Lower Antelope Canyon

Last weekend we escaped to Southern Utah/Northern Arizona to enjoy a few days in the outdoors and to become reacquainted with the sun.  The trip happened to fall over my birthday so it turned into a weekend birthday trip. We enjoyed the trip so much and have decided a trip to warmer weather in January or February may have to become an annual tradition for our family.

The week before the trip we had watched the weather forecast constantly.  Rain and snow were in the forecast for Friday so we originally planned to leave early Saturday morning...but on Friday the snow never came so when Seth came home from work we quickly packed up and hit the road.  We listened to the book Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand which made the long drive to Kanab, Utah very palatable.  If you haven't read or listened to the book I would highly recommend it.  It is the true story of a WWII Prisoner of War.

On Saturday morning we drove over to Page, Arizona and visited Antelope Canyon at Navajo Tribal Park.  Antelope Canyon is the most visited and most photographed slot canyon in Southwest...so you have probably seen pictures of it before.  If I remember correctly I jet-skied and hiked up part of the canyon with my friend Jenn on a trip to Lake Powell.  

We decided to visit Lower Antelope Canyon first since the tours left every half hour.  After a quick lunch in the car we were ready to set out on our guided tour.  We loaded Phin up and were on our way.  

We were guided to the end of the canyon where metal staircases have been installed.  We climbed down over 100 feet and started our tour.

Here is a shot of the first big room we entered.  The formation to the right of me looks quite a bit like a lion.

We were lucky enough to get to the front of the group...even in front of our guide.  The canyon had lots of twists and turns so it felt like we were exploring all on our own, although we were always within earshot of the group.

Lower Antelope Canyon is a little wider at the top and we came across several sections with wonderful sunlight peeking through.

Phin loved being up as high as his dad and enjoyed touching the sandy canyon walls.

The picture below is of my favorite section of the canyon. When our guide reached this section she pulled out a flute and magic happened.

Phin got quite tired and managed to fall asleep in his backpack...not an easy task without a headrest.

We reached the end of the canyon and started our climb out.  The exit was quite tight and Seth actually had to take the backpack off to get Phin out of the canyon.

While we waited for the rest of our group we took a few shots near the exit.

8 MONTHS

Phin hit the 8 month mark on Superbowl Sunday.  According to our measurements he weighs 21 pounds 8 ounces and is 29 inches tall.  It seems like just his legs have grown in the last month as most of his pants have turned into capri pants.

He is still wearing size 3 diapers but he has had a few leaks recently so we will probably be moving up to size 4 the next time we need to buy diapers.  He is wearing 9-12 month tops and bottoms.

Phin loves to play with his truck...it is really hard to believe that he fit perfectly into the truck bed as a baby.

We are continually asked who Phin looks like.  I was able to dig a few photos out from the past and we would love for our readers to leave a comment with their opinion.  Does Phin look like Seth (pictured on the left) or Suzanne (pictured on the right)?

We have been on a little rollercoaster with sleep this month.  Near the beginning of the month Phin was getting up once or twice at night but recently he has been sleeping through the night.  One morning he slept until after 8 am....I was one happy mama that morning.  He is usually a tummy sleeper...when I wake him up early to get to work he will moan and roll back to his stomach...like please don't wake me up mom.  We love his Halo sleep sack which keeps him warm and toasty all night long.

Phin is a mover and shaker these days.  He loves when we clap for him and is starting to learn to clap on his own.  He will also wave with some assistance.  He continues to bend his wrists and it kind of looks like he is riding a motorcycle.

He likes to stand up next to us and loves to be in a position to see what is going on.

He also will gnaw on just about anything...fingers, toes, furniture legs. 

The following pictures were all taken within a five minute period.  I like to call it the many faces of Phin.  The middle row is my favorite.  Sometimes when Phin is babbling he gets very serious looks on his face.  He has also loved to chew on his fingers...some may think that is due to teething but our little guy is still toothless.

We call the face below his old man face.

He has learned to take his hat off and looks up at me with the most mischievous grin when he does.  He pats our backs when we are burping him.  He has found his tongue this month and often looks like Gene Simmons from the band Kiss.

He also looks like Richard Simmons when he gets excited and his whole body shakes.  In many of the pictures we take his arms and legs are blurred because he is moving them so quickly.

He will sit for quite a while in front of a box of toys and loves to empty all of the toys out.    

We went to a Mexican place for dinner this month.  They had paper on the table and Phin was in heaven.

He has had a love hate relationship with his bouncer this month.  He typically cries when we first put him in but quickly adjusts and bounces away.  He also gets very relaxed in his bouncer and can often be found asleep or with his head laid back.

Solid food continues to be a struggle.  I figured out that I was probably giving him too much food on the spoon at once so since we have started with smaller bites he has done much better.  We fed him some freshly squeezed apple and orange juice this month and he LOVED it.  He is also getting pretty good at drinking out of his sippy cup.  Phin also got a taste of kiwi and potato soup which he seemed to enjoy.  He wasn't a fan of the mashed potatoes and gravy at our favorite BBQ place...Pat's BBQ.  

He has had a little bit of a runny nose so his nickname this month has been BOOGS or BOOGIE BOY.  He hates having his nose wiped and can pull quite the maneuvers to get away from a tissue.

Phin got his first official bath this month.  It came after the blow out of all blow outs.  There was literally poop flowing out of his diaper.  It got all over me, him, the floor etc.  The kitchen sink was full of dishes so we put him in the bathtub.

Phin also took his first trip to the pool.  Our ward rented out the Davis Recreation Center on a Saturday night and we headed over to introduce Phin to the water.  Phin went down the big slide with Seth and did great...the smaller slide was a different story.

We also purchased a Kelty backpack so that we can take Phin out on his first big hiking adventure this coming month.  I think he will like being up and almost as tall as his Dad.

Midway Ice Castles

One of my New Years resolutions is for us to do something that is new to one or both of us each month.  This month we decided to visit the Ice Castles up in Midway, Utah.  We were blessed to have my brother Scott join us on our adventure.  Our first stop in Midway was for dinner at Tarahumara.  Seth and I shared the Pork Loin Chili Verde and the Mole Poblano and Scott had the Pork Loin Chili Verde Burritos.  It was delicious and we loved the salsa bar.

We drove a few blocks over to the city park where the ice castle currently stands.  Since it was a holiday it was fairly busy and we had to wait for about an half an hour in line before we could make it in.  We were entertained by the fire throwers while we waited in line and loved when they brought their torches over for us to warm our hands.

Some of us were more entertained than others...

Our first stop in the ice castle was in the ice caves.  It was a little unnerving to walk under the huge ice stalactites.  We were able to make our way out of the caves and to the main part of the castle where we captured this picture below.  The lights are frozen right into the ice and changed colors consistently.  It was at about this time that we encountered a group of teenagers playing some songs from the movie Frozen on their phones and singing out loud.

We also enjoyed the ice slot canyon although with Phin strapped to our chest and holding all of his gear we were unable to go through some of the narrowest parts of the canyon.

We had a great time and would recommend a visit to any of you who have not visited before.