Last Saturday while up in Flagstaff we got up at like 6 AM to make the 2 hour drive to Page to see Horseshoe Bend and Antelope Canyon. We picked up some Starbucks and hit the road. It was a long 2 hour drive because the speed limit is not as high as it is from Phoenix to Flagstaff but we kept ourselves entertained. None of us had ever done this before and all of us had just barely heard about it so we didn't know too much about what we were getting in to. We did choose to narrow the morning down to just lower antelope canyon because the tour is cheaper ($28/person). You do have to use a guided tour to enter the slot canyon. I was unable to reserve a tour because they were all booked and there was a long line to get into the parking lot for Antelope Canyon so I was worried when we got up there around 9:30 but we were able to get on a later tour so it worked out well. So if you want to go but the tours are all booked online, I would still go but just make sure you get there early. We hung out and I bought little Native American gifts for the girls since Antelope Canyon is on the Navajo nation. We started our tour a little over an hour later which included about a 15 minute walk in the sand to the ladder that goes 80-100 feet into the slot canyon. The stairs were super steep but it was definitely worth it. The slot canyon was amazing. We had a great tour guide named Savannah and despite some annoying French tourists, it was amazing. You walk through the canyon for about 45 minutes so it is a lot longer than you would think. There are constantly lots of people down there but you can still get amazing pictures and they do a good job of managing everyone. The pictures and video don't do it justice. It was soo cool and definitely worth the drive. After the tour we had to stop for some Navajo tacos and it definitely hit the spot. On our way out of Page we also stopped to see Horseshoe Bend. It is about a 1.5 mile roundtrip hike/walk but also totally worth it. I am not super afraid of heights but it was even a little freaky for me. There is no fence or anything like they have at the Grand Canyon. There were lots of tourists there but we still got some great pictures and I am so glad I got to see it. Below are some pictures and a little video from the go pro!
Our tour guide took this for us. I had no idea you could do a vertical panoramic picture.
this is called Rocky Mountain Sunrise.
This is Lady in the Win or Pocahontas. Also, that is definitely bird poop in the bottom right corner.
little archway
probably one of my favorite pictures, exiting the slot canyon
They are hungry but it was worth the wait. Dreaming about that fry bread!
walking out to see Horseshoe Bend
so insanely beautiful
Even he scared me a little getting so close to the edge
We had our annual cookie baking day this past weekend. First I had a 12 mile training run because if you are going to eat cookies all day, you better run first, haha. We have been doing this for a few years now and you can see my post about them last year here. We make double, triple, and quadruple batches of several different types of cookies. The classics include chocolate chip, gingerbread, snicker doodle, peanut butter kisses, and sugar. We also made chocolate crinkles because those have been popular and we tried out chocolate dipped shortbread this year and I think those turned out really good as well. We freeze the cookies and take them out for parties and what not as it gets closer to Christmas. I will be bringing some to my work party tomorrow! Everly and Teddy helped decorate some sugar cookies this year. Everly loves to pile on the sprinkles. So many cookies. We must have a problem because as we were making them we kept saying, "we might need to make more." We loooooove cookies and we look forward to this day every year! Also, this year there was even a spreadsheet and a cookie binder because we take this job seriously!
12 miles done! Now time for cookies!
We start buying ingredients weeks before to take advantage of all of the baking sales at the grocery store.
Two kitchen aid mixers are a must.
Chocolate crinkles and chocolate dipped shortbreads
unwrapped hershey kisses and sugar cookies waiting for frosting
family wreaths by Krystyn
And custom Santa hats also by Krystyn
yum!
don't worry, they ate those cookies.
snickerdoodle cookies
I am not even a huge gingerbread fan, but you just have to make them. They turned out really good, too.
Here is also a quick little video from our cookie baking!
Last weekend we were so excited to be able to attend a beautiful wedding in Palm Springs to see Justin's cousin Katie get married. Justin's cousin lives in LA but the rest of her family is in Utah and so we don't get to see them often. Palm Springs is only a 4 hour drive for us so we were really looking forward to seeing everyone. We hadn't seen most of them since being in Utah for a Dave Matthews concert 5 years ago before we were married or had any kids so it was definitely time to see everyone again. I worked a half day on Friday before we grabbed some Dutch Bros and hit the road a little after lunch. The girls were great and napped for part of the drive. We stayed at the same Choice Hotel as Justin's brother and sister thanks to their awesome family discount and his other two siblings were at a different choice property down the road. On Friday night we went for pizza and it ended up being really good. For me, Pizza always tends to be the easiest for large groups and Upper Crust in Palm Springs did not disappoint. Nothing fancy, just good hot pizza and pitchers of beer. Friday night everyone else was going to the estate where the wedding would be the next day to hang out for a pool party but that didn't start until 9:00 p.m. so with 2 littles and an early morning run planned we made it an early night. Thankfully our brother-in-law Mark came over to our hotel room at 5:00 AM so that Justin and I could run 7 miles together. It always feels good to get a long run in and Justin and I don't get to run together often so it was nice. Next time, I will pick a more simple route because it was dark and we only had 1 headlamp and missed a turn, but we got in our 7 so it is all good. Justin and I took the girls for a little outlet mall shopping and then I met my sister-in-laws at Sephora to get my makeup done for the wedding while the girls napped. The wedding was at 4:30 on Saturday afternoon at the Cree Estate. It was a really cool property with multiple pools and the bride and groom were staying there too which I imagine made everything a lot easier. The ceremony was short but fun and sweet and different. I love weddings so it is always fun to see everyone's different take on what they want their day to be like. During cocktail hour, Everly met a little boy that she played and danced with the rest of the night. Also during cocktail hour, Aspen took her first real step. It was just one step, and we didn't get it on video, but it was perfect. The dinner was really yummy. They had a buffet from a BBQ food truck and I am usually pretty picky about my beef but they carved it right there and it was sooooooooooooo perfect. Everly had lots of fun dancing the night away and there were even sparklers! It was a super fun wedding and we are so glad we got to go and see everyone. On Sunday morning we slept in a little and then grabbed coffee before heading back home. The girls had their Cardinals outfits on for the game and we even made a quick pit stop at our favorite Blythe spots (Starbucks and Teddy's donuts). We got home around lunch on Sunday so it was perfect even though we were all pretty exhausted (I took a 2 hour nap). Thank you to my mom and brother-in-law for feeding our pets (even though my mom skipped two of Oscar's meals, haha, he was pissed). No more trips for us until our 5 year anniversary trip to Portland in November which will be kid-free! Here are some pictures and a video from the weekend:
Big Dutch Bros = mandatory potty break in Quartzite
carb loading
runner's high
matching jammies
my sister let us use her portable high chair and Ev got a hotel mani/pedi
Thanks for the pic Berkley!
She was so independent all weekend long.
Aspen's signature smirk. (Ev was at the kid's table)
twinsies
The kids table disposable camera is filled with selfies of Everly. The kid next to her was her buddy all night long.
