Caleb Joshua Abel

I decided to take a bunch of pictures as baby Caleb was waking up. He likes to snuggle!

We made it!

After 13 hours of driving we made it safe to Wichita, Kansas at 2:05am!! The kids did wonderful!! It is really impressive for us as parents. Our children are so busy all the time, to have them sit still in a car seat for 2 hours at a time is truly amazing! That is about how long we can drive before needing to get out and let the boys stretch.
Some cool moments on the drive included:
~Driving through the Eisenhower Tunnel, That was fun for Benn
~We picked up dinner in Colorado and let the boys run around. Josiah found horse poop and was rather impressed. HA!
~We crossed over into Kansas, from Colorado at 6:20pm.
~At about 8 or 9pm we passed by a busy truck stop, about a mile after the stop Josiah announced he had to poop. . .and it was an emergency. (So he claimed) After getting off at the next two exits where NOTHING was open and no bathrooms were available we pulled over and he gave it his best go to try and potty on the side of the road. Nothing. . .he decided he did not need to go anymore and he would wait.
at a 1/4 of a tank of gas and many miles later we finally stopped in a small town that starts with a "Q" in Kansas. We got gas and Josiah was able to use the potty. We were joined by another road trippin family getting gas as well.

2:15am we drive into the driveway of Ann and Alans house. Our home for the next few weeks. Thank you for your prayers and well wished! We love you all!

Taking a nap in Pop's Chair

Poor baby is teething, he has a fever and snotty nose

After a long nap and some snuggles, baby is feeling better

Breckenridge, Colorado

We were all ready to hit the slopes!

Its not back country skiing, but he was excited to ski either way

Benn riding up the Magic carpet

One Day we are in the desert in Moab, UT hiking and the next we are in Breckenridge, CO skiing!!!

Riding up the Gondola to the lodge

Benn racked out on our way to Breckenridge

Caleb was excited, Can't you tell? :)

Josiah was beyond excited. My two year olds first time on skis!

He was a pro almost like it is in his blood

The drive was unnerving to get to Breckenridge. It started of very windy, a semi was blown over on I-70. As we assented into the Mountains it began to snow and snow and snow, before we knew it we could not see the lines on the road. We took off our snow tires back in Yakima so I was a little scared, but the snow was not sticking to the roads. Needless to say we drove slow and it took us longer to get to Breckenridge. The boys did so well, not asking for anything but sitting still and quiet in the back while we BOTH concentrated on where the road was.

 We made it to Breckenridge around 10:30pm. Alan and Ann reserved a beautiful Condo for us in Breckenridge. The family who owns it stays in the condo more then they rent it and because of this it was fully stocked and very inviting!
Now, for the past 3 nights we had been camping and we smelled like it. So EVERYONE took showers and then we were off to bed.

 Ann and Alan arrived April 22st in the early morning. The kids were so excited to see Grams and Pops.
Dave and I did not plan very well and we did not bring any of the kids snow gear. We left it all in storage in Yakima. We loaded up and headed into town to find snow gear. We had a terrible time finding anything because this is considered the off season for skiing. We finally found a nice guy who rents skis and snow gear. We decked out the kiddos at AB Ski Rental and headed back home for dinner.

 Ann and Dave got up in the early morning on April 23rd to ski and then Alan and I came with the kiddos later to finish the day up. Ann stayed with Caleb in the lodge while Dave and I took the boys for a couple runs. They did great on the bunny hill and then we took them up the mountain. It was intimidating for little Josiah so he skied in between my skis will Daddy instructed Benn. Dave and I took a run together while Grams watch all the boys. We had so much fun! It was like we were dating again. :) At the end of the day we all had a fantastic time! It is possible I enjoy skiing in the Mountains more then hiking in the desert. Hee!hee!

After skiing, we walked around in the town of Breckenridge. It was a super cute, ritzy little town. 
Later that night Grams and the boys decorated eggs.

After the boys were fast asleep I hid the eggs and the "Easter "grams" bunny" came.

 HAPPY EASTER!
April 24th
The Boys woke up to candy and hiding Easter eggs.
We all snuggled up in the living room and had a little worship service. We told the story of the death and resurrection Of Jesus and also acted it out.
We had a wonderful family morning remember the real reason for Easter.

smiling at his Grams

We left Breckenridge and headed for Wichita, KS. This is where Alan and Ann live and this will also be our home for the next few weeks. Breckenridge to Colorado is about 600 miles. We left town at 1:30pm. The question was. . .Will we make it to Wichita in one day??

Silly Boys!!

 I love these goobers! They are so much fun to photograph. . . I love you Bennjamin and Josiah!

Moab, Utah

 We got to Moab, UT about 3pm and headed for the visitor center for some info. We were excited to see Arches National Park.

 We figured that finding a camp spot would be easy. Until we learned that it was Jeep Safari week!!  Anyone and everyone who owns a jeep was in Moab, it was ridiculous!! We spent hours looking for a camp spot and when we did, it was out of Moab, down a canyon and next to the Colorado river. It was perfect for this Alaskan girl. The canyon was shaded and there were nice trees. We went to bed and were excited for the next day! We were excited about Arches National Park!

 Sites we saw:

Hee!hee! Me holding the rock

The Balancing Rock
The Delicate Arch
The Fiery Furnace
The Devil's Garden
And the Arches campground, we were not able to get a spot
because all spots must be reserved 4 days in advanced.
We were not overly thrilled with the rules. We were, however
blessed because everything was free this week. Not sure
why though.

 We notice a couple caterpillars before heading to bed, the first night, but nothing much. But in the morning we were shocked to find hundreds of caterpillars all over the tent and ground. They were everywhere! We loaded in the van and headed out for the day. Not thinking much of the nasty little critters.

 We were unaware of the "no dog" policy in Arches. It was too hot to leave her in the car so Dave and I took turns taking the boys out on short hikes. It was a bummer, but for this reason we decided to cut our Arches outing short and find some hiking where Sammy was allowed.

We found a fun trail that took us back to Morning Glory a natural bridge. Sammy was allowed to join us on this hike and during the hike we saw 3 other border collies. That was kind of cool. The trail was 2 1/4 miles in. Benn hiked in and out (4 1/2 miles), JJ rode on Daddy's back in and walked out (2 1/4 miles) and Caleb rode in and out (0 Miles) We took about 4 hours to do the whole thing. But we had a wonderful time!

After the hike we were hungry and headed to Zax for dinner! It was no "Mooses Tooth" but it was good. They had locally brewed beers and great pizza with a wonderful salad bar. It was delicious and after a hot hike, PERFECT!!

 After dinner we headed back to the tent. I was not excited about meeting the caterpillars again! We made a mad dash for the tent and snuggled in for the night. In the morning what we awoke to was disgusting! Hundreds turned into MILLIONS! Pictures just do not begin to tell you how many there really were, but they were everywhere!!!!! On the ground, trees, Van, tent! everywhere!! You could not walk with out squishing them.

These creepy crawlers were every where!!

Josiah made a friend and later we found him in the van!

Millions of them!

Look closely at the tent. every speck you see is a caterpillar!

Dave got to go Mountain biking on Slick Rock. From what I understand this is a famous ride and he was thrilled to get to ride the trail. While he was riding I took the boys to a park to play and then to the visitor center to pick out a souvenir from Moab. We chose to stay in shady cool place. We found that us Alaskan's are not acclimatized to the hot weather yet!
Besides the infestation of caterpillars and Jeeps Moab was wonderful! We defiantly want to go back to enjoy more hiking when the kids are a little older.