What I Learned At Bryce Canyon

My family very recently completed an epic adventure to Bryce Canyon.  (Epic adventures are the only thing we go on according to my husband, Steve.  I think it makes him feel better about where he's at in life right now, that is, NOT on Mt. Everest.)  We spent six days of concentrated family alone time, two of them hiking at Bryce and tent camping at Kodachrome Basin State Park.  During those two days we were chewed on mightily by vicious gnats -- the little buggers made it impossible to stay outside for any length of time; you should have a mental picture of food being shoved into mouths and then the kids running for their lives back to the tents; kept a Staheli tradition alive by cooking some Lallyloop (Grandpa Staheli's name for some fantastic Dutch oven potatoes.  No one knows why.); and I learned something competely unexpected.

The last time I visited Bryce was ten years ago.  We took a day trip from Fishlake and spent half the day at the park.  The three kids I had were six, four and 3 months, and the memories I have of that trip are basically this:  

1)  It was cold

2)  The kids whined

3)  I spent more time than I would have liked trying to shove some cold rice cereal down the throat of a wiggly baby who didn't want to eat in a makeshift high chair in the back of my Land Rover.

That's it.  That may be the reason I was less than excited to go back, this time with four kids, two of them teenagers, in tow.  

When faced with a road trip with kids I've trapped in a car together for hours previously, I was sure I knew how it was all going to go down.  They would fight, I would yell, and we would all be exhausted by the end of the first day.  This is how our trips have gone before.  But from the moment we all got in the car together, something was different.  The teenagers were laughing.  With each other.  The little kids were happy.  Everyone was looking at license plates to see how many different ones we could find.  No one seemed to care when we had to add some extra miles to the trip.  It was *gasp* FUN.  And things went that way for the rest of the week. 

Ezri, now 16, went out of her way to include her little brother, Jack (7) in her vacation.  They hung out in the tent, shared a backpack and water bottle in the canyon, and laughed about more than one private joke.  Evyn (14) was enormously helpful with pretty much everything from cutting potatoes on a paper plate to loading up the trailer with our gear.  Bryn (10) turned on her happy switch, leading the way on every trail and singing while enough gnats swarmed her forehead that it looked like someone had sprinkled pepper on her face.  I was sure the bubble would burst when faced with pit toilets.  Not so.  It turns out that only having one towel all six of us had to use was outweighed by the fact that we got to shower at all.  Every single kid just rolled with it, in every situation, and I was amazed.  Flabbergasted, in fact.  Somewhere along the Navajo Loop in Bryce Canyon, I just started to enjoy myself and being with the people I love best.  

I realized on this trip that we've hit the sweet spot in our career as parents.  We've passed the needy baby stages and haven't yet come to the super-serious, life-changing-decision-making part.  Don't get me wrong -- I've loved every phase so far, but I'd be lying if I didn't say the older my kids get, the better I like them.  I like getting to know who they are as people. I like seeing them make good choices, even when they're hard.  I like seeing them succeed on their own and create their own spheres of influence.  I found that I even like going on vacation with them.  I know this stage won't last forever -- none of them have so far -- but I'm trying my best to focus being present here with them now, so I won't have anything I regret missing later.  And I thank my Heavenly Father every day that I get to be part of their lives, because, you know, I think they're pretty amazing. Even on vacation.

                            

LALLYLOOP

(serving size 8-10 people)

1 lb. bacon

12-14 potatoes, sliced

2 onions, sliced

Water

Salt and Pepper

Cut bacon into pieces and brown in Dutch oven.  You can do this over a fire or charcoal, but we often cheat and make it on our camp stove.  When bacon is cooked, add onions and cook until they are translucent.  Add potatoes and enough water to keep them from sticking, as well as salt and pepper to taste.  Put on the lid (put enough briquettes on top to keep things bubbling if you're doing it that way), but check and stir often, adding more water and salt and pepper as needed.  When the potatoes are cooked and starting to fall apart, take off the heat and serve.  Mmmmhhmmm.