Vernal

As part of our Utah trip we headed out to Vernal, Utah where my brother Tyler and his family live.  We had so much fun visiting them and seeing what is like in their neck of the woods.  We started out by going hiking at the McConkie Farm and seeing petroglyphs left by the Fremont Indians.  The McConkie Farm is private property, but they let tourists come and see the petroglyphs for free.  We had fun on our little hike with everyone and then Uncle Tyler took Talmage and Audrey on a harder hike to see some other petroglyphs.  The whole thing was AWESOME! 

Next, we headed to Dinosaur National Monument.  I remember visiting this monument vividly as a child and was really excited to take my kids to see it.  The monument is a wall of dinosaur bones and really cool.  The kids had a great time earning their Jr. Ranger badge too.  

Since Vernal is know for its dinosaurs because the National Monument is so close, they have dinosaurs all over the town.  We had fun spotting them out when we drove around town.  Aunt Mary's favorite is the one in a bikini and that became my girls favorite too.  

Talmage and Audrey were able to go and see Uncle Tyler's work.  He works at a local mine and I think is over the blasting.  Anyway, they loved seeing the big trucks, and drinking Gatorade. Uncle Tyler also brought home some geodes from the mine that the kids were able to break open.  

Aunt Mary feed us delicious food and did chalk on the driveway with the girls.  Aunt Mary is an artist and so the girls loved doing chalk with her.  

On our way back to SLC we stopped and saw the temple.  I'm a big proponent of always stopping by temples on road trips; it helps your kids know how important it is to you.  We had a nice little walk around before getting on the road again.  

We loved our time with Uncle Tyler, Aunt Mary, and Avonlea! They were excellent hosts and we loved that they took the time to show us around Vernal!  We are looking forward to them visiting us in the NW someday.  

Jospeh and Uncle Tyler.  

Uncle Tyler was nice and carried Joseph for me since I'm pregnant.

My older three and me by some cool petroglyphs.

This one is called the Head Hunter because he is holding heads.  

A closer look at Head Hunter.

Talmage and Audrey

The crew at McConkie Farm

Working on the Jr. Ranger program; Aunt Mary was great to help.  

The tram ride up to the monument; definitely a highlight.  

Me and my kids at the Monument; Joseph was a pickle as you can see. 

Talmage by the wall.

The girls and Joseph checking out a cool dinosaur bone.

 I think it was a Brontosaurus femur.  

Joseph and Adalyn

Joseph and Talmage

Working on the Jr. Ranger program.

Sweet Avonlea and Aunt Mary.

Pledging to be a great Jr. Ranger.

The crew. 

Aunt Mary, Avonlea, and Joseph on the way back.

The crew.

Avonlea, Audrey, and Joseph.

Audrey had a great time playing with Avonlea.  

We rocked Avonlea's world during our visit; she isn't use to all our noise and Josephs love taps. ;)

Breaking geodes with Uncle Tyler.

Holding their cool geodes.

The girls chalk creation.

The girls chalk creation; I think this one is Avonlea.  

Chalk art with Aunt Mary

Malts; yummy!

Uncle Tyler has our Grandma's malt machine, so we had fun eating malts one night. 

Angela and Tyler. 

The kids at the Vernal Temple.

The staircases were so pretty. 

The Temple use to be a Tabernacle before it was a Temple.

Angel Moroni.

The Dinosaurs around town.

Aunt Mary's favorite.

This ENORMOUS pink dinosaur was also one of my girls favorites.

This ones small and across the street. 

Talmage's favorite. 

This dinosaur changes with what is happening in the town.  

The fair was coming up and they have a watermelon eating contest.