City of Rocks & Birthdays!

Yay!!! It's City of Rocks day! I have been bludgeoned with stories of how fun this place is, but I couldn't really believe it until I saw it myself, (yep people, I have no faith). Finally after seven years in the making Kelby held true to his promise that we would go, and so we did. What a great day! We had so much fun with Kelby's cousins, Aunts, Uncles, Brothers, Sisters, and Mom. I couldn't even list all that attended, so let's just say it was a good turn-out.

Some of the most exciting events included Ian landing his knee in a cactus and our canopy flew away with an unexpected gust of wind. In fact I think it was the only wind we had that day. We got the canopy back and the best part of it all was watching Kelby's sister Tysi run after it 7 months pregnant. Fun times. I also stepped in a cactus while running after the canopy. Those spindles went right through my shoes! Dang cacti! I figured out real quick why Ian put up such a stink. Here Taylor, Ian, & I are with Kris (Kelby's bro Brock's wife), Taylee (Brock's lil' gal), and Jill (Kelby's sister). Kelby took this pic of us. We had just climbed up the back of the rock everyone was climbing on. No ropes needed for this ascent, just a sharp eye on the little ones. I can now understand why my dad was always so nervous when we went hiking. I was terrified that my kids would fall!
Kelby's niece Taylee & nephew Kade (Tysi's boy) attempting the climb from the front.
Ian wanted to try rock climbing with such fervor that he just couldn't wait. In an effort to get the harness on he succeeded in getting it around his neck. Not exactly the safe way to climb. Patience is a virtue....
Katie (Kelby's cousin) & Skyler (Katie's spouse) helping Ian with the harness and last minute instructions.
A big boost from his dad and a tug from the rope by Katie and Ian is on his way.
Skyler is the pro here so he went up with Ian. I don't think Ian worked his way up to much. Between Skyler and Katie they got him to the top.
Here he comes, a pic from the top. Kelby ran around and climbed the backside to get this shot of Ian finishing his climb.

Now Taylor gets a try. He looked concerned in the beginning, but turns out I didn't need to worry. The kid did fine and loved it.
Kyler (Kelby's lil' brother) helped Taylor up along the way and guided him when necessary.
Almost there....
Taylor with Kyler & Shane (Kelby's cousin). Shane worked all day helping haul people over the edge. He even helped me when it was my turn. I hate ledges and going back over to repel down was so terrifying to me that he held my hand while I did it. Thank you Shane! He even took the pic of Taylor coming up since I didn't have the guts to sit on the cliff and do it. I would have had Kelby do it except he was busy helping Ian after he landed in the cactus. All in a days work I guess.

Going down. Taylor was the only kid who descended correctly. All the others found difficulty in trusting the rope to support them. You can depend on Taylor to follow directions if safety is on the line. He even came up to me when it was my turn and told me to listen and do what Katie and Skyler said.

Kelby and I took a stab at the whole rock climbing too. Kelby chose the challenging side while I did the climb all the kids did. To set it into perspective, I climbed up, repelled down, went to the car and got the camera, and then made my way back to take pictures of Kelby while he went up. We started at about the same time. I'll take my climb any day!
Woohoo Kelby! You made it to the top and you thought there for a minute or two that you wouldn't do it. Good thing Skyler lent you his rock climbing shoes. What a difference they make.

Later that night we celebrated birthdays. We headed out to Blaine & Lora's (Kelby's Aunt & Uncle). What a crew we had there. Everybody from City of Rocks and even more had arrived since Kyler's mission farewell was the next day. Nada (Kelby's mom) turned the big old 55. She chose a German Chocolate Cake and I chose....
...a delectable spice cake with white frosting for my 30th. Holy cow time flies!!! I'm glad I got to spend it with family. Notice the 3 is backwards. How funny! I don't know who did it, but they sure gave me a laugh so thanks!

Because I wasn't in Utah with my crazy fam they all called and wished me well. What a fun filled day. I am such a lucky girl!