DAY 3 : OPEN CANYONS, ARCHES AND THE ROCKIES

At 0530 dad woke up and proceeded to awaken all the occupants in the front part of the RV. Gian, excited to be in a new location, quickly asked Grandpa to pick him up while I, who happened to fall asleep at 0200, turned over and went back to sleep. Mom, Dad, Atelei and Gian left to see the Grand Canyon soon after, leaving the Moningkas and me fast asleep. It's a shame I didn't get up with them because I missed some cute Gianesque moments. Apparently he kept saying over and over, "it's beautiful!" when they were on the tram heading to the canyon; when they walked to the ridge; when they peered over the ridge; and when they took photos! Too cute.

WAITING FOR THE TRAM

YAY, WE'RE HERE!

"IT'S BEAUTIFUL, AUNTIE LEI!"

HI, HANDSOME!

LET ME HELP YOU, GIAN

GOOD JOB!

SNACK TIME

TIME TO HEAD BACK TO CAMP

When they arrived back at camp we had breakfast, cleaned up and the entire caravan headed to see the canyon. I've been here before but not at this exact location so I was amazed, yet again, to see how deep and vast and colorful it is. WIth the layering of rocks and sediments juxtaposed with such blue sky, no one can argue that there is a Creator.

BREAKFAST TIME

MAILE'S SIGNATURE SMILE

TAKE ONE

TAKE TWO

THE KEIKIS WERE MORE IMPRESSED WITH THE MINERAL ROCKS

Now that I'm a bonafide 31' driver I headed back to the cockpit and took the first shift on our very loooooong day on the open road. We were going to pass Four Corners { the location where four states meet } but dad convinced us that it's a pretty boring place so we are taking the 163N to the 70E. We'll be stopping at Arches National Park soon { my personal favorite! } then will head east to the incredible Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Save for dad and me, this is new territory. We usually drive up the I-5 to Oregon or Washington so heading east is quite new. And scenic. And pretty.

THIS IS HOW I ROLL
{ just kidding, allan }

THE MONINGKA FAMILY STICKS THISCLOSE TO EACH OTHER
{ when brandon's driving, christine sits shot gun with maile and kale'a on her lap }

For those of you who are curious, no... we haven't fought yet! The kiddos have been so cooperative, happy and excited and the grandparents and aunties all share in taking care of the children. It has only been three days but still... it's nice to see our family getting along. I love it!