back in the groove.

we went to Sedona a couple weeks ago.  on our way there, I was trying to remember back to the last time we had been down that-a-way.  I almost fell over when I realized it was last September already, shortly before Finley was born.  come to think of it, it was when we went to pick apples at West Fork.  or I should say, when Gary picked apples. me, I just kind of stood around and cheered Gary on, adding my two cents every now and then like hey! do you see those apples over there? and look! there are more over here! because at that point in the pregnancy I was just plum too rotund to start shinnying up some tree.

although wouldn't that make a great headline?  "nine month pregnant woman falls out of tree while picking apples leaving behind a husband and nine other children a crater the size of Texas."  another Grand Canyon!  sweet!        

somehow October and November slipped right on by.  and then came December and the holiday rush and yeah, good luck finding an open weekend.  it wasn't until the beginning of January that we finally came across a Saturday where nothing was going on, and so that morning I made an announcement: ATTENTION PEOPLE!  WE ARE GOING TO SEDONA TODAY!  ALL CAPS.  there was one slight hitch though: since the two child backpack carrier thingamajigs we had totally fell apart last summer, and since I wasn't about to carry a kid in my arms while hiking, we had to first make a quick detour over to the used sporting goods store.  a couple backpacks later, we were back in business.  PHEW.

the photos you are about to see are a stark contrast to the ones I posted a couple days ago.  from snow-capped peaks to gorgeous red rocks.  it's no secret, I love the variety Arizona has to offer.  and so would you if you cough lived here cough.

after a quick parking lot style lunch, we hit the trail.  destination: Bell Rock.  I apologize in advance if this evokes any, you know, twinges of jealousy ;-)

of course, when you're hiking with a crew the size of ours, you're pretty much guaranteed to get a few comments thrown at you.  most, if not all, were positive.  like wow! are these all your kids? that's awesome!  one lady though, after exclaiming over how amazing we were to bring all these kids out hiking, quickly changed her tune once she thought we were out of earshot.  I'm almost certain I heard her tell her friend, "did you see that?  those people are crazy!"  from amazing to suddenly crazy.  comes with the territory I guess.  

Big Brother got a little tired after a while, but considering he's only three, he did great!

can't argue with this view:

              
it felt good to get back in the groove of hiking and exploring.  this time, I refuse to let four months go by before we head down there again!

-jessica