UEA Long Weekend 2009

Before I get to our long weekend outing, I want to share another of Clay's poems. He composed it for the Reflections contest, themed Beauty is... He titled his poem,

Beauty is Something To Me


Beauty is in Mozart's home
Beauty is where Franklin roamed

And Autumn leaves
Falling down from the trees

A golden peach
Just out of reach

A great white shark
Swimming deep and dark

The tick tock of a clock
The ruby red feathers of a cock

Beauty is something to thee
Beauty is anything to me.


Last weekend we had a good fishing trip to Maple Lake. Even Danny boy reeled one in.
We went to Mesa Verde for our fall break. Clay really wanted to go and he was not disappointed as you can see from the photo. This is his first sight of the cliff dwellings of the ancient puebloan people. He was beside himself.
The rest of us had a good time too. This first place we visited is called Cliff Palace. It is amazing.

Then we went to Balcony House, which is a fun tour to go on because you get to climb ladders and go through a tunnel besides seeing more cool cliff dwellings.
The boys were very interested in what the guides had to say. They are at the edge of a kiva here. Later, at Spruce Tree House there was a kiva with a roof restored to it that Clay could have spent hours in. He was just so excited about everything.
All three earned their Jr Rangers. We love that program!
This is Danny's sandwich (sma-wich, as he pronounces it), pastrami, pickle, and honey. Yes, he even ate it all up.
Then we headed to 4 Corners Monument and all stood in different states for the photo. Many of you probably have a similar photo!
This is looking back at Monument Valley.
Dave and Eric with matching hats, overlooking the tip of Lake Powell in the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area. You can't see the lake, but it's down there, a long ways down there.
We ended with an evening in Goblin Valley, an awesome place we kept thinking would be even more fun with lots of cousins to chase--so keep it in mind sometime cousins! You can't find a better place to play Sardines. We thought this rock looked like a giant turtle.
We had fun taking silhouette pictures as evening came on.




This was almost a really great photo! Could've been better, but I still like it! Our vacation, on the other hand, could not have been much better. We had some good times in the car together and got lots of practice learning the ever important principle of laughing at life. These guys are the best!