zion

When through the woods and forest glades I wander
And hear the birds sing sweetly in the trees,
When I look down from lofty mountain grandeur,
And hear the brook and feel the gentle breeze:

Then sings my soul, my Savior God, to thee:
How great thou art! 

There are just no words to accurately describe Zion National Park. But I can try:

Majestic. Grand. Breathtaking. Intimidating. Exalted.

We were there a few short hours but still got to take it all in. We're grateful our friends Sarah and Brandon Jade and their two kids were our tour guides. When we first arrived, we were following the Jade's car through the entrance, but we didn't see them turn right into the visitor's center. So we continued forward. For about an hour and a half. It was a beautiful, scenic drive--we basically made it halfway to the Grand Canyon, when we realized maybe they were back in the canyon. Anyway, we found them, and hopped on the tour bus which took us into the park where vehicles couldn't drive through. We stopped at the very end and saw some deer, and then hopped back on to our stop at the Emerald Pools. I think we made it to the second pool and were there maybe ten minutes when we realized the light was fading so we hurried back down. I had Everly in a wrap and Franco carried Clarke in the Ergo carrier. The weather was perfect. We didn't even need any jackets which was impressive for November in Utah. I wish we would have had more light, as the winter sun set around 5:45pm. But I couldn't have asked for a smoother hike and first experience. I honestly had no idea how it was going to be--so glad to have the Jade's and actually Shantel Andersen gave me some tips as she and her family had visited a few weeks earlier.

september in utah.

last night thunder rolled so loudly through our open window that it woke us all abruptly from our sleep. then a sound like a million tiny metal balls hitting the sidewalk began soon after, and a clean, crisp whiff breezed through the screen. bursts of light every five seconds made me wish i was witnessing nature's electrifying show, but instead franco and i, grinning in the dark, leapt out of our bed and cuddled up next to our 2 1/2 year old son clarke on his mat on the floor. for a good fifteen minutes clarke commented during his first real thunderstorm: "it's daaaark outside."  "whoa, did you see that? that was an orange light!" "boooooooom!" were some of his endearing descriptions. all the while in my mind, i was singing along with julie andrews, "raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens..."

+ real thunderstorms like i hadn't experienced in years.
+ morning walks around a nearby lake and observing the ducks.
+ the sound of children playing happily while catching up with life-long friends.
+ majestic "big piles of  dirt" (what clarke calls mountains) showing patches of yellow, orange, and red.
+ lengthy and animated conversations over empty plates after dinner with family.
+ waking up before the world and nursing everly and feeling like we're closer than we were when i carried
   her a mere few months before.
+ walking out of one of the most sacred buildings on earth hand in hand with my husband and eternal partner, franco, rejuvenated spiritually and a thousand times more thankful i have him by my side.
+ listening to the quiet breathing of my slumbering family while i stay up way past my bedtime to write this post.

these are a few of my favorite things.