The Graves's do the Grand Canyon

We took our fist vacation of the summer this week,

and visted the Grand Canyon...and grand, it was.

I didn't have to worry too much about the boys

getting too close to the edge, because Dillon

worried enough for all of us. We named him our

personal GPS (Graves positioning system).

If we got too close to the edge, he let us know

...and he wasn't quiet about it.

There were plenty of places to have a picnic and look

over the rim. The boys had a great time jumping off of

rocks, and that was just fine with me.

We took this trail, and saw the foundations of some

Native American homes. It was great for Brayden

since it passed off one of his scout requirements.

The boys became "Junior Rangers" by completing the requirements

in their booklets from the visitor's center. We also attended a class

on the California Condor, and it was actually quite interesting.

My favorite part was "Angel's Window". The video at the end

is the view we had while standing at the edge of this formation.

We stayed at a cabin in Jacob Lake (about an hour from the

Grand Canyon) where my cousin Clarissa is working

for the summer. It was fun to see her. She seems like

she's having a great time...I miss those college days :o)

Until Clarissa started working there, and I looked at a map,

I had no idea we only live about 4 1/2 hours away from the north rim.

The boys named their dad "The 8th wonder of the world",

but made sure that he knew how well known he wasn't.

They grow up so fast...

Dillon took this picture of Todd.

We spent the $80 for the National Parks pass,

so we're hoping to get to Canyonlands, Arches, Zion's,

Bryce Canyon, and possibly Mt. St. Helen's and

Mesa Verde within the next year.

We live within a 3 hour drive of the first four,

and we're only about 5-6 hours from Mesa Verde.

Hopefully we can do Mt. St. Helen's during our

trip to Washington in July.

Now if we could just buy a trailer...