MLK Day Adventures

One of the great things about Nate's job is that he has holidays like Martin Luther King Day off from work. For the most part. We had a wide open day to spend together on Monday. I suggested we go to Valley of Fire State Park, and he jumped right on that idea...because the state park is only a short distance from where a very rare crane has been hanging out. We drove through some really small towns in Nevada to find this crane; which ironically, is called the Common Crane. 

There were other people out there trying to catch a glimpse of this bird too. They were nice enough to let us take a look through their spotting scopes. Oh how Nate wants a nice spotting scope!

Emmy insisted I hold her for most of the walk, but when I suggested she hold hands with Jansen, she practically jumped out of my arms. She often calls him "my Jansen." Poor Emmy got it in her head that we were there to find a bunny and asked about it the whole time.

After the crane adventure, we drove about 20 minutes to get here.

The weather was absolutely perfect. Between climbing, sand, small caves, and rocks, the kids could not have been happier.

I always hope and pray that having fun outside together is like little drops in a bucket that will keep our family strong in the future. And that somehow these experiences and memories will help make them good, successful, happy, hard working adults. 

We spent a good amount of time in this little spot building with sticks, grass, and rocks. Jansen kept complimenting Natalie on how creative she is.

It was a great morning. We even had time later that afternoon to ride bikes at the park with friends and grab some dinner at In n Out. Days like this make it hard to go back to school/work the next day!