Bryce Canyon National Park

Whew!! I finally got a bunch of our vacation to Brydon Canyon uploaded. The computer and I have not be getting along but I did have a ton of pictures to upload!

Right after school got out, we took off for Utah's Bryce Canyon National Park to go on a remote backpacking trip for our family vacation this year.  We had an interesting drive.  We have very mixed feelings about New Mexico.  My brother and his wife live there and we loved seeing them!  But after our visit we found ourselves in a sand storm for 45 minutes.  Not a pleasant experience and it did make us contemplate why in the world anyone lives in the middle of nowhere New Mexico!  Most definitely worse than Wyoming,  But we made it safe and sound.

Saturday night we met up with both our Dads at a regular camping spot outside the park.  It was FREEZING!!  When we left Texas it was 100 degrees.  It was not 100 degrees in Utah.  But we were able to build a fire and Caleb roasted marshmellows.  We then tried to sleep in the frigid cold to begin our hike the next day.

Bryce Canyon is so beautiful!  And it was so fun to just be together as a family and have our Dads with us.  Caleb was so excited for some Grandpa time.  Did I mention that it was still FREEZING outside!

Our hike to base camp as about 1 1/2 miles at a 1000 foot drop in elevation.  We were pretty loaded!  (Learned that we packed way more food then we needed!)  Caleb even had his backpack and we had to carry the bear proof food container, in case of bears.  Caleb did great and we made it down pretty easily.  We made base camp at Yovimpa Point.

Our little base camp!  We had hoped to be able pitch tents in multiple areas throughout the trail but the lack of water kept us at Yovimpa Point.  We had a leave no trace policy.  Which meant no fires, a nice hole to do your business, no trash cans, and a stream to collect water from.  This was Caleb and I's first time remote backpacking.  I think we did pretty well!  It was a lot of fun, we had great Mountain House meals to eat, a log provided decsent comfort for a girl doing her business, and the area was so beautiful.  Only problem, it as FREEZING!  Fortunately the afternoons did warm up but the 17 degrees at night were a bit rough for those of us that like the warm weather and did not have cold weather sleeping bags.  But it was a great way to enjoy nature, unplug from life, and really spend some quality family time together.  It did make the freezing worth it!

Caleb's Mountain

Everyday Caleb wanted to climb this "mountain" and throw rocks from the top.  He loved it up there.  If you look carefully in the first picture above you can see Caleb on Grandpa Mannings' shoulders.  He said he was the "King of the Mountain!".  I did not ever make it to the very top.  There are some things moms just don't need to see.  And watching your son stand on the edge of a very, very high cliff with lose rocks is one of those things.  Dads and Grandpas can do that kind of stuff.

Caleb sure did love having so much Grandpa time!  He had there full attention for about 5 days in the wilderness, doing boy stuff.  He was in heaven!  He is lucky to have such amazing grandpas and it was so fun to hang out with them.

Remote backpacking is most definitely a great way to just have good family time.  We made some great memories, had some heartfelt talks, and just enjoyed being with each and in nature.  It was truly a "Family Vacation".

Boy Heaven!

He loved getting more and more dirty everyday!  I think a cloud of dust followed him everywhere he went.  I tried to get a photo every day of the filthy boy but I did get these two shots.

Grass and Grasshoppers!  We found this beautiful green meadow with a stream running through it.  It was a great place to rest and play.

                   

Caleb was a great hiker.  He hiked to our camp spot.  Hiked up his mountain every day.  And we went on about a 10 mile hike one day.  (It was a great 10 miler with a small break for pizza and icecream in the middle!)  He was amazing!  Dad did have to help him out every once in a while, but he did the best he could.  He never cried or complained.   He just loved being outside.

Throwing rocks was a huge part of our entertainment.  Caleb threw rocks everywhere he went.  Can you see the flying rock in my pretty landscape picture on the right?  One night ALL the boys had a rock throwing contest.   There were moments that it was funny to be the only girl on the trip.  I did not find rock throwing as entertaining but it was fun to watch and cheer for them.

Nature's Beauty

We really did get to see so much natural beauty.  Utah is a beautiful state and Bryce Canyon is breathtaking.

 

 

See proof that it was FREEZING!

We hiked into the Canyon Sunday morning and left Wednesday afternoon.  The hike out was a bit tough.  Caleb was worn out!  The 1 1/2 miles out climbing 1000 ft was a bit difficult.  We took many stops and then with a lot of "The Ants Going Marching" and "This Old Man' and any other marching, sillly songs Mom could come up with, we made it!

We completed our first family remote backpacking trip with the grandpas! 

It was totally worth it!

Maybe if we are lucky this will become a family tradition.  Who knows where we will get to go next year?

Kindergarten Graduation!

Wow!  It has been a crazy few weeks.  Work, finishing school, going on vacation, and recovering from vacation have been keeping us busy.  I have all sorts of posts to catch up on.

The last few weeks of school I became a long-term substitute for a teacher on maternity leave at Caleb's school.  I loved getting to teach and being with students and amazing teachers again, but it was crazy to be back working.  Although I loved it, it just doesn't feel like the time to go back to work yet.  I am so glad I did it though.  I loved going to school with Caleb everyday and it will really help me re-certify next year.   

The last few weeks of school are always crazy with end of year field trips, parties, field day, and graduations.  I can't believe my baby has graduated from Kindergarten!

The Kindergarten teachers hosted a cute little awards ceremony.  We were of course the proud parents! He looks so big and just keeps getting so grown up.

We had a great Kindergarten experience in the end, after a rough beginning.  I love the school Caleb is at and we are crossing our fingers we will be able to attend next year.

It was funny to listen to what all the kiddos wanted to be when they grew up.  Naturally there were doctors, teachers, and cowboys but there were also some fun ideas like being a pizza delivery boy, working at 7-11, and to work at Sonic.  I love Kindergartners!  

Caleb still wants to be a Veterinarian when he grows up.

We loved Ms. Folwell!  She was the cutest teacher and we are so grateful for her.

Caleb also loved being in the same class as his best friend Brynn.

They had so much fun, learned so much, and I can't believe they will be First Graders!

We are so proud of you, Caleb!!!

Our Adoption Blog & Pass Along Cards

We have almost reached our one year mark of being officially able to adopt and advertising ourselves. As I mentioned before, adoption is a journey and for us has particularly been one of learning to open yourself up to everyone. We recently reached a new milestone, and are ready for a new game plan.  I recently finished a new ADOPTION BLOG!  Blogs and social networks are a great way to get free advertising.  Blogs are easy web pages to share.  This blog has mainly the same information that our LDS Family Services Profile does, but with a little more info and an easier URL to share. So feel free to check out the new blog and share it as much as possible.

A Manning Miracle

If you notice any mistakes or have any input.  Please let me know.  Obviously I am a Teacher married to a Public Health Science guy.  Advertising is not our strong suit!

I also made these business cards.  They contain information about our new blog and email address where we can be contacted.  Click on the printable version and you can print out 10 on a page.  I just print them on card stock, cut them out, and carry them around.  I have left them at Caleb's school, with family members, with Bishops, at my gym, and pretty much wherever I can.  Some people say to leave them on tables at restaurants and so forth.  So if you are feeling bold, print a bunch out and pass them out to whoever you want.  Or they might just be handy if you happen to meet someone who knows of a situation that may help our family and it is a way to share our info quickly and easily. 

Click here for a printable version

Recently, Brydon's boss has bet Brydon that we will have orders for a new location by December.  We are excited to find out if he is correct or not.  However, we believe we may be shipped overseas next.  If that happens then we enter an unknown with adoption.  Even if we move within the states, switching our information to the new state costs hundreds of dollars.  So we have felt the need to do all that we possibly can to find our baby before we need to re-evaluate what is best for our family and what the Lord has in store for us regarding adoption.   
So here's to going all out and feeling like we have done all that we can!
As always, we are so grateful for every one's thoughts, prayers, support, and help!  We could not do this without the love we have felt. 
Thank you!