More Zion National Park

Good Buddies - Ben, Richard, and Thomas - they all had a good time on the hike down from Emerald Pools. Thomas was so cute - he calls me "Anshill" - Aunt Jill.

The Upper Emerald Pool

At the Upper Emerald Pool we all took a break and the kids played in the water - which was pretty cold. The Upper Pool is in a little cove sourrounded by beautiful red cliff walls. The accoustics are fantastic and everyone talks quietly because you can hear what everyone says. It is rather serene....except when Ben is there. Ben was putting his hands in the water and I guess he got really cold because he yelled across the pool to Mike, "My hands are cold!" He repeated it several times and each yell became more and more shrill until he was frantically flapping his hands. Everyone stopped and looked - how could they not - Ben had unwittingly become the center of everyone's attention. Mike yelled back at Ben the most obvious response, "WELL QUIT PUTTING YOUR HANDS IN THE WATER!" Ben became hysterical, "I wanna go home, I wanna go home, I wanna go home!" So, I decided to claim Ben at that point (just a little embarrased) and hurried him away from everyone so they could enjoy their lunch. Emotions escalated quickly with my little man.

Hiking at Emerald Pools

On our first day at Zion National Park we hiked (with the kids) to the Emerald Pools - and we did the full 3 miles with them. Gabe lasted most of the way til the end and Mike walked down a couple of switchbacks with Gabe bobbing around in his arms - fully asleep.

All these cute cousins! I couldn't get enough photos - we only took about 400 or so. Zion is the perfect backdrop too.

Here is Ben giving me his sour face - stop taking my picture!! I was taking away precious playtime!

Zion National Park Family Reunion

Stacey and Maggie at the entrance to Zion's National Park

Cute Milo!

All those boys!


Cute little Maggie - Ben thought she was really funny.

Sweet little Lilly! I love this picture, it makes me want to snuggle her!

Hello Family and Friends!

So, I am going to do a blog about what is happening with the Pennsylvania Fairchild family.

We have been having a great time lately. We were in St. George and Las Vegas on Oct 11th through Oct 20th. The boys did pretty well on our flight from PA to NV. Gabe only screamed for about 20 minutes right before he fell asleep and then 15 minutes later, the plane landed. Oh well. At least he slept a little bit. Ben is a seasoned flier. He has been on more flights in 4 1/2 years than I did in my first 20 years of life.

When we got to NV we dropped off our bags at Mom and Dad's then drove 2 hours to St. George. We were exhausted by the time we got to St. George. We stayed in Las Palmas in a very nice condo - thanks to Mom and Dad. St. George was a lot of fun. The kids had a great time. We (as in all the boys except for Gabe) went to the Fiesta Family Fun Center on Friday. The boys rode on bumperboats in the water, go carts, played video games and had a blast. Ben said it was a "dast" which apparently is way better than a blast. We also went to Snow Canyon and visited the Sand Dunes. The munchkins had a great time rolling around in the sand. It was beautiful (not the sand in the underwear and diapers though).

On Sunday Dad, Mike, Ben, Gabe, and I went to Pine Valley, Utah for church. It is about 30 minutes north of St. George. We attended church at the oldest standing church house in the LDS church - one of my great great great (who knows how many greats) grandfather Snow was the first bishop of the ward. Pine Valley is amazing. Mike wants to retire there. It is a little strange though because the only children that live there are the ones that visit their grandparents. It is like a reverse "Children of the Corn" - only old people. Just kidding - sort of.

The rest of our week was spend in Henderson at Mom and Dad's house. We played in the pool, did a little sight seeing, had dental appointments, played lots of Wii. One night Mike and I went into Vegas and stayed at the Venetian. The room was very nice. Three TV's in a one bedroom suite. We didn't really walk around the strip much... since we have done that many times. Instead, we went out to a nice restaurant and then just hung out in the room watching TV in the living room, bedroom, and bathroom. It was actually a lot of fun. We also got to see Amber and Ethan - went for a hike in Red Rock Canyon. Beautiful of course. Amber made us an awesome Korean dinner - enough food to feed a small Korean village or my brother Ethan.

We had a great time in Nevada and Utah. We miss family ALOT! But, I am glad we are here for the time. We are looking forward to staying home for a little while and enjoying the beautiful fall weather.

Love you all. Come and visit us if you can!! I'll do my best to update on a regular basis. Keep your fingers crossed.