trip to America's southwest: phase one

in the days leading up to our family vacation, when people would ask me where we were going, i would respond rather hesitantly and in a quiet voice say, "las vegas". i never had vegas on my list of destination cities; i can think of numerous places that i would rather go. alas, that is where the American Academy of Physician Assistants chose to hold their annual conference this year, and since i am a South Carolina delegate for this organization, to vegas we will go!

we planned our trip well, i think. "while we're out here", we decided we should explore some of the beauty that is our country. phase one of our trip included a few days in Zion national park and the Grand Canyon. i was SO excited to finally see this wonder of the world, with my very own eyes.

here are some highlights from phase one of our trip:

1. people love babies. as we trekked around with ethan in the baby backpack, several people on the trails would stop and talk to him, ask how old he is or his name, tell us how adorable he is (yes, yes, we know), and then, of course, tell us how quickly kids grow and how old their children/grandchildren are.




2. blessings in surprise. while in the houston airport en route to las vegas, we had just enough time to grab some lunch in the food court. when we found a table, brian went to set our food down and his piece of pizza slipped oh so gracefully onto the floor! before we could do anything, a man in a wendy's uniform came over and offered some food from his restaurant. he brought an entire combo meal...FREE! i could hardly believe his generosity when it wasn't even his store's food that we spilled! he definitely made an impression.




3. disconnection. how long has it been since you have been without cell phone service, internet connection, phones of any sort, television, etc...? we went three days and i have to admit, it was kind of nice. our lodging was quaint (the three of us crammed in a 8'x10' room!), there wasn't another lodge for miles, only woods and wilderness. it was delightful.




4. worship. the Grand Canyon. you've seen it in pictures, maybe even in person. it is fascinating. and even more so the longer you look. it truly is grand. as you take in the view, it's easy to want to glory in it, to think how marvelous it is. but i couldn't help thinking, this is here to bring glory to God. that's why the Grand Canyon was made. how easily we slip into worshipping the creation, rather than the Creator. with so many wonderful blessings around us, we quickly forget the Source of those blessings. those blessings are meant to be enjoyed, but He alone is to be worshipped.




5. one nap, two nap, i nap, you nap. we started a new tradition during phase one of our trip: when ethan napped, we all napped! if you have traveled with a young child, you know that you fit in naptime whenever you can! we successfully timed the majority of ethan's naps as we were driving to our next trailhead or lookout location; then, when he was solidly asleep, we would park the car and all take a snooze. needless to say, this made everyone happier campers!

that about does it for the first portion of our trip! stay tuned for phases two and three! i haven't had a chance to download the hundreds of pictures we have taken, so i'll save that for another post!