Day Trip to Wupatki National Monument

My parents decided in the beginning of October that they would take a weekend out of the month to come down and visit us. We were very excited. Jocelyn was excited and talked everyday about how Grandma and Grandpa were going to come to visit and that they were going to sleep at our house! My parents arrived late Thursday night.  Friday morning we got ready and the girls and I took my parents out to explore Wupatki National Monument.

It was a beautiful day and we had a lot of fun walking around showing Grandpa and Grandma the ruins.

This was also Bridget's first time going to Wupatki and she loved going into all the rooms, looking out the windows, and playing in the dirt.

I had to get a picture of Jocelyn next to the same doorway she stood in as a four month old baby to show how much she has grown since the last time we came.

The next pueblo we stopped at was the Citadel. A large pueblo up on top of a hill. It also has a huge sink hole behind the hill which when you climb to the top really makes it just so much more beautiful.

This is my favorite pueblo. If I had to choose which pueblo to live in it just might be this one. I could get use to enjoying this view everyday. Although that might be one of the only things I would enjoy if I had to live in a pueblo.

We stopped and had a picnic lunch on some benches at the Citadel. It was not the best place, especially considering up the road a short ways was a picnic area, but we managed! Only half of the girls food landed on the ground.

After filling our stomachs we were ready to continue exploring.

The last place we stopped at was the visitors center and the largest pueblo of them all, Wupatki.

Visiting the pueblos last time I never really noticed how many large boulders they used to build up the pueblos. They are quite amazing structures.

By the end of the trip Jocelyn kept wandering off the explore on her own.

She also was definitely done taking pictures! All she wanted to do was sit and play in the dirt.

She even pretended to be asleep at one point to avoid anymore pictures. Big hugs from Grandma helped cheer up this cranky girl.

 I had to sneak a few while she was not looking. This candid shot is actually one of my favorites that I took of her. I love to take my girls out to see how the world use to be and how different we live now. I think it really helps us to be more grateful for the things that we have: air conditioning, internet, cell phones, cameras, grocery stores, modern medicine. When learning about the people who lived in these pueblos I realize that I am most grateful for time. Living to 40 was considered a long life because their lives were so difficult. I am so glad that I can have more time to spend with my girls and my family.

 We thought maybe we would fill up our water bottles for the trip home...hmmm or not.

On the way back to the car we saw a tired butterfly who could no longer fly. Jocelyn sat and watched the butterfly trying to think of some way that she could help it. Bridget on the other hand saw the butterfly and went right over to it and picked it up. That poor butterfly! I think she traumatized it!

After exploring we drove the rest of the way into Flagstaff and ate at Sizzler. The GPS was slow and we kept missing our turns to Sizzler. My parents got a nice scenic tour of the freeway three times before we finally made it to the restaurant. The girls and I had fun taking my parents to Wupatki.