Havasupai

In October we had our long awaited first backpacking trip to Havasupai!  I got the blog all caught up before we went so I could record the trip right away, but, unfortunately, when I returned my computer crashed and it has taken me awhile to get back in the game.  

My friend Sarah and I had been saying for years that we were going to do Havasupai.  It can be really hard to get a permit because reservations for the whole year open on February 1st and the phone line stays busy.  I had called ahead of time and learned online reservations would be available for the first time this year. On the day that reservations opened, though, I couldn't find the link anywhere.  I spent a day and a half with an app that redialed and hung up and could never get through.  Then, as I was looking on line I found a link in a comment on Facebook for the reservation site.  It still took some drama as I tried to redo dates with everyone coming and the site kicking me out and not letting me finish my reservation, etc., but between me and Sarah working on it as I got Ethan from school, we got reservation.

My mom came into town and after going to Peter Piper Pizza for Ethan's birthday, we drove up to Flagstaff to Sarah's dad's house.  We repacked our bags, waited for everyone to arrive, and got dinner at Oregano's.  We got up early the next morning, drove a few hours to the trailhead, and got started.  We saw quite a few broken car windows, so we were nervous about leaving our cars.  Mike and I put everything in the trunk and left our car doors open so at least they have to break the windows.

Here is our crew starting out: Ashley and Jesse, Sarah and Ryan, Alyssa and Matthew, us.

 We took it pretty easy on the way down and it took us about 6 hours to reach the campsites.  That hike is about 9 or 10 miles, but by the end of the day we had gone about 14.

The first view of the water.

 The first waterfall is before the campsites, Mooney, I believe.

We chose this awesome campsite.  It was not very crowded, so they must limit Fall permits.

 After setting up, we went to explore the falls. Going in October meant the water wasn't as enticing, but I think it is worth it for the cooler hike.  The water stays about the same temperature all year long, but we weren't hot enough to enjoy the really cold spray.

 The next day we slept in a little, got ready, and started a day trip to Beaver Falls.  This is Havasu Falls, just past the campsites, and down a treacherous descent.  There was a chain to hold on to, but it didn't look totally secure in some places and the mist from the waterfall made everything slick.

But it was definitely worth it!

 The hike was beautiful.  The water really is amazing!  We went in and out of the water, so when it got too deep for our waterproof boots, we changed into sandals.  I was really glad I found hiking sandals on OfferUp the week before.  Next time, I'd carry a better day pack for carrying my boots while wearing sandals.

 When we got down to Beaver Falls we stopped for lunch and then waded around all the terraces.

  The water was fine from the waist down.  We did swim across one part to use a rope and climb up the cliff face to get to a higher level.  I don't know where those pictures ended up.  Ryan was the only one who jumped off the water fall (ignoring the signs).  I am not as confident as others and was pretty nervous coming down the cliff face while Ashley just flew down.  The hiking that day was about 8 miles.

On our second night we left our freeze dried food on the table instead of hanging it or putting it in a bucket.  Mike woke up in the night as critters were tearing it open.  They looked like raccoons or lemurs. He shooed them away, but could see their eyes reflecting in the bushes.  He had trouble going back to sleep after that.  A few hours later, at about 4am, Matthew felt something on his leg (from outside his tent) and found one of the critters laying there.  He kicked it off, but was pretty unsettled.  They ended up packing up and leaving then.  Sarah and Ryan set an alarm and left early.  Mike and I the Randalls left about 8:15am.  We made a lot better time on the way out.  We actually met Sarah and Ryan at the top.  Mike was setting a pretty aggressive pace through the first 6-7 miles of the hike, but when we hit the 2 miles of switchback to get up, he was running out of steam (probably not enough salt and electrolytes).  He didn't want to feel like he was holding me back and I was still feeling good, so I pushed up the hill and finished at 12.  I went and got the car, which had not been broken into, and pulled it up to the trailhead before going down to walk the rest of the way with Mike.

In the nearest town, we stopped for a burger, checked in on the kids, and then headed to Sedona.

 The whole thing was an awesome experience and had me totally ready to apply for a permit to hike the Grand Canyon.  I asked Mike about that as we were driving away, and it was the wrong time to ask.  He like the trip until the switchbacks out, but that may be enough to keep him away from the Grand Canyon.

School

I've had a hard time getting the boys' teachers to lock down volunteering time for me this year, so today I just showed up. After a little downtime, one teacher put me to work with small groups. I still ended up with almost a half an hour between helping and Ethan's lunch, so I got to walk home, switch laundry loads, and then walk back for lunch. I love having them go to school so close to home!

This is one of Ethan's best friends, Hunter (they are friends from church). They were so excited to be in the same class this year at their new school. Sadly, Hunter is switching schools next week. That means Ethan has started complaining some about going back to his old school  (even though Hunter isn't going there). I hope he recovers quickly and can be glad to be at Paseo Pointe, but nostalgia sure is powerful!

Parent Teacher Conferences

Ethan is doing great in 3rd grade. He is above highly proficient in every area.  He was super excited to come home and tell me after their assembly that he was the highest in every area in 3rd grade.  He also was the only one in his class to pass off multiplication facts 0-3 (the goal for this quarter).  He needs to work on staying focused and on task.  His friend from church is in his class this year, which really helped him adjust, but now that friend is moving to another school, so Ethan has started asking to go back to EAGLE.  I hope he can learn to like Paseo Pointe and make new friends.

Benton is also doing awesome.  He told me, "I've gotten 100% on everything except my pretest and I got a 91%." Turns out that is completely true.  His standardized pretest he got 91%, but at the end of the quarter it was 100% too (plus all of his assignments).  They have him going to 2nd grade for reading and are going to look into sending him to 2nd grade Spanish reading.  His Spanish teacher said he is ready for small chapter books in Spanish and that no one come close to him in reading Spanish, not even native speakers.  I worry that his decoding far surpasses his vocabulary, so I'll have to work on that with him too.  It is fun to see him successful in something that I haven't played a part in.

Asher didn't have a conference, but he keeps asking to go to "kcool".  He has this funny way of saying the "sc" sound, like a stretched out "ck" in the back of his throat.  It makes words like "school" and "ice cream" really cute.  He also says "belly jelly sandwich" instead of "peanut butter and jelly".  Another new word for him is "actually".  That was funny enough on its own, but then, one morning, I was forcing him to get dressed, so he was crying.  As I started to put his shirt on, he said through his angry tears, "That is Benton's shirt, actually!"  Turns out Benton's clothes had been put in Asher's drawer.  I'm pretty sure Asher knows all his letter sounds, but his love of silliness makes it hard to get straight answers out of him when I try to work with him.

Starting October

Benton's school picture has the birthday buttons I designed and Shiloh printed for his birthday.

 I figured I should document my fitness instructor job that I started in July.  I teach Cycle and Bootcamp.

 Rock climbing with the Young Women.

 We got in the pool and Asher asked, "how do we make the water warmer?"  I told him, "wait until Summer."

 Wet N Wild will sell season passes in the Fall for the following year and you can use them through the end of the current season.  I looked right before they started selling them and then didn't notice for another month.  My mom is getting them passes for Christmas, so we bought them early and went one weekend in October.  The boys loved it!

 We managed to keep them awake on the way home and they fell right to sleep, perfect for our game night that night!

 I stepped out on the back porch one morning and heard from the school's loud speaker "Benton Abegg for responsibility".  He had a Ram buck chosen from a raffle and picked a free Bahama Buck's shaved ice as his prize.  One day over fall break we got to go on a date to redeem it.  He picked pumpkin flavoring and it was disgusting.  When he finally admitted it was gross, they let him switch it.

 I won a free night at the Princess resort we went to for our anniversary!

 Fall break grocery shopping with all the boys.  This was our last trip before add matching stopped.  I'm going to have to overhaul my whole grocery planning and shopping routine, which will be a pain.

 Ethan wanted a Mario birthday party, so we had his friends bring their bikes and we made a Mario Kart track.  They designed their bikes.

 Then set up the course (chalk, stars, lightning bolts).

 I had Mario Kart music playing and played the start countdown from the game.

 And we sprayed the winners with silly string. 

 It was really nice to have a big "race track" around the church building without traffic.  Ethan opened gifts and everyone ate mushroom cupcakes.

 They went inside to do Mario SportsMix, but mostly played with the cowboy toys he had just opened and played freeze tag. I did my cleaning assignment while they goofed around.

 If you look closely, you can see the drone Benton bought with his birthday money.

 I didn't want to throw away all the baby blankets that my mom and I made for my boys and that we used so much, so I asked my mom to make a quilt for me.  She brought it out when she came to watch the boys and I LOVE it.  It even includes the edges we had stitched!

 My mom arrived the night before Ethan's birthday.  On his birthday we went to Peter Piper Pizza.  He got a bonus 250 tickets from one game and was thrilled!  He saved up his tickets and added them to his next visit (when Nana took him) and got a teddy bear, no surprise!

After Peter Piper Pizza, Mike and I packed up and headed out for our week long adventure to Havasupai and Sedona!