Oh, happiness.

You know what one of my absolute favorite things to do is?! Hike the Narrows in Zion National Park. Seriously, if I go more than a summer without hiking the watery canyon I go through severe withdrawals. Luckily, this year Dave's family planned a family trip to St. George and first on the agenda was...you guessed it...hiking the narrows. Wa-Hoo!!! I tell ya, it's a whole different experience hiking with a toddler on your back while holding a 4 yr old's hand. Different, but still amazing. I LOVED showing my girls one of my favorite places on earth.

First thing first, a family snapshot.

Please excuse the quality of the pictures, these were all taken with our beloved water-proof adventure camera.

And then, we were off!

Please excuse my HORRIBLE biker's tan. I can't seem to get rid of it.

We found a spot where we were able to lift up our legs and float down the current. It was quite fun. Emma loved it. Ali, did not. She went once and then was content to play in the mud while the rest of us floated.

We did a few other small hikes as a group in the park.

Grandma Paula was always surrounded by the little ducklings.

Maybe it was because of the backpack of goodies she carried everywhere. I must mention, Emma and Hyrum were quite the little buddies.

They were constantly together holding hands and occasionally sneaking in a smooch. Yup, kissing cousins ;).

One afternoon while Paula and Kati went shopping and Grandpa, Brad and the boys went swimming Dave and I snuck out to explore. We found a GORGEOUS hike that led to some old Anasazi ruins. I actually took my SLR on that hike and had hay day capturing the beauty all around us. Sadly, I didn't take ANY pictures of the ruins themselves. I got too wrapped up in trying to answer all of Emma's many, many questions.

Another highlight of the trip was visiting Grafton Ghost Town. The history nut and photographer in me went crazy with Glee. I've devoted a whole picture post to Grafton, just scroll down.

What a fab-tab-u-lous trip! Lots of visiting, lots of exploring, lots of fun!