Zions and more

One of the very best parts of my trip to Utah last week was being able to escape with my cute mom for 3 whole days. We had such a wonderful time together. It was truly a dream come true being able to have her all to myself and talk the days away, hike together, relax and read by the pool without a worry in the world, and get some sunshine. It's so easy going on a trip with someone who is so much like you. The place we stayed in was a dream. I would recommend it to anyone who goes down to Zions. It is by far worth the little bit of extra money. You don't feel like you're in a motel room, it's like a beautiful home (just a really little one)! We did some great hikes. We went on one at least every morning and every night because it felt so good to get out. We hiked to beautiful waterfalls and even did Angels Landing. It was such a treat to do Angels Landing with my mom. It wasn't even an option last year with her terrible knees. It's way too steep on the way down. But this year since she had both her knees completely replaced in September, she ROCKED IT! I couldn't believe it! She was amazing and went down with no problem at all. For years and years I remember her being in so much pain, trying so hard to do the things she loved.....waterskiing, hiking, running, skiing, any sort of jumping, and just that cringe on her face as she's been in so much pain for so long. What a blessing her new artificial knees are! I am so happy for her. She feels like she has a whole new life and "at least 30 years of hiking ahead of her!" If you haven't ever been to or seen Angels Landing, it's super duper high and quite a few people die by falling off the top of it each year. "Walter's Wiggles" are famous, this is the last part of the hike. It's a killer workout!And here we are when we made it to the top! We woke up really early and so there was no one else up there or on the trail until our way down. It was so awesome.I love this picture. This is my mom looking over the edge at the top. It is so high! Can you see the road way down there below? And do you see that blob in the middle of the picture? No idea what that is. Call me crazy but I swear it's an angel saying, "You girlies don't get any closer to this edge!"Here's a few more of our beautiful hikes (sorry there's a lot of single shots but that's just the way it is when there's only two of you):We also got to do a "girls" baking day up at my mom's house one day. It was so fun to be with my 2 darling sister in laws and their kidlings. We made delicious cinnamon rolls and bread, and attempted (key word) a few other recipes! It was a great time.Keri brought all the twins' bathing stuff so we could give them baths while we were up there. It was so much fun! They are so darling. I can't believe how fast they are growing up.
SO cute! There was so much more that happened that I didn't document with my camera. But it was so great to spend so much time with the fam, eat a bunch of Cafe Rio, and just hang out and relax. And yes, Scott survivied.....on saltines, oreos, and frozen pizzas.