Betty's Kitchen

**Let me preface this by saying that my fabulous new camera is currently out of commission for about the next week. It's a tragic, painful story that involves a certain 2 year old with no impulse control. I'll spare you the details. I might cry again if I relive it. But because of that, the scenery pictures aren't nearly as awesome as they could be. Boo.**


After church today, we decided to go on a little exploring adventure. We've been meaning to do some hiking since we moved here, but we keep forgetting. So Derk and I got online and looked around, and we were surprised to find several places very near to us. We decided to check out Betty's Kitchen this time. We packed a picnic dinner and headed out to have a fun adventure.

We got there and decided to check out the little nature walk first. For those of you who lived in Moscow with us, this was much like the arboretum. There are signs that tell you about the different shrubbery, jack rabbits, birds, etc. It was a really peaceful little half mile walk, and the kids had a lot of fun.

All excited and eager to start exploring

I think this was the biggest tree Kyrie had ever seen

Asher was really proud of the big branch he found


Kyrie reading me a sign about some of the migratory birds we saw


My 3 cuties enjoying the bridge


Us girls


Enjoying their picnic dinner

After dinner, we decided to continue down the road and see what was up ahead. We decided to pull off to the side of the road and take the kids on an impromptu hike up a mountain that wasn't part of the trail. It was so much fun making our way up together. Even little Cambria walked the entire way up (with LOTS of help from Mom, of course) and was so very proud of herself. She wanted to stop half way up to look at the cool cacti scattered all over the place, so Derk took the other 2 kids up to the top. They thought that was the coolest thing.

Cambria slowly making her way up


Derk, Kyrie and Asher at the very top
(You can barely see Asher -- he's the little dot in between Derk and Kyrie, lol)


I had to get a picture in front of this gorgeous scenery. What a sunset!


I love him


Taking a quick break on the way down


A cute video of Cambria

Photo Sharing - Video Sharing - Photo Printing

Some of the amazing scenery

It was a fabulous Sunday. I feel so blessed to experience the beauty of the desert. It's definitely different from what we're used to, but it's so beautiful in its own way. We can't wait to get out again over the next few weekends and explore some other fun places!