Trip to see Mando Wando, Day 2

Saturday morning we woke up and got ready to go The Grand Canyon, so I could mark another thing of my list. Before we left, I played with the dogs, Maggie and Ellis. Sam and Mandy adopted Maggie. She had some puppies and sadly only one made it. They called the puppy L.S. for Lone Survivor. Her name is now Ellis and she is one of the funniest dogs I have ever seen. Maggie layin on her couch.

Here comes Ellis, she's so funny when she walks/runs/jumps. She still hasn't grown into her giant paws and she just bounces all over the place. She's gonna be a big doggy. Isn't the view outside Mandy's front door beautiful?!

Ellis

Maggie inside her awesome homemade dog house and Ellis on the couch.

On our way to The Grand Canyon, we stopped at Jacob's Lake, which is a lodge/souvenir shop/delicious cookie shop/potty break. While we were there a lady in the ladies room told us that a) I was going to freeze at The Grand Canyon, b) there is zero visibility at The Grand Canyon due to fog, c) don't waste your time. Then she walked away angrily. Our decision was to try again the next day. Instead we took a nice scenic 3 hour drive and stopped at almost every Native American Jewelry Stand on the way!

Mom was all about posing. Well, really we all were. She just made it a lot funnier.

Mandy at the first Scenic View stop.

I don't know if I got hurt or if I was just embarrassed when I was caught posing by a group of people walking up.

Those nice people took a picture of the 3 of us.

"Stop! Take a picture of me with this tree." Yes, she really said that.

Me and my sister at the next Scenic View stop.

Mom was really interested in reading all of the information signs the whole trip.

Our smiles are all a bit forced, because the lady we asked to take our picture did not know how to use a camera. She couldn't figure out where the hole was to look through, probably because there isn't one. We were trying our best not to laugh at her holding the screen up to her eyeball. Then, we were sure she was only getting from our waists down. I still can't figure out how our feet aren't in the picture and there is still room above our heads. We got in the car and cracked up at her.

Our next stop was at these cool rock formations that were made into houses because whoever it was that stayed there one night decided it was so beautiful they didn't want to leave.

Mom found a giant spider web in her humble abode just as she was about to take a nap on that nice firm bed. That's just how she likes it. She just really doesn't like unwanted visitors with 8 legs.

Mandy tried to tell me this is where I had to live. It was a little too smelly for me.

Queen of the Rock

The main house is the one with the big chimney. We made friends with the awesome climbing lady behind me. First, I was completely entertained watching her try to climb that rock for a perfect photo op, while her husband just stood there and watched her work so hard to get up there. Later we had them take a picture of us and in their asian accents they counted to three in spanish to crack a joke. Then we realized she is just a really good climber and she likes to do it all by herself. We were quite impressed with her climbing skills.

Mom inside the falling apart house.

Nice paint touches, huh?!

People really underestimate how strong we are, but these pictures are proof that we can lift giant boulders!

Uno, Dos, Tres

Jumping off the rock. She's a really good jumper.

I thought this was such a cute picture that I wanted one with me and my mom. I soon found out that she loves Mandy more than me.

I don't think she really loves Mandy more, I think she's just scared of Mandy and doesn't want her thinking differently. I'd be afraid too. Look at that gnarly face.

We stopped for a picnic along the Colorado river. The rafts take off from here to start their week long run through The Grand Canyon.

I love lizards. I wanted to catch one so bad, but those buggers are fast!

Mom didn't want to be in anymore pictures. I'm not gonna lie Mom, you look like an angry indian.

Check it out! I got my own close up of one of those awesome lizards that their face flares out when they try to scare their enemies off.

One bridge you drive over the Colorado River and one you can walk over.

Amazing views! We sure do have an amazing God that created all of this for us!

Our next stop to look at the jewelry. Here comes the storm.

We stopped for lunch in Page, AZ. Sam was there working so he met us at Fiesta Americana. We passed a bowling alley on the way into town and I challenged them to a competition. The bowling alley was totally ghetto. We walked in and it was a bar with pool tables, darts, etc. We actually had to ask them to turn the bowling lanes on.

Mandy and mom dancing in the car. You don't want to miss this!

They let us bowl in our socks. Bad idea, I'm surprised I didn't slip and fall on my face even once!

Sambo just watched for a minute and headed back to work.

Here are our embarrassing scores just for you Mandy. haha Mom 68, Mandy 89, Me 83. I swear the bowling alley was built on a slope, seriously.

Driving by Lake Powell

When we got back to the house, Mandy and I went on a hike to search for an arrowhead (another thing on my list). It was raining, so I put on my yellow wind breaker. Mandy made her own poncho out of a garbage bag. My favorite is the bread bag on her arm.

Ready to battle the weather. Of course, as soon as we left the weather cleared up and we were sweating under our rain gear. It was totally worth being over prepared. We laughed the whole time.

When we got back, we watched the American Idol finale (again). Sam hadn't seen it. It was such a good finale this year!