Weekend Rendezvous Wrapup.

Since I was young, Southern Utah has been my favorite cold-weather escape. (My parents, cousins & grandparents had condos in Saint George and we frequented all the surrounding areas.) Am still trying to convince my husband that these vast deserts are appealing in the heat. For now, I can only talk him into spring and fall road trips.

Moab is a hop, skip and a jump away from my home, so we took advantage of a rare uneventful weekend to make some family memories. And, oh boy. Did we ever! The tent-sleeping with a baby will be an adventure we will not soon forget. More on that later.

We were all infatuated with this gorgeous scenery. Moab is usually anything but green, but we were pleasantly surprised with the flora last weekend. Utah has been bombarded with rainstorms and they really greened up the scenery. I loved the contrast in colors with the red rocks and blue, blue sky. My kids loved the lizards around every corner and crows on barren trees. My stomach churned with every beautiful, steep cliff at Dead Horse Point.

We felt like we were all alone in the park. Except for the tour bus full of photographers, of course. I always feel silly pulling out my camera in front of a bunch of professionals, so as soon as they piled out of their bus, my photo-snapping stopped for a while. (I think I heard my husband sigh with relief when he saw me pack my trusty Canon away. He's all about exploring without stopping for pictures.)

Best baby purchase we've ever made? (Besides our Phil and Ted's stroller, of course.) Our Kelty baby backpack! It's lasted us three children and has been on more hikes than I can count. Super comfortable. The kiddos love sleeping in it. Doubles as a great sitting-by-the-campfire high chair.

Adored the blooming cacti. I wish I could go back to see the blooms open.

Arches National Park was a dream. Perfect, kid-friendly hikes. Sand-play galore. Jason and I were a bit sleepy from the previous night's comedy-of-sleeping-errors, but the kids were champs.

 The favorite hike in Arches? Landscape Arch. It was great for our little-legged sidekicks.

On the way home, we make a quick stop into Goblin Valley. If you haven't been there, you must! It was the favorite stop of the whole trip. Like a giant jungle gym. The kids climbed and climed. Played in the sand. Explored every crevice. Protested when we told them it was time to leave. We are planning another trip there soon.

All in all, the trip was wonderful. Getting away from work & school for a weekend is always refreshing. I love camping and being in the out-of-doors. Disconnected from technology and completely connected to family. Bonding and talking. Giggling and hiking. Family rendezvous are my favorite.

:: Coming up this week: Tips on Camping with Kids! (A request from a design client.) I'll do my best. Ours was not-so-successful, so hopefully you all can learn a thing or two from our mistakes.