinosaurs.

Our camping spot on the green river. nothing like a river in a desert.

camping fun!

Most of the lighting is kind of terrible for face shots. However, I love the colors that dusk brings out. In the west, where there are less trees and more rocks, you learn to look at the beautiful colors in dirt. The lighting on the rocks just on the other side of the river were phenomenal. So much awesome beauty in big and little things in creation. Oh, and Charlie wants that s'more Davis is holding.

gimme that s'more.

He has a way with kids

campfire conversations, sarah mesmerized by fire

There was a super short trail just a hop, skip, and a jump from our campfire. I don't think it was an intentional trail by the park but people know where to find good views. We did a quick scramble to check out the scenery.

campsite down below

davis misses these man friends. a lot.

The next day we drove into Colorado, the bone part was in Utah, and took a long drive into the Canyon part of Dinosaur National Monument. To get down into the canyon and play where the Green and Yampa River meet you need something more than a Hyndai Elantra. It said no passenger cars or low clearance vehicles. Sad day. We enjoyed the drive and the views from the top. It is always more windy and chilly than you think it should be. We opted to not picnic at the top for survival reasons... or because we are kind of wimps... or because of small children.

you got to go down down down to get to the rivers merging

sarah on the edge

eric, from such great heights

western loves

The west is so vast, varied, and wild. If you want to be reminded of how small you are, this is the place. We can't help but say wow a thousand times. We drove through Aspen forests, high deserts, canyons, valleys, and fields in a short distance. There is so much creativity and beauty in creation. Being an east coast southerner, I felt at first the rocky brown of the west was so ugly and inhospitable. I used to romp around green lush rolling mountains as a child. I still love the east coast, it has a comfort about it. But I have grown to love the west and see beauty in wide open spaces, rocks of every color, shape, and size imaginable and the heights and depths of the topography. It is amazing all of this is for us to enjoy. Davis and I want to enjoy as much as possible.

Drive home, not so much desert here