Tag Archives: family

Hiking the Grand Canyon with kids!

{the 5 of us … see the Super Moon peeking over Sunshine Girl’s left shoulder?! I JUST noticed that now!}

This past January, we escaped the bitter cold of Chicago & started our new year by doing our favorite thing: exploring the beauty of nature! Sam found $95 round trip tickets on Frontier from Milwaukee to Las Vegas and from there, we rented a car and put over 900 miles on the rental car in one week. Oh & by the way, we each took only 1 backpack on the airplane … so no carry-on or luggage fees! {We may or may not have worn several layers & sweat on the plane ride there.}

There is NO WAY you can ever fully prepare for the breathtaking view of the canyon. We had showed the kids photos & videos, but nothing compares to being there.
So, here’s tip #1: Park at the visitor’s center & head to Mather’s Point {a very short walk just behind the visitor’s center} & take a video to capture their reaction. {I really wish I had done this, as it was absolutely priceless when Sunshine Girl literally gasped when she saw it for the first time!} You might even want to blindfold them & then do a big reveal!

After watching the sun set in the west, I turned to show the kids how the colors of the canyon had already changed so much in the short time we were there & all of the sudden we could see a flaming ball rising over the eastern side of the wall. It was the super moon!!! The photos do not do it justice at all, as it looked HUGE. Apparently, it will only happen there once this year & we were so blessed to see it! Thank you, Jesus!

The next morning, we got up early to hike The South Kaibab Trail. See those switchbacks above?! It is intense. Which leads me to tip #2: Hike the desert in THE WINTER!!!! Over & over throughout the day I repeated to myself {& honestly out loud}, “I CANNOT IMAGINE doing this in the summer heat!” There is NO shade. And, there is no “easy hike” in the Grand Canyon since you are essentially going straight down & then straight back up. The trail starts at 7, 260 feet in elevation & we hiked 3 miles to Skeleton Point which is 5,200 feet in elevation.

{photo above is her “Patagonia pose” .. omg … she kills me!}

Ooh Aah Point is just that. You will stop, feast your eyes on the beauty, and it will take your breath away. Worth every step.
More on tip #2: Another reason to hike in the winter is there are WAY LESS PEOPLE out there. We maybe saw 50 people all day which equals bliss.

The above series of photos are from our final destination, Skeleton Point. Just steps past Skeleton Point is where you will get your first good glimpse of the Colorado River. And, how did we know this? It is based on tip #3: Make friends with the National Park Rangers & ask them LOTS of questions & they will gladly share their nuggets of wisdom. The reason we chose this trail in the first place was based on their great advice: shorter that Bright Angel, but more steep … so up to you. They thought the kids would do better with this trail & I am sure they were correct! {just look at those smiles, still on their faces! … remember, we’ve only gone downhill thus far}.

One of my favorite things about being in nature is the way it grows my heart in pure awe of God, the Majestic Creator. And I also love the spiritual lessons that come with the outdoors. While sitting here, overlooking the HUGE expanse of the canyon, we read to the kids my life verse, Ephesians 3:14-21 & I told them to look out & see how deep, how high, how wide, and how long is the valley & how much bigger God’s love for them is!

One funny story: I had also tried talking to them about The Bridge Illustration {a gospel tool illustrating our need for Jesus & how our “good works” could NEVER get us across to God}, but that was a total fail. I had said, “Pretend we are here.” Kids, “We ARE HERE, MOM!” {O.K.} Me, “Well then, look way over there & pretend God is over there.” Kids, “That’s dumb. God is EVERYWHERE.” Me, “JUST PRETEND!” Kids, “But, that does not make any sense!!!!” Finished by Sunshine Girl saying, “Mom, I don’t mean to offend you, but that just is not a very good analogy.” {Umm… OK… it’s only been used for decades!}

Tip #4 for hiking the Grand Canyon with kids: take lots of breaks & bring lots of water!
It was a HARD trip back, even in the cool 55 degrees, and I offered the mule leaders $1,000 to give me a ride! {Ha! They declined … they were working mules}
Tip #5: create incentives with your kids to get them to certain rest points. This can be a number of steps you both take, a certain rock or tree, a bathroom, etc… that way, they are not overwhelmed. I think my last incentive with Pumpkins on this trail was, “You can eat WHATEVER you want for dinner!” {those little legs earned it & I was seriously impressed!}

My Favorite Little Mister, on the other hand, did not need ANY incentives to complete the hike. In fact, Sam gave him permission to go up ALONE {every mother’s nightmare} & he RAN 1 of the 3 miles up. {He had been going through cross country training withdrawal & just “needed to get a run in”} OMG! Craziness. He got “a little lost” at the top, but then did his “cool down” run back to the visitor center where we met him over an hour later. Tip #6: Fathers, please do not allow your children to “just go up ahead” & thus give your wife anxiety.

Tip #7: Soak in an amazing sunset & celebrate the adventure you had that day! This view is from Lipan Point, another park ranger tip!

 

Enjoy!

Grace & Peace,

Julie

 

 

 

Pumpkin-Poos turned 8!

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Well, hello there! Apparently time flies when you’re having fun & it’s been a long time of no connecting here on the blog {since July—wow!} We had some fun adventures this past summer {which hopefully I will blog about someday!}. We took a 2 week road trip to Acadia National Park in Maine and then drove up into New Hampshire and Vermont on our way to experience a little french culture in Montreal. We then returned home to unload and vacuum the van to get the sand out and then packed up again for Duluth, Minnesota. After returning from camping up north, we did some day trips to Michigan to do our annual blueberry picking in South Haven. This year we added peach picking to the adventure and found our new favorite orchard—Overhiser Orchards, a family run orchard who grows the sweetest fruit & has the best down home hospitality {we returned this past autumn to pick 54 pounds of honeycrisp apples! 147 to be accurate!}.

 

In the midst of all of that excitement, our littlest Pumpkin-Poos turned 8! Our annual birthday celebration for her includes a trip to our other favorite apple orchard, Edwards Apple Orchard, in Poplar Grove, Illinois. Every year she rides the pony {though now she is getting too big!} and she picks out the littlest pumpkin or most unique gourd she can find.

 

In school for star student week, we created these posters of her life’s adventures, so I thought I would share them here on the blog.James-1_Every-Good-Gift_Baptism-Gift_Adoption-Gift_01V_WEB

I have said this before, but if you are new to the blog I will say it again:  she is so much a part of the inspiration and motivation for Life Verse Design. When I was pregnant with her I was pretty sick and had zero brain power to memorize Scripture, so I replaced all the little 3×5 notecards I had around the house with actual artwork that I created. I have loved meditating on the Scriptures before choosing the image or how I would visually express the verse and it has made these words so much more meaningful to me.

 

I love you so much my little joy filled, sweet, and full of love Pumpkin-Poos!

 

Grace & Peace,

Julie

12 Years with My Favorite Little Mister

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This past weekend, we celebrated My Favorite Little Mister’s birthday. TWELVE YEARS!!!! Where did the time go?! I remember receiving the above outfit as a baby gift, thinking, “How will this ever fit him?!” {as it appeared to be “huge”} And, now I am almost eye to eye with my beloved son. {I keep teasing him that next year he will be taller than I am … not too hard to do though!}

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His “bird feathered hair” was just one of my favorite traits about this unique boy. Unfortunately, his first hair cut took that light texture away forever. I cried. What had I done??? {At age 4 he was obsessed with Mustang cars & asked for a “racing stripe” on his head and I asked, “Like a mohawk?!” & he said, “What’s a mohawk?” and we did it anyways!}Julie-Chen-Photo-EBday_0003

We live a block from the train tracks and thus began the obsession with trains. He was 2 years old in this photo & he learned all of his colors & numbers based on the Thomas characters. And, boy if I gave him Gordon instead of Thomas {they are both blue} he corrected me right away. Oh, I loved those toddler years. That is when the humming began. I knew when he was really concentrating on something, like building tracks, a puzzle or Duplos, because I could hear humming from the other room.
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From a very young age he developed what I would call a special relationship with nature. He is truly in wonder with the natural world around him. This is one of our favorite trees at the arboretum.

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And, then came LEGOS!!!! Sam bought him his first set when he was 4 years old {the batmobile set – not shown here} & there was no looking back! It is his current dream in life to grow up & become a LEGO designer & apparently we are all moving to Denmark. Sounds great to me! I LOVE how he plays with LEGOS: receive a set, build it in seconds per directions perfectly, set it up for a day, take it apart the next day & build via his imagination. He literally floors me every day with his new creations.Julie-Chen-Photo-EBday_0006

In first grade came origami. Almost daily he is still creating origami. If you have not seen the documentary Between the Folds, you should. It is very fascinating!

Julie-Chen-Photo-EBday_0007 Meet Bubo. His best friend. We got him this stuffed owl at another one of our favorite places, Willowbrook Wildlife Center. When he was in 3rd grade, he and his sisters organized a fundraiser to raise money to “adopt” owls at Willowbrook. It was a huge success!

Julie-Chen-Photo-EBday_0009Some call My Favorite Little Mister “the animal rescuer” & that is a great nickname for him. He is famous for rescuing spiders before they are smashed to death & above he caught a salamander while we were hiking in the Smoky Mountains {one of the hardest animals he’s tried to catch by the way!}Julie-Chen-Photo-EBday_0008Here he is with a caterpillar. I love how gentle he is with animals.Julie-Chen-Photo-EBday_0010My Favorite Little Mister also loves botany. Have you ever seen a sausage tree??? Crazy! You can come see them here.Julie-Chen-Photo-EBday_0011If LEGO designer does not work out for him, his other profession of choice is to be added to The Piano Guys. He currently plays both piano & cello & LOVES their music. He even wrote an entire essay on how Steven Sharp Nelson is his hero!Julie-Chen-Photo-EBday_0012And reading. While not found playing music, building or chasing bugs, you will find this kid reading. LOVE!Julie-Chen-Photo-EBday_0013Happy Birthday to you, My Favorite Little Mister. I love you more than words can say & it is truly fascinating being your mama. You have taught me more than you will ever know and I am intrigued by you daily.Julie-Chen-Photo-EBday_0014Here is some of my art that features my son.



Grace & Peace,

Julie