A Memorial Day to Remember

Memorial Day is always a huge treat for me and my family. I look forward to it every year. In fact, this year, I thought we couldn't go and I cried. Literally cried. 

My mom's whole side of the family gets together for one big camping weekend somewhere in Southern Utah, this year was in Kodachrome Basin. It was a tradition started by my great grandparents who are now great great grandparents. This includes my great aunts and uncles, my aunts and uncles, my first cousins, my second cousins and my third cousins, (not sure what Nicole and Tyler and Porter are exactly in relation) my parents, and my brothers. I love this family. Despite it sounding like we would hardly know each other, we are all so close and we LOVE spending time with everyone. Our family is awesome! (Pics are thanks to family members Dennis and Mike!)

Our campsite

My dad and bros spent one night riding their longboards down insanely steep sandstone

This weekend is a sort of ritual. In fact, it has come to be known as the rite of passage for new members entering our family in marriage. Jon had to go through it the first year of our marriage and he swears that he almost died trying to prove that he could keep up with the adventurous monkey boys of the clan. We hike, hike, and hike some more. And we're not talking about a little jaunt up some pretty nature walk. We're talking about clambering up and down slot canyons with 15 foot drops and 800 foot ascents at 70 degree inclines. My family has been blessed with monkey abilities. Oh, and did I mention that we do this all with children. Yep. Our most recent hike had some serious 12 - 15 foot overhanging drops and our crazy family packed two two-year olds and two couple-of-months old babies and little Addie down this slot canyon. Oh, and Jon came too...with his broken ribs because he's crazy and didn't want to get left out. We rock.

The hike in

One of the large drops

Hanging out in the tight slot canyon

Notice the car? In the 1950s a couple drove off the cliff and their car was wedged here. After authorities removed the bodies, they left the car and built up a bridge over the top of it. You can still see the original tires and everything. 

The miserable hike out...beyond steep and full of sliding rocks and dirt. You can see a person on the far right side to give perspective. 

Everyone happy to be to the top!

This was our first attempt at camping with Addie and despite being pampered by a trailer, there were some fairly awful times. We have learned quite a bit for our next camping trip:

1. Addie is afraid of heights. The kind that induces fits of screaming hysterics. Those 12-15 foot drops just sent her over the top...I have never seen her so frantic. Although she did get better with them once she learned to trust me, despite being in the backpack. Holding her hand while she was in the backpack did wonders.

We are about to descend into the slot canyon and Addie didn't like the look of the 200 foot drop to the bottom. Holding hands to give comfort. 

2. Trailers have heaters that can run off of battery power. We did not know this the first night and we froze. Poor Addie got sick because of the cold on her first night.

3. The trailer battery must be FULLY charged in order for the pilot light to kick on in the heater. Night two, the heater stopped working and since we are not trailer gurus, we didn't know how to fix it although we tried everything we could think of. That night it was in the 30s. Addie became even more sick and ended up sleeping on my chest from 5 -9am so that she could breathe through her snotty nose and so that she could be warmer.

4. It is worth any amount of money to have a warm baby. That includes finding and getting warm water for bottles, microwaves or stoves to heat food, and packing baby gloves.

5. There is no such thing as too much sunscreen for a baby.

6. Our baby hiking backpack is incredibly awesome. I highly recommend the Snugli Cross Terrain. I packed Addie for 4-5 hours in that crazy canyon and up the steep walls too. The sorest things were my legs because I was out of shape, not my shoulders or my back. Thank goodness. (She wouldn't let anyone else carry her, or else I would have passed her off.)

7. Don't let your husband go hiking with broken ribs, even if he really REALLY wants to. Jon is still sore from our intense slot canyon hike.

7. Hippie hikers stink. We were passed by a group of hippie hikers who were going on a three-day journey down the same slot canyon. They had next to nothing to deal with the freezing weather at night, didn't know where they would get water, the girls were wearing pioneer skirts, and one girl was bare footed--no shoes at all as she walked down the canyon layered with sharp pebbles. Her feet were like little hobbit feet!

Unfortunately, we missed out on a great hike on Monday through a river because Addie was running a fever, Jon was ultra sore, and I had an allergy attack. But Memorial Day is always awesome no matter what happens because the people are so awesome. We had delicious food, good stories, and fun hanging out in our camping chairs kicking soccer balls at each other. We're so glad we could go so that we could see Brian and Kim to say goodbye before they head off on their East Coast adventure and it was so wonderful to see all the family who lives far away who traveled long distances to get there! We can't wait till the next Memorial Day and next time, we'll be more prepared!