Brian Head with the Christensens

Last week we spent the week at Brian Head with the Christensens. J Dale and Linda had rented a nice cabin for us all to stay in. I won't lie, I was a little leery about spending an entire week away from home with a toddler and having her sleeping in the same room as us (if you have kids, you know how that is!) but it turned out pretty great. We had a fun time and were able to see some neat things. Kenzie was usually the earliest riser of the bunch though, so there was no sleeping in. :)

I love this picture....This is Kenzie at the Brigham Young house in St. George. We did have to leave the tour early because she was so excited about the old piano they had there that once we moved to the next room, she took off back to the room with the piano and was headed straight under the barrier ropes to go play us a tune. We caught her just in time, but then it was kicking and screaming and a major fit, so we headed out the back door to not disturb the rest of the tour. I think we need to get our own piano!
We spent a good part of a day at Cedar Breaks. The scenery is amazing. We had a park ranger give us a little chat about the geology of the area and then because his real expertise was Native Americans, we had him give us that speech. Very interesting.

We also had a nice hike around Alpine Pond while we were at Cedar Breaks. Great hike!
Another day, we went to Yankee Meadow Reservoir, close to Parowan and had a picnic and fished and then drove out to Parowan gap to see the petroglyphs and dinosaur tracks that are out there. When I went to the Visitor's Bureau, the lady there was very excited to tell me about the dinosaur tracks and that they were something special and "extra". I felt like I was privy to a great secret! They are totally unmarked, so thankfully when we got there, there was also a huge scout troop (I me so big they were hauling around their own porta-potties) just arriving. Their leader said we could tag along with them, so we did and actually got to see dinosaur foot prints. Who knew Parowan, Utah had so much to offer?! :)

Other events: We saw Les Miserables at Tuachan. Amazing!, we saw part of the Greenshow at the Shakespearean Festival until it got rained out, we hiked in Bryce Canyon, and attended church in a small branch in Panguitch Lake. I also went with my sister-in-law Christi to the Wild Flower Festival at Cedar Breaks (a hike with a guide telling about the vegetation--I learned a ton) and then to a great little quilt shop.
To finish this long post, here is another favorite shot of Kenzie. This was behind the cabin. She loved to be outside. Thanks to the aunts and cousins who constantly chased her and indulged her by taking here where she wanted to go!