Birth of Benjamin Clark Sherwood 2-6-12

It had been way too long since we had seen Lucie.  Circumstances didn't allow us until  this past weekend, and oh what a weekend!!  We only had Saturday with her because both David and I had to work until 5 on Friday but we were grateful for it!  We decided to do something fun and out of the ordinary so that this short time we had with her would be a memorable one.  We picked her up in Timbuktu and took her back to Moab.  Here we ran around some for batteries, cash and other things.  All the while, little Lucie was chattering in the back seat, having the best time with her dad no matter what we were doing.  Finally we got to our first destination.  'The sand box".  Or so Lucie called it.

Anybody who has been to the sand dunes knows how much fun a place like this can be.  You wear yourself out running to the top just so you can run and jump down and  feel like you are flying for just a second.  It was hard to tear ourselves away from this big sand box to go to the next thing on the agenda.  But we did, with the promise that we would come back later.  

Next we took the short drive (across the street) to Arches National Park.  I hadn't been there since I was a little girl and David hadn't ever been there so it was a treat for all of us!  Lucie was such a trooper, she even reminded us that she was a 'mountain goat'.  She was fascinated, just like we were with the amazing, weird shaped mountains and rocks around us.  We were able to drive the whole park and stop nearly everywhere we wanted to and hike around; Lucie as our fearless leader.  We ate PB&J as we basked in the sun below 'Balanceed Rock'.  Talked to some fellow hikers and explored the nooks and crannies of this amazing park.  We had SO much fun!  I enjoyed myself immensely.  I don't know if my husband even knows how much I enjoyed this day!  It was beautiful and perfectly simple.  The whole time I was just overwhelmed with an intense sense of joy and peace and love.  Lucie is such a good little girl (she got that from her dad) and I loved soaking up her innocent and sweet spirit.  We loved laughing at the tings that she said and did. 

Once we were all pooped out we decided to go clean up and eat some dinner.  We watched Lucie enjoy some chicken strips and fries while we muched on some chips and salsa and shrimp salad.  After we were stuffed to the brim we walked around little Moab for a while till we just had to go back to the sand box one more time! :)  It was a great day! 

 It was all too bitter to say goodbye at the end of the day.  We are grateful for the memories and for the beauty of this earth and for the blessing of being able to make this small trip.  Hopefully it will become a frequent thing.  We even stopped at a cute Bed & Breakfast on the way out that was located just miles away from where Lucie lives.  It was really quaint.  We just might become regular guests!  If so, more interesting stories to come!