Fun in Flag

After spending some time in Mesa, we headed on up to Flagstaff to be entertained by Stacie and Mark. Eric, Cari, and Garrett had never been to the lava tubes, so we headed there first thing. The lava tube is a big cave somehow formed by lave (google it!). Here is our party at the beginning of the expedition...

....and here we are at the end of the tube.

I love looking at the walls of the cave and at the different rocks. It's pitch black in there and a flashlight is a must and you'll still probably trip a few times, but it's worth it. There used to be several branches to explore, but there were too many emergencies, so they dynamited it to one way in - one way out. It's also a great way to beat the heat. Always cool. You have to watch out for ice a time or two, but it's really not bad.

Ashlyn and Hallie (6 months older) had a great time playing together. Their last meeting a year ago wasn't as fun, so we were glad they had such a great time. Pretty much the only squabbles were over who got the pink plate and cup.


Isaac lost one of his front teeth while we were there. Chase (11) did the honors of yanking it out. I was willing, but I guess it's cooler to have your cousin do it.

We spent a couple of afternoons at Bear Paw, a great neighborhood swimming pool that the kids loved - except for Ashlyn, who we forced in with Eric for a few tortuous minutes.

Our biggest adventure was our hike with Stacie and Mark. Jordynn was so nice to watch all of the kids for us so that we could go out for a date. We were planning on walking around "Fat Man's Loop," going to lunch, and being back in a couple of hours. Once we started, Eric and I got ambitious, and Stacie and Mark were eager to come along, so we ended up hiking to the top of Mt. Eldon, taking the long way down (still forgiven, Stacie), grabbing lunch, and making it home 6-7 hrs. later. Most of the hike was really enjoyable, but got quite a bit harder toward the top. It was a tough decision as to where we were going to stop. The nice view almost at the top or all the way to the lookout tower. We were already so far, we decided to finish at the lookout tower and it was totally worth it. The view was spectacular and we would have missed it had we stopped. Eric has pictures on his camera, but I don't know how to get them on the computer.

Poor Stacie had several more things planned, (she's great at entertaining), but I was happy with a little relaxing in between and letting the kids play. Can't wait until we come again. Thanks for a wonderful time!