Arches Family Vacaton: Part 2

Wednesday morning the girls and I went on a hike through the Fiery Furnace in Arches National Park. This hike requires a ranger guide because there is no marked trail and it would be quite easy to get lost. Also, the minimum age is 4 years old, just perfect so Maisy could go. Everyone on the hike with us was impressed with how well Maisy did. She is so small for a 4 year old that I think most of the people there were a bit worried about her coming on the hike. She showed some mad rock climbing skills and on the parts where we had to shimmy across crevasses .eaning against the rocks with both hands, I just flung Maisy on my back and away we went. It was really a lot of fun. Unfortunately Melanie was still not feeling well so she stayed at the hotel. We missed her. The hike was absolutely beautiful.

Here the girls are standing in front of a natural bridge. This is not an arch because it was formed by running water.

Sadie is crawling through Crawl Through Arch. Pretty clever name for an arch, isn't it?

The hole above their head is an arch in the making. It is not quite an arch because it only measures 2'11" at its largest opening. If it were just 1" larger, or 3', it would be classified as an arch. Maybe in a few hundred years it will make it.

Taking a break for a snack at Twin Arch.

Felicia and Maisy stop to pose before they hike through the narrow opening leading to Surprise Arch.

Hiking along the ledge to Surprise Arch.

The girls looking up at Surprise Arch.

After our Fiery Furnace hike we went to Sand Dune Arch. Maisy loved playing in the sand, well they all did. You should have seen the sand they dumped out of their shoes when we got back to the motel. I don't know how Maisy's feet could even fit in her shoes!

Wednesday night I went to Turret Arch and the Windows Arches with Sadie and Amina to watch the sunset. We got stuck behind some sight-seeing motorcyclists and thought we were going to miss the sunset. Luckily we got there just in time to see it set. We walked around the North and South Windows before we settled on watching the sunset while sitting inside Turret Arch. It was gorgeous! I would love to see the sunrise and sunset at every location in the Park.


Sadie and Amina thought it was a little weird that I was taking so many pictures of them. They really just wanted to enjoy the sunset and not be models. Crazy Dad. Someday they'll understand.

Arches Family Vacation: Part 1

We went on a family vacation to Moab and Arches National Park July 7 - 10. Other than Melanie being sick the whole time, we all had a blast. The scenery is so beautiful there. We only did about half of what we had planned so we are excited to go back again. We took tons of pictures so here are some of the best ones.



We began our trip by stopping at Goblin Valley. From everything we saw in pictures as we planned for this trip, this was the thing that Melanie was most excited for. It turned out to be as cool as we thought it would be. It did get a little hot. We didn't quite make it out the door as early as we had hoped, so we were a little later in the afternoon getting there, during the hottest part of the day. Yikes. But it was way worth it.









We stayed at the Moab Valley Inn where we swam every day. The girls don't mind where we stay on our vacations as long as there is a swimming pool. I have not done very well at continuing the Moffett tradition of camping on vacation. I can't say that I really miss it. I like the convenience of staying in a hotel as long as I can get out into the wilderness to take in the view.





We went on this amazing boat ride up the Colorado River. When we asked Maisy what her favorite part of the trip was she said, "this part," and she waved her hands above the air. What she was talking about was the part where the boat guide showed us all how to get rid of the mosquitoes on the boat. He told everyone to raise their hands above their head and wave them. For some reason, Maisy thought that was pretty funny. Melanie also thought the boat ride was the best part of the trip. I just wish that the boat would go faster. We went upstream as it was getting dark then as we cam down, they had a light show on the sides of the cliffs. The light show was quite amateur and it went on too long but it was beautiful.

Two of the mornings I took Amina and Felicia into the park to watch sunrise. No one else was willing to get up that early. The first time we went we decided to hang out at double arch. We were behind some rocks so we didn't actually see the sun come up. It was still pretty though. The girls really liked climbing on double arch. The other time we got up a little earlier and hiked all the way back to landscape arch for sunrise. It was absolutely amazing. The sunrise was beautiful, the colors were fantastic and the whole experience was breathtaking. It reminded me a lot of the time a couple of years ago when Me, Amina, Grandpa Moffett and Jared got up at 2 or 3 in the morning so that we could go see the sunrise at the Grand Canyon.

Felicia's Turning Nine!

It's my b-day! My cousin Maddie got blessed today too. Yesterday I had my b-day party. I got Hannah Montana hand soap, a Hannah Montana shirt, and white shorts from Brenda and Ron. I got white flip-flops with black pock a dots, really cool sun glasses,and a pixie stick from Lizzy,Jordyn, Ben, and Aunt Bret. I also got Hannah Montana pins,a purple shirt,and a pink pair of pants from Grandma Janet. Money from Grandma Allred. Today I opened some more presents. I got a Hannah Montana swim raft,Hannah Montana goggles, a Hannah Montana beach ball, Heelys, and went on a scavenger hunt and found a giant stuffed dolphin. I've had a great b-day.
-Felicia

Bailey Bash 2008

The Baileys thew an awesome party at Hess Park on the 4th of July. They put a hose on top of the death slide then they put a slip and slide at the bottom. Here are some of the pictures from the best waterslide ever made. We all had a blast. Thank you Ron, Brenda and Luke!

Felicia flying off the water slide slip 'n' slide before she changed into her swimming suit.

Maisy needed a little help Ron is holding her hand.

Sadie went the fastest and furthest of all of us.

Maisy had no fear this time. A little out of control but no fear.

Felicia got at least 3 feet of air this time -- Gosh!

Amina was pretty hardcore once she got her swimming suit on.

Here I am going head first. The landing was hard and I didn't do it again.

Amina took Maisy down the first time for a splash into the kiddie pool.

Again, Sadie perfecting the art of slip 'n' slide sliding.

And here is one of the hosts of the party, Ron Bailey. He flew right past the kiddie pool landing area and onto the grass beyond.

Amina sliding and running past the kiddie pool.

4th of July Parade 2008

This year Maisy was the only munchkin that watched the parade with us. The other girls walked in the parade with Marcie West, our friend that is running for Utah State Legislature this year. They walked along the parade route handing out candy with her. They got very hot and tired but enjoyed the popularity that comes with being a candy giver.



Maisy liked filling her bag with candy. She also said that she liked the princesses, the horses and the mermaids. I don't think she realized that the mermaids were old men cross-dressing as mermaids.


We also saw our good friends Tim and Timary Sessions in the parade. They were promoting "Honk!", the play that they are in this year in Clinton.

The Baileys saved us a spot so we sat next to them. Luke always keeps us entertained.

After the parade, the Baileys did their traditional free snow cones in their front yard using the snow cone machine from the church. We had lots of fun.

The Garden

I decided that I was not going to do a garden this year because I was really busy, it was late in the year and I was worried that I wouldn't be able to keep up with it. Amina overheard me talking to Melanie about my decision and was quite upset. She told me "the prophet said we should plant a garden." Uhhggh! Plus, she wouldn't be able to eat her gypsy peppers if we didn't have a garden. That was all it took. So I got my butt in gear and planted a garden.

This year we have lots of different peppers, 4 different types of tomatoes, yellow straight-neck squash, spaghetti squash, cantaloupe, watermelon, giant sunflowers, blue lake bush beans, sweet basil and tomatillos.

I want to take pictures of it every other week to document its growth. That way the whole world can see how horribly we weed. Hopefully I can keep up with it better than I did last year. Thank you Amina. This garden space would be a massive weed patch if it weren't for your inspiration. -Ryan