Fall Break - A Temple, Parks, and a Scary Bike Ride

Fall Break came around and we thought it would be fun to spend a few days in Cedar, then head to St George and go through the newly renovated St. George temple, then head finish up over in Bryce Canyon for the last few days.

Somehow this happened. My girls are notorious for not sleeping in the car. Quincey proved me wrong, bless her.

Once we got to Cedar, Greg wasted no time taking the girls to the fun mountain biking trails.

It was fun to have Great Grandma Jolley stop by to see us.

The "Temple Lizard"

The renovations to the Temple were absolutely amazing! They managed to keep the gothic architecture and decor while modernizing it. My mind was completely blown when we got to the 3rd floor and saw an assembly hall identical to the pictures you see of the Kirtland Temple. How in the world had I never known that was up there?! It was amazing to sit and look around.

It was also special to show the girls the room where Greg and I had been sealed 13 years ago. It is still as beautiful as I remembered, right off the Celestial Room.

Contrary to a hangry Claire, I convinced everyone to go into the Visitor's Center for a little bit, so we could look around and find out more info. They had some cool pictures from when the Temple was originally designed and being built.

It's nearly impossible for us to visit St. George without stopping at our favorite Tonaquint Park. Luckily it was warm enough for the girls to still don their swimsuits and play in the water.

While I was squishing Sof in a dinosaur egg ...

Claire was watching safely from above.

Claire makes me laugh!

After getting back to Cedar, Greg was optimistic in thinking he had enough time to ride the Blowhard Trail before the sun went down.

Even though I grew up in Cedar, the view on top of Cedar Mountain takes my breath every time.

 

Off he goes!

I know I normally have 40ish minutes to get back down to the spot where I pick up Greg, so I took my time driving back down the canyon, with the windows down, enjoying the neverending beauty.

Greg was losing daylight fast, but he stopped to take a few pictures himself.

I eventually made it down to the spot where Greg is normally waiting for me. I didn't think much of it, thinking he would pop out of the tree's any minute.

After waiting about 15 minutes, and it being almost completely dark in the canyon, I was officially nervous and decided to go looking for Greg. I grabbed my phone as a flashlight, a blanket in case I found him somewhere off the trail, and started jogging up the trail. I ran past 2 rock climbers and asked if they had seen anyone come by on a bike, and when they said "no," my nerves hit another level. The trail was rocky and twisy, with a few dropoffs, but I kept jogging, hoping I would eventually run into Greg. When the trail took a sharp left turn up a steep and rocky climb, I thought I saw a light, so I kept going. All the while, I had been yelling for Greg, with no answer. I kept going and yelling until finally, about a mile(?) up the trail, I saw a reflection, which ended up being Greg. He had lost daylight so fast, that he was unable to finish the trail on his bike, so he was slowly walking down the trail, trying to stay away from the drop-offs. Greg is normally super calm and level-headed, but when I found him on that trail, he was scared, as he rightfully should have been. We didn't have cell service, so I was beyond grateful to have finally found him. He didn't have a light, so he had been doing his best to make his way down the trail as carefully as he could. After grabbing me in a bear hug (to steady both of our nerves), we turned around and slowly made our way back down the trail. Luckily, I had brought my phone as a flashlight, but quickly learned it might be smart to stash a few flashlights in the car, for emergency purposes.

My mom had kept our girls for us, thinking we wouldn't be gone very long. 1.5 hours later, we finally rolled back into town where we had cell service. My mom had taken the girls to the park, bathed them, and gotten them ready for bed. While we were stressing on the mountain, they were having the time of their lives.

The day ended a lot scarier than I would have liked, but I learned, as I have learned many times being on Cedar Mountain, that God hears us and answers our prayers, all while providing very good learning experiences.