Senior Dinner Dance

After Jeff and I returned from our weekend getaway, it was life as usual in the Southwick home - running boys to basketball practices and games, church activities, managing the household chores, finalizing business stuff, etc. Nothing really noteworthy...which I'm ok with! I feel bad that there isn't a ton to blog about (other than our mundane activities), but I am enjoying the lack of "busy"-ness. Tonight Amber had her senior dinner dance, which is a masquerade ball. I can't believe she's in her last semester of her senior year! Amber and her friend, Rachel, got ready at our house so I was able to snap a quick pic of them before they took off. Amber had a blast! I love her fun-loving personality. She can have a party wherever she's at. I think she'll have a memorable final semester!

Moab: Day 3 - Our 2nd Anniversary

Today marks two years of being married to my best friend, my constant anchor in the storms of life, my biggest support, and my eternal love. Jeff is my strength, my heart, my soul, my everything. He is strong where I am weak. He is patient when I struggle with the emotions of life. He is kind and caring when I need to know I am loved. He is my perfect match. I would love to say that these past two years have been completely blissful, but I can't; still, Jeff makes it all worth it. I feel privileged to journey through life with him. We pick each other up when we stumble through the potholes and pitfalls of blending this family. I can't say enough of how lucky I feel to be married to Jeff. I love him more than words can ever express. Year #2 was better than year #1...and year #3 will be even better!

After we checked out of our hotel, we headed back to the Arches to see a few more before heading home. I am still in awe of the beauty and grandeur of this place. It is not the typical scenery I enjoy (I usually like lush green vistas or beach scenes), but there is something simply amazing at these rock creations. 

Park Avenue

Sheep Rock

The Three Gossips

Balanced Rock

Balanced Rock

North Window

View from North Window

South Window

Turret Arch

View of North and South Windows

Double Arch

Panorama Point

Fiery Furnace

Before leaving the park, we toasted to the two years we've been married...and for the hopes of the new year coming up. It was the perfect second anniversary weekend!

Moab: Day 2

Today, after attending local church services, we decided to give our sore muscles (and joints...Jeff's poor knee) a break from hiking in the Arches and instead chose to drive a scenic dirt road along the Colorado River. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the Honda Pilot traversed the roads. I have to admit I had my doubts, especially when there were trail warnings that indicated rough roads, but it wasn't too bad and definitely worth the drive! On our way to the trail, we stopped to look at more petroglyphs and even some ancient dinosaur tracks! It was really cool to see those up close..and not in a museum!

Once we hit the dirt road, we sat back and enjoyed the bumpy, breathtaking drive. Here are just a few shots from the trip:

There were a ton of these cool rock formations along the trail. I called this area "little Mars". I guess I thought it could look like the Red Planet. 

After our drive, we headed back to the hotel where we got some pizza and enjoyed watching the NFC and AFC championship football games. It was a nice relaxing day! I know we may not have done much today, but I loved it. I simply love being with Jeff and away from responsibilities. There aren't many times we get away...just the two of us. I cherish these weekends!

Moab: Day 1

Yesterday Jeff and I took off for the weekend. Monday (19th) will be our 2nd anniversary. Can you believe it?! In any case, we decided to get away to celebrate. Seeing as we live in Utah, having an anniversary in January limits some of the close warmer, sunny vacation spots, but Moab sounded fun...and just a tad warmer. I've only been to Moab once and it was just a brief stop on our way to Manti during a Young Women's trip when I was a teenager. Jeff has been here many times and was excited to show me around...especially Arches National Park. That is where we started (and ended) our weekend. It was breathtaking! The magnitude and simple beauty of God's creations never cease to amaze me.

We arrived at the park at about 8:30 a.m. and headed straight to Delicate Arch. This is probably the most iconic, most photographed, most talked about arch in the park so it was only fitting that we started our day there. It is a bit of a hike to get there, but the scenery is unique and beautiful. We stopped at the little ranch house that was built in the late 1800s by a man named Wolfe. He traveled to this region after the Civil War and settled here with his son. Can you imagine living so close to Delicate Arch and essentially having it all to yourself? The little ranch house wasn't much, but I doubt he stayed in the house long with so much to explore outside. We also saw some petroglyphs along the trail. This area was densely populated with Native American tribes, as evidenced by this rock art. I think it is extremely intriguing to know that throughout history people felt the need to record their lives. They may not have been taking "selfies", but they were making small etchings of their history and their way of life.

The trail was easy to follow. It started off as a dirt trail, but eventually the trail traversed the red rock that is native to this area. To help hikers, cairns were placed to indicate where the trail was. I thought that was a pretty interesting, natural way to mark the trail.

As we approached the arch, there was another smaller arch on the hillside where we were hiking. Jeff encouraged me to climb up the small hillside, which is something I don't normally do...I'm one of those people who adhere to the safety of the trail, but I'm glad I did. Unbeknownst to me, once we climbed up to this arch we had a perfect view of Delicate Arch. It was amazing! I wish there were more appropriate words to describe the grandeur of this rainbow shaped rock, but "amazing" is all I can come up with. Jeff and I snapped a quick picture then noticed that the small group of people who were at the arch were leaving so we quickly made our way to the arch to take advantage of the solitude. We had the arch to ourselves for about 10-15 minutes! That is unheard of! It was surreal to stand under this huge rock edifice and contemplate its creation. There is a serene sense of humility that accompanies this natural wonder. How could you not feel humbled to know that the same God that created these majestic wonders also created you? If He could take so much time to carefully plan out this rock's life - shaping and molding it into something wonderful and beautiful, what makes us think that he wouldn't do the same for us? I loved being there. I loved sharing that with Jeff. I loved that this was the first arch I saw in the park. It was the perfect way to start our anniversary weekend!

This was the small arch we hiked up to get the first glimpse of Delicate Arch.

Jeff and I taking a selfie from the small arch with Delicate Arch in the background.

Jeff taking a picture of me under the arch.

Me taking a picture of Jeff in the shadow of the arch. (I wasn't brave enough to traverse the high rock face to get over there.)

This is a shot of the small arch from Delicate Arch.

After we hiked back to the car, we spent the rest of the day hiking back to other arches around the park. Some hikes were easy and short; some hikes were a little longer and icier. Because it was January, there were some areas that the snow had partially melted with sun exposure but then froze because of the cold evening temperatures. I almost fell a couple of times but luckily I have a strong, sure-footed husband. It was such a great day! The sun was out. The weather wasn't too cold...and I was sharing it all with my best friend!

Trail leading to Sand Dune Arch.

Sand Dune Arch

Skyline Arch

Skyline Arch - this arch actually broke in the 70s! You can see a bit of the massive rocks on the canyon floor.

Skyline Arch from the other side.

Tunnel Arch

Pine Tree Arch - I liked this smaller, more secluded arch.

Landscape Arch

View from Broken Arch

Broken Arch

After about 6 hours of hiking to various arches, we decided to call it a day. We headed back to Moab where we cleaned up, went out to dinner, then relaxed at the hotel. Great first day!