VACATION ~ DAY 3 ~GRAND CANYON!

If you haven't read about Day 2 or 1 of our vacation, scroll down thru the posts.

Sorry for the delay on this one! Life with 4 littles is crazy at times...add in trying to homeschool, trying to help 1 new little adjust to his new life here, AND 1 little struggling with her attachment issues (just a bit) once again...well, you get a mommy with very little time to update the blog. :)


Day 3 of our vacation in Northern Arizona took us to the Grand Canyon -or as John would say "the big hole in the ground".

It was beautiful...but we were there mid-day..and it was a bit warm....and the sun so bright, dare I say it ~but the colors in the Canyon were a bit washed out. We were told the best times to see the depth of beauty in the Canyon were at sunrise and sunset.

It was still beautiful and breath-taking and a monument to God's creativity and handiwork.

John and I could have sat and taken in the Canyon for hours...the kids not so much. :)

we actually got 1 of just the 2 of us! ~that never happens. :)

don't worry -they're not as close to the edge as it looks. :)

this one's going to Ethiopia for Biruk's 6mo. post placement next month! :)

on the road from the Canyon back to our hotel we saw our first and only glimpse of "wildlife" -a bull elk grazing. There was a female/cow elk by him but couldn't get a good shot of her.


The next 2 are actually from Day 4 ~we left the cabin pretty early Monday morning so as to avoid the heavy traffic from the holiday weekend.

It was a pretty chilly morning as you can see by the kids' winter gear. :)

We had a fantastic time. It was ALOT of work for mom and dad to put together ~but I think it was well worth it. :)

Lots of great memories were made and hopefully the kids will look back fondly on the trip!

VACATION ~ DAY 2

**scroll down to see Day 1 if you haven't already seen it**

Day 2 of the vacation started out with a lazy morning hanging around the cabin, then going on our first hike!

The forest was right behind the cabin's property so we just slipped under the fence and off we went.

the 2 boys were out front most of the time, blazing the trail

this is Becca pouting. About 10 minutes into the hike she started whining about returning to the cabin. Let's just say she didn't get her way as we were gone almost an hour and a half...partly cuz we told her the more she whined the further we'd go. :)

everything became a gun in Andrew's hands ~this is a random stick he picked up.
At 1 point in the hike he had 5 "guns" on him. :)

Becca pouting again. :)

daddy and his girls taking a rest

LOVE this shot of Elizabeth.
She's just so beautiful!

on our way back to the cabin both girlies got rides from their daddy.

here are the 2 horses that captivated the kids. Chief is on the left and Candy Bar on the right. Their corral was right behind our cabin and if we couldn't find the kids, we knew they were hanging out talking to the horses!

after the hike we had lunch, then headed to Williams, AZ ~a town that looks like it's from the movie C*ARS! and it IS right on Route*66!

The above & below pics are on the way from our cabin to Williams.

you might have to click on this to really see it ~but it's an old-time gas station

and one of the highlists of our trip ~an old time photo!

our little campfire

after roasting s'mores!

stay tuned for Day 3 ~the Grand Canyon!

VACATION! ~ Day 1

John has every other Friday off ~and his Friday off just happened to land on last Friday, making Labor Day Weekend a 4 day weekend for him

SO

we took advantage of his time off and headed to northern Arizona for some cooler weather and some fun times.

We took a ton of pics so I'll post them by days. :)


First stop on Day 1 was the Williams Deer Farm, where you could hand feed deer and see quite a few other animals as well

a little marmoset


feeding the deer ~they're filthy little beggars! They've obviously been conditioned to surround humans carrying cups ~knowing their feed is in those cups!

let me just say these were not the most gentle and docile animals ~if you didn't feed them they'd nip at your shirt and pants! my shirt and pants were FILTHY with little deer mouth marks by the end of our time there!

Biruk was a bit scared and Andrew just wasn't all that interested in feeding the deer ~so it was up to me and the girls!

the 1 teeny fawn we saw...it was always boxed out by the adult deer and we could never get close enough to hand feed it~but it was still adorable.

the llamas

several reindeer were there!

wallabies

she's our animal girl!

the kids standing in front of the bison (1 is behind Elizabeth's head)

petting the goat

we finally got Biruk to pet 1 of the deer!

our little cabin ~small but quaint and cozy

the living room/kitchen ~our King bed served as the couch for watching the satellite TV. :)

the "boys' " room

the girls' room


Day 2 is coming next! Hiking and an old time photo. :)

QUICK CLARIFICATION ON THE BAHA

I wanted to give a quick clarification on how the BAHA works for Elizabeth.

From http://www.umm.edu/otolaryngology/baha.htm -The BAHA allows sound to be conducted through the bone rather than via the middle ear. The system works by enhancing natural bone transmission as a pathway for sound to travel to the inner ear, bypassing the external auditory canal and middle ear.

She isn't hearing any better out of her "good" ear ~she is now able to actually hear sounds from the side that doesn't have an ear!

ELIZABETH'S NEWEST FASHION ACCESSORY!

look at my sweet baby doll!

she's sporting all the rage in children's head accessories...a "soft band BAHA"....a bone anchored hearing aid on a headband. :)


She was given a loaner soft band BAHA a few months after she came home to us, but she was so young she couldn't tell us if it was helping or not so we gave it back and never ordered a permanent one.


Over the last few months she has asked/told us things like "when will you fix my ear?" "I want to hear out of this side." etc.


A few weeks ago I asked her if she wanted to try the BAHA and she said she did.

We got this loaner one last week. Her reaction to it was PRICELESS! The audiologist put it on her and then turned it on.

You should have seen Elizabeth's face.

It lit up ~more than usual!

She started talking and then would giggle.

"mommy -I can hear me! I can hear me!"

her hearing is nearly perfect on the other side ...but she was so excited to hear sound on both sides of her head!


The newness has worn off and she doesn't want to wear it ALL the time...but it helps her...she can hear us whispering now...we're hoping it will help her hear how to better pronounce words and sounds....so we have her wear it a few hours a day.

we're so excited for our sweet little girl!!