Springtime in the Desert

Last weekend we finally hit the road.  We headed to Southern Utah for some much needed fun in the sun with family.  My hubby's family is big - 8 kids.  Even bigger now that everyone is married, with kids up the wazoo.  Almost everyone was able to go on this little adventure.

We spent time in Snow Canyon.  This is a regular stop for us.  The kids LOVE the orange sand dunes.

There are also great little hikes for kids.

Every year we take pictures of our heads peeking through this hole.  The following is evidence of the differences between the genders. 
 First off, our sweet, cooperative girls...

Next, their crazy brothers...

Dorks.

We also spent time at Sand Hollow where half my in-laws were camping. 
Can I just tell you how much I love the contrast of the orange sand against the blue water.

Of course, any time we are out in the wild, the boys are on the hunt for possible pet candidates.  This time they caught 1 lizard, 2 horny toads (one of them pictured below) and found one large snake.  We weren't sure what kind of snake it was so we left it alone.  Despite the begging, none of these animals came home with us.  Not after the last snake episode.

More pictures of Sand Hollow...

And my favorite...

We also spent a day at Zions National Park.

It was Free Admissions day, so the place was hoppin'. They no longer allow vehicles in the park, instead you have to park outside and shuttle in. Kind of tedious when you have a whole slew of kids in tow, but the scenery was worth it.

The hike up to the Emerald Pools was slow going with little ones.

But the views were spectacular.

 

About 30 seconds after the following photo was taken, this little guy fell in and things got pretty rough (wet, tired etc.).  This was the farthest point in the hike.

But we made it.  All 2.6 miles of it.  No small miracle.

One pro to the no cars allowed rule, you can stand smack dab in the middle of the road without having to worry about getting plowed down.

We had such a good time, nobody wanted to come home.