This is how Cole's eye looked by Wednesday! Thankfully he could wear sunglasses most of the time - you just don't realize how much people stare.
Little Indian Alli! She said, "AWWWW!" when I put it on! How cute!
Our first stop was definitely the shops. I was going crazy with the kids counting their money every few minutes and asking questions about how much such and such was or how many of such and such they could buy! We did a thorough search of all the stores before they all figured out what they wanted! I was so grateful to the sweet women who worked the shops. Here come my kids, piggy banks full of change to count, and those women didn't ever act annoyed at all. In fact, the opposite, they were so encouraging and praised the kids repeatedly for working so hard to buy their special things. It made it so much more special for the kids. It took about an hour and a half, all in all. It was a good thing we didn't have an agenda or a time table for the day! I was surprised Cole was so patient with them - he usually does good for a while and then, BAM, he is DONE! But not that day! They bought some really neat things, I was really proud of them!
Brock is such a good sport! He was the only one I could get to stop and let me dress them up! I loved the little headband wigs - no one else did though, so we left them on the rack!The Hat Show
Love the belly sticking out! 
An older lady in the shop said, "How much will it cost you for all those hats?" I replied, "Oh, I'm not going to buy them, but if we take pictures of them with the hats on, in 20 years, they won't remember that we actually never bought them!" She laughed and laughed and laughed. Even when we saw her a few hours later, she laughed again!
Right where these two turkeys belong!
Finally done shopping! Note the brown sacks in hand!
Then finally, after all that shopping, it was off to Bryce. We hopped on the shuttle and realized we had no clue what we were doing! We have an annual National Parks pass, so we didn't get a little pamphlet about the hikes and we had NO IDEA Bryce was so huge! We were used to our quaint little Zions! Well, we rode the shuttle around for a while, looking for somewhere that was shaded and wasn't completely absorbed with tourists and finally found a spot. Good thing too, because we were all STARVING at that point and I was tired of hauling around a container of cut watermelon!
Showing off one of their purchases! Brandon got a shark tooth which we hung on a piece of twine and put around his neck. Kaitlin got a butterfly necklace that was carved out of stone.
Alli was also showing off...a rock she found on the ground! Okay, and for the record - No, obviously we aren't from New York! You would not believe how many people asked us that question! I only put her in this shirt because it was one that I wouldn't have cared about if it had gotten ruined! Next time I'll save myself the aggravation of answering that question and put her in something else!
And there it is...the token picture that proves that I was, in fact, present during this vacation! Take a good long look because it is the only one you'll see of me! (Kaitlin took this picture with my semi-complicated camera! That's why Cole's head is cut off..lol!)
My cuties looking over the edge on the Rim Trail.
The scenery really is beautiful, but just not what we imagined. We LOVE Zions and will be a lot more grateful from now on for Zion's shade trees, beautiful waterfalls and cooler temps! We also love the shuttle at Zions. It is quick and easy and feels like an adventure; Bryce's stops were so spread out and the trips on the bus were long and hot. It also doesn't have as many hikes suitable for kids. Most of them were very long or steep and without shade protection. We didn't stay very long. The kids hiked a part of a trail that I "just wasn't feelin'!" And then we cut our own trail through some of the woods. That was more fun than anything. After that, we headed over to our favorite trail, "Mossy Cave."
Allison got a quick nap!
While we were cutting our own trail, we saw a few deer. Most were doe, but we did see one buck! They were so close, closer than the kids have ever seen them before. It was really neat!
Waiting for the shuttle to take us out of Bryce!
At the museum at the Visitor's Center
Enjoying the air conditioner and drinking fountain! After this trip, I have become much more conscious of refilling my water mug rather than drinking from water bottles. I was amazed at the facts about how much fuel, etc are used to make and ship water bottles.
And finally, our favorite hike! The kids and I did this hike last year without Cole. It is a little rough, but it follows the river and so it feels cooler and like such an adventure.
Cole and Allison! She loves this thing. It is the MOBY wrap. I bought it at Target when she was born and I don't know what I'd do without it. I used it all the time when she was a baby and now, even at 18 months, we continue to use it a lot. As soon as we put her in it, she kicks her legs and sings and just has a "jolly ol' time!" She loves sitting this way because she can see all the hikers and tell them all her stories! 
Last year, we all played in the river, so this was the thing the kids were the most excited about. We all, well, not Cole and his mini-me Brandon, but Brock, Kaitlin and I took off our shoes and plunged in. The first thing I noticed was...Wow, it's cold. I looked up river and the kids were already in, so I figured it wasn't bothering them. But then, I stepped into the current and realized it was FAST. It's not very deep, so I wasn't worried about them drowing, but I was worried about their shoes. Last year, Kaitlin lost her flip flop and Brock jumped out in the current to grab it just in time. I was not wanting to replay that adventure! No sooner had I thought these things, then I hear a scream! I dropped my camera and searched upstream, trying to figure out what was going on! I couldn't hear anything above the noise of the water, but Brock and Kaitlin were screaming frantically. Then I looked down and saw what the commotion was about! One of Kaitlin's flip flops was racing by, followed by one of Brock's! I grabbed them, but it was all I could do not to fall into the water. It was by sheer will-power alone that I didn't, since I had my new camera hanging around my neck! Feeling quite proud of myself for being the hero and rescuing the shoes, I started climbing out of the water, just in time to hear another scream and see two more flip flops fly by! They raced by way out of my reach and I didn't think there was any chance of catching them. Well, needless to say, I way underestimated my hubby! I see him running down the side of the bank, Alli and all! So I gathered up the kids and we took off after him, Kaitlin and Brock both with only one shoe! As we rounded the corner, this is what we saw...
...our hero daddy with not one, but both flip flops in hand. Somehow, he had raced downstream, ripped his shoes and socks off and jumped in the river barefoot to rescue the shoes. The kids were squealing with delight and were so proud of their daddy! Alli was pretty proud of herself too. She was yelling over and over and pointing to the shoes. She knew that she and daddy had done something pretty cool.
So after this, we decided we had been lucky enough times and shouldn't press it again. We told the kids not to go in the river again, excpet in the very shallow bank area. Well, at the end of the trail, I saw a spot that was super shallow and not moving as quick, so rather than cross the bridge like Cole, Kaitlin and Brandon had, Brock and I crossed under it. I showed Brock how to walk backward, thinking this would help keep his shoes on since the current would actually push the flip flop on his foot rather than rip it off. Well, I was wrong. With his last step onto the bank, he somehow lost that dang flip flop AGAIN. Cole once again came running down the bank. I told him we had definitely lost it this time and not to worry about it. He handed me Alli and took off once again. At this point in the river, it opens up pretty wide and starts moving pretty quickly down the canyon. Well, we searched for a while, but didn't see any sign of it. The whole time Allison was pointing to Brock's foot and yelling something like "Der, der, der!" I think she was trying to say there, like "there it is." Afterall, she WAS an integral part of the team that rescued the shoes the first time! She knew exactly what was going on! Well, long story short, about 10 minutes later, here comes Cole...yes, with the shoe. I don't know how he did it! This time he didn't even take off his shoes. Apparently it got caught under a branch and he saw it. Phew! Well, we have had more than our fair share of luck with shoes on that river and next time, I don't think we'll chance it! Haha!
Here's what we thought Brock was going to have to look like...until daddy found the missing shoe!
After that hike, we called it a day and headed back to the house in Panguitch. I put dinner in the oven to cook and we headed over to the park to play and have a game of kickball! Allison had so much fun being able to run around and yell! 
This was her first time on a big swing by herself, Cole's idea, not mine. She did really good for a really long time, but then...the inevitable happened and she let go! Yes, she did a complete flip and landed right on her face in the woodchips! She was traumatized for a bit, but then was just fine! 
After a few innings of kickball, we headed home for dinner and a movie! We were all completely wiped out after a great day of fun!
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