Moab with the Family

This summer we had an adventure for the Hillman Family Reunion.  Destination: Moab.  Time of Year: First week of August.  Temperature: Blast Furnace.  Outlook: Awesome.

First and foremost, we need to thank Andrew (Mandee’s nephew) and Becky.  They spent the summer in Moab working as river guides.  They took upon themselves the responsibility to plan the entire itinerary for the reunion.  They did a wonderful job!

Our first night at the Hillman Family Reunion started off with a bang (actually more like a “splat”).  Mr. Alex decided that this would be the perfect time to come down with a rather gnarly case of food poisoning.  No better time than when you have the entire family crammed into one tiny bedroom.  We all slept great that night!

Our first day of adventure was our rafting trip down the Colorado River (sadly without Alex a.k.a. Mr. Pukey and Mandee a.k.a. Mr. Pukey’s nurse).

Our day trip down the Colorado River was amazing.  We took some incredible pictures.  However, due to some rather unfortunate circumstances (which may or may not have to do with a certain father’s clumsiness) our camera (which a certain father may or may not have borrowed from his son who was still curled up on the bathroom floor moaning miserably) is sitting somewhere at the bottom of the Colorado River. 

We did manage to steal one shot from someone else’s camera… enjoy!

Just imagine the pictures we could have shown you:

• Sammy paddling down the chocolaty river in his very own kayak…
• Little Miss Maggie desperately trying to take a nap on Daddy’s lap while plowing through whitewater (seriously… that is not a very nice way to wake up for a little princess)…
• Endless water fights between our caravan of rafts and kayaks.

I don’t think that Alex will ever trust me with his stuff again.

Day two was equally enjoyable (and slightly less “splatty” due to the fact that Mr. Alex’s stomach was no longer gurgley).

The more adventurous ones in the family spent some quality time with some harnesses and a very tall arch. (Thank you Evan for all the pictures!)

The more lame responsible ones spent some quality time with some trails and some slightly less tall arches.

On a side note… we think Sammy may have found his calling in life.  Apparently, he loves everything to do with rocks, especially climbing them.  He was like a little mountain goat (with a very fuzzy head, or course).

There is just something about boys and rocks.

Maggie and Maryn spent a little bonding time together while the crazies scaled the arch.

Mr. Pukey Alex perked right up in the rocks.  It is amazing what intense heat and a lot of dirt can do to make you feel better.

We even found a little time to hike up to a secluded water hole for a little cliff diving.

After we wore everyone out on the trails, it was time for the little ones to enjoy some intense relaxation in the pool.

Sam tried to start a new trend…the life jacket diaper.

I think we wore them out!  On a side note… how cute is that?

At the end of the week, we went home exhausted and incredibly satisfied.  If you are looking for a family adventure, Moab is a great one.

If we can persuade anyone else to share their photos with us we will share some more…I know there are some good ones of the river trip out their somewhere (besides the ones at the bottom of the river).