Another Weekend in Moab

I've been trying to get this post finished for days, so hopefully today is the day it actually happens!  Conference weekend we finally made it down to Moab with our friends the Hales.  We had originally planned on the weekend before but my whole family ended  up being sick with the stomach flu so we wisely canceled.  We almost canceled again when we saw that the weather report was predicting two days of rain with a high of 65 degrees.  Of course the weekend we were sick the weather was sunny and 90 degrees--perfect pool weather.  After agonizing about what to all Friday morning we decided to go ahead and make the trip down there in the hopes that it couldn't rain the entire time.  My parents also joined us since my Dad had an appraisal he needed to do in Moab.  

We woke up to overcast skies, but no rain.  The kids got in the pool as soon as it was ready and Justin, Brad, Susan and my Dad decided to go on a mountain bike ride before the rain hit.  Unfortunately it started to rain before they even left the house.  They toughed it out and rode for a few hours in the cold rain.  Meanwhile the kids didn't last long in the pool even though we had turned on the pool heater the night before.  The older kids played cards and board games while the youngest three played with cars and watched Scooby-doo.  My Mom and I got to watch part of General Conference in between feeding lunch to eight kids.

Katie, Jonathan and Maggie Hale 

playing cards with Blythe and Brynne.

After the mountain bikers returned everyone got back in the pool.  I got lured in by Justin and my Dad saying how warm the water the was.  I guess it could possibly have felt warm to someone who had just been riding a bike the rain for two hours, but it did NOT feel warm to me.  I went off the diving board once and down the slide once and then spent the rest of the time in front of the spot where the warm water jetted into the pool.  It was still raining too.

That afternoon Brad, Susan and I took all the kids, except Barrett who was napping, to the Moab museum.  It was small but was quite interactive and the kids had a great time.  Their favorite exhibit was an old player piano that they were allowed to use.  Everyone had at least two turns pumping the foot pedals.  There were also dinosaur bones, indian artifacts, a 1912 kitchen and old turn of the century clothes to look at and even try on.  The girls were all fascinated by the corset and they were glad they don't ever have to wear one!  Blythe has been studying about fossils in school so she talked me into stopping in at a fossil and rock shop on the way home.  She picked up a couple of trilobites and she and Brynne picked out some pretty rocks, including some peacock ore.  After dinner the kids and my Dad went back into the pool and swam in the dark.  At least the rain had finally stopped by then.

Maggie and Barrett.

Brynne on the diving board.

The next morning we happy to see sunshine.   After a big breakfast of french toast we rode our bikes to the park, except for Barrett and Justin who met us there.  

We were quite the sight with 7 kids and 4 adults all on bikes.

After we got back from the park Susan and I packed lunch and cleaned the kitchen while Justin and Brad loaded up the cars.  Then we drove into Arches National Park and went on a short kid friendly hike before eating lunch.

Brynne climbing a dead tree.

Justin with Barrett, the reluctant hiker.

I'm not one for taking photos without people in them,

but Brynne insisted on using my camera to take this photo.

Because of all the rain the day before there

were lots of puddles on the slickrock.

The Petty Family.

Maggie found this small hidden arch and the kids posed

for a picture at the newly named "Maggie Arch."

Ben, Jonathan, Katie, Matthew, Barrett, Blythe, Maggie & Brynne.

Barrett could not stay out of the water and 

ended up soaked to his chest after making 

red mud pies in this huge puddle.

Actually Barrett wasn't the only one who couldn't

resist the lure of playing in the wet sand.  

At least the girls managed to stay dry.

After changing Barrett into dry clothes we drove to a picnic area near Balancing Rock to eat our late lunch before getting in the car to drive home.  All was going as planned until Barrett started complaining that he didn't feel good.  He was swatting at his mouth and then started gagging as though he were going to throw up.  We gave him a bag to throw up in but he just ended up spitting in it.  Once again the big question was:  allergic reaction or stomach bug or Barrett just acting weird?  We decided to get in the car and drive back to Moab.  About 3 minutes after we got in the car Barrett's eyes started swelling up.  So rather than wait for Justin to find a place to pull over, I went ahead and gave Barrett his Epipen shot while he was buckled in his carseat.  I had to do it on the top of his thigh rather than the side like it recommends so I think it hurt it him more this time.  He sure screamed bloody murder and pulled it out of his leg before the full 10 seconds was up.  We drove straight to the tiny Moab hospital and had him checked out.  He was doing just fine so they let us go after about 45 minutes.  I had two more Epis with me just in case he had a relapse.  

Barrett crying after I used the Epipen on him.  This was a few minutes later and the injection works quickly, but you can still tell that his eyes are a bit puffy.  He looked totally fine by the time we reached the hospital.  So what do I think caused the reaction?  I think it was most likely caused by him playing in our friends car while we were packing up.  They had eaten pistachios in their car on the trip down Friday night and there were a few shells lying around.  The other possibility is that he had eaten some organic tortilla chips that I didn't intend for him to eat because I hadn't called to make sure that they were safe for him.  We made

it home just fine and he slept a lot of the way since he was so exahausted.