…with a 4 year old is never routine.

Uh, Jeremy? Are you planning on wearing the helmet while we walk?

What better way for a dad to spend Father’s Day than swimming with his children?

We spent the afternoon with my parents and brother’s family, and when the weather proved to be good for swimming, the dads and kids hopped in.

There was lots of throwing of children in the air.

Some landed more painfully (i.e. horizontally) than others.

They also created the fastest whirlpool this pool has ever seen.

Hold on tight, Ruthie…

Poor Molly didn’t understand why all the other kids got to swim and she did not. One word for you, Molly…claws. They don’t get along well with pool walls.

I am thankful for the dads we celebrated this day, and even more grateful for God, the Father who loves His children perfectly.

That Ruthie, she’s going to be alright. Ever since we bought a baby boat for her, she is enjoying her newfound independence in the pool.

Her little legs motor her around as she pursues after her brothers.

But on this particular day, what drew the most laughs was when she found the watergun.

During her exploration of it, she appeared to be cocking it,

chasing her brothers with it,

and eventually riding off into the sunset with it.

Yes, she is all girl…but not one to mess with.

After watching her big brothers swim around for a while,

Ruthie decided that in the water was where she wanted to be. As soon as her feet hit the water, she began kicking and squealing in delight.

Notice that in nearly every picture, she is not looking at the camera, but off to the right of the camera. That’s because Peter was off to the right of the camera, and Ruthie wanted Peter to notice how much fun she was having.

Splash,

Kick,

Investigate the water,

and formally announce how much she loves the water.

I’m not sure where I was, but there were some events from our recent vacation that I do not recall. Apparently, not only were we detoured by a dust storm, but also a meteor shower.

Then there was some fire-breathing lizard in Sedona.

And, search me, but I definitely do not remember Sunset Crater erupting during our hike. Perhaps I was distracted by something else?

Welcome to the world of a 12 year-old with Photoshop at his disposal. You never know what you’ll find next on your computer desktop.

vacation |vāˈkā sh ən; və-|   an extended period of recreation, esp. one spent away from home or in traveling

We packed up early Saturday and said one final goodbye to the house.

After passing through the famous four corners–where we arrived from Arizona, parked in Utah, bought a souvenir in New Mexico, and drove off into Colorado all in a matter of a few minutes–we embarked on a most beautiful drive through southwest Colorado. Between the majestic mountains, vibrant colors, and the winding river along the road, it was almost too much beauty to behold at once.

Smack in the middle of this route is Telluride–a favorite destination for our family. We decided it was worth the extra couple hours of road time to stop, take the gondola ride into the city, and have lunch.

Waiting for the gondola…

Here is the breathtaking drop into Telluride from the top of a neighboring mountain. This is the only city I’ve been to that is literally surrounded by mountains. There is only one road that accesses the city from the outside, and it dead-ends at a mountain. It has always reminded me of this verse from Psalm 125: “As the mountains surround Jerusalem, so the LORD surrounds his people both now and forevermore.”

Judging by her squeals and bounces, Ruthie greatly enjoyed the ride.

Can you imagine walking out of your house every day and seeing this? These people are seriously spoiled.

To make a long drive story short, we ended up driving over 28 hours in two days. Upon arriving home, it was a sweet reunion for Molly and Ruthie.

While we’ve had a great time exploring the area and seeing the many sights Arizona has to offer, yesterday may have ranked up there as everyone’s favorite day. We never got in the car, never saw any grand sights. It was a day of relaxing, playing, and just hanging out together.

Ruthie was quite spoiled this week with 12 people to dote on her. Here are two of the 12 cuddling with her in the morning.

Jake showed Nicole how to whittle.

Later in the day, all the kids set up a trading post of sorts (appropriate for the area–we’ve seen dozens of Indian trading posts since arriving). Some kids were pine needle merchants, some were bed-makers and had to buy needles to make the beds, and some bought the beds. They wrote money amounts on leaves and rocks and began their buying and selling.

Here, the bed makers:

When they came back inside, we had a lineup to compare heights. It appears that the children are beginning to overtake the adults.

After dinner, we had a Bubbie birthday celebration. Jeremy and Nathan were buddies; there was never a lull in their conversation. Mr. Chatterbox, meet Mr. Chatterbox.

The balloons had to pass through quality control:

Then the kids lined up to drop the balloons on Jeremy after we sang Happy Birthday.

The balloon drop!

And just to make sure everyone had enough sugar for the night, we even had a pinata.

A great day from beginning to end.

The week has been abuzz with activity since the Goldings arrived last Sunday. With nine kids running around, there is never a dull moment, at least not before 10pm. But I speak for all of us when I say that we are having a blast–good friends are a blessing.

We began the week touring Sedona, a city famous for its red rocks.

Jeremy and Nathan entertained us with some sword-fighting.

Then we returned to Sunset Crater to hike the lava flow trail. The kids had a great time spending some energy on the hike and even managed to learn a few things about volcanoes.

Lunch amidst the lava…

While at home, we have taken advantage of the extra hands–more children means more laborers. They have had cleanup duty after dinners.

Ruthie sure enjoys having girls around. She is receiving constant attention.

Yesterday we drove to the south rim of the Grand Canyon and learned that the Colorado River, which lies at the bottom of the canyon, is more visible from the south than from the north.

Jake taught the difference between uniformitarianism and catastrophism.

After finding a quiet spot, we managed to gather everyone together for a picture…with almost everyone smiling…no small feat!

Before embarking on our hike, we had a lesson on the dangers of walking too close to the edge. Here we are looking at some hikers who had scrambled down the canyon a little ways and were walking along the edge of a steep rock outcropping. We weren’t sure if we should watch them to see what would happen, or avert our eyes.

“The earth is the Lord’s, and all it contains, the world, and those who dwell in it.” (Psalm 24:1)  Spectacular.