Fall Break 2025 in Moab (Part 2)

Our next stop was Sand Dune Arch, where one of the members
of our group definitely did not walk on top of the arch.

 

Liza and I had a bit of a struggle over mini M&Ms.

Next we walked to Broken Arch
(which isn't nearly as broken as you'd think).

Then a picnic lunch at the Visitor's Center.

And a stop a couple of hours at Moab Giants, a dinosaur-themed
park designed more for young kids than teenagers.

But at least they had a VR game!

Sawyer had a burger with his bacon for dinner.

Some kids spent more time in the hot tub and others were brave enough to go in the pool.
And Ben and I played some basketball with Luke.

We also played some cards in the hotel before calling it a night.

On Saturday, Andy's family headed to Canyonlands NP while we went on a zipline adventure.

The UTV ride up to the course was the most exciting part.
The "roads" were crazy.

Our view of Arches National Park from the zipline course.

The course included a cool suspension bridge.

The city of Moab behind us.
Moab is actually on a big floodplain, with the Colorado River on
the north and west sides of the city (the right side of our picture).

This was a unique zipline course since none of the lines
began or ended in trees or on platforms - it was all built on slickrock.

Luke raced our guide up a rock.

After our zipline adventure, we went back into town for lunch at a food truck park, where we patronized no less than 7 trucks between our lunches and desserts. We also did a little shopping in the cute shops along Main Street before heading home.

We took a slightly longer route home, driving on River Road, which follows
the Colorado River. The road is officially Utah High 128, also known as the
Upper Colorado River Scenic Byway. It's been recognized as one of the most
beautiful drives in the country. I totally believe it.

Fall Break 2025 in Moab (Part 1)

We spent a few days in Moab exploring and adventuring, and Andy's family joined us for part of it. We had so much fun and loved sharing one of our favorite areas with Andy's family!

Dinner stop on the way to Moab at a hole-in-the-wall Mexican place
in the middle of nowhere meant mediocre Mexican food and mountains of fries.

Liza set up her nail salon (complete with TV show) in the hotel.

We slept in while Andy's family drove to Moab. After enjoying a
yummy lunch at a local cafe, we hit the park.

Our first hike was to Delicate Arch.
The weather was perfect and the kids did a great job!

Andy managed to carry Sydney and a big
backpack on a precarious ledge. Gold star.

The next stop was Double Arch, one of my favorites.
It's such a great place to take pictures and just climb around and explore.

Friday morning the boys played Black Jack in the lobby
while waiting for everyone to assemble.

We started the day hiking Park Avenue.
The views were amazing.

Back to School

It was a quick turnaround, with just a couple of days to get into school mode after our end-of-summer trip to Florida, but everything was fine. Luke and Liza started at new schools, but at least we already know how things work at Luke's school (having had a member of the family there since 2018)!

The start of the school year should have been traumatic for Liza, since she transferred to our local high school after 3 years at our charter school, but she was just really excited for a fresh start, new friends, and a more exciting volleyball season. Jack, on the other hand, had a little freak-out before school started, worrying that he's not ready to be a Senior, or really, he's not ready to finish high school and be a responsible adult. I told him he doesn't have to have everything figured out yet, and that there would be time to transition after high school.

Liza was kind enough to get up and take this picture with the boys
on their first day, even though her first day was two days later.

The kids have now finished their first term. It took a few weeks to get into a groove, but we knew we were there when Liza and Jack are both dreading school each day. Luke, however, is still enthusiastic about school. One night, a few weeks into the school year, I asked everyone what their favorite part of the day was. Luke said, "School and volleyball."

Jack, studiously doing homework after school on his first day of Senior Year.

Liza's first volleyball game at her new school was the day before school started.

And she had her own little cheering section!

Liza's first day!

Several weeks into the school year I asked the kids what their favorite classes are. These were their responses:

Jack: I like seminary but I also like Socratic.

Me: What's your least favorite class?
Jack: Math.

Liza: Coed Volleyball.

Me: What about an academic class?
Liza: ASL

Luke: Not Latin

Me: So what? Math?

Luke: Close. But English is my favorite.

        Luke has since joined Match Club, which he attends during lunch every Tuesday, and which will have several competitions over the course of the year.

Luke, before school on day 3, following in his oldest sister's footsteps
by bringing a stash of Oreos for the snack locker he and his friends put together.

(earlier that morning, doing homework)

Both high school kids went to Homecoming in September.

This was the ask Liza's date left at our front door.
She had a lot of fun at the dance, even though it was outside and it rained.

Liza's group came to our house to take pictures and they turned out really well!
Dog was walking around outside so she snatched him up and they posed together for me.
Obviously, he was honored.

Jack had a lot of fun too, especially with the theme of the dance being
Men in Black. All the boys were in black suits and the girls were in black dresses.
He and his date were the only couple wth sunglasses though!