muddy horn hunting.....

Chad and I took the kiddos down by the Grand Canyon this past weekend for a little hiking and horn hunting. This is one of the kids favorite things to do with their dad especially, because they get to sell the horns to the horn guy and make some money. We had a big case of counting our chickens before they had hatched on the ride there. Tate wanted to spend his horn money on a new wii game and Livia wanted to purchase some "fin friends" with hers. It is pretty early in the year still for finding horns but if you are lucky enough then they are usually the big daddy horns. We kept a positive attitude that we would be the victors of the day however, the thick yucky mud threatened to ruin our plans. We had brought the 4 wheeler thinking that some of us would hike while the other two could cover more ground on the 4 wheeler. after suctioning Livia's shoes off in the mud and squishing around walking for a couple of miles we decided our best bet was just using the 4 wheeler. The question was how were all of us going to fit? Chad solved the problem by strapping a couple of Grandpa Sorensen's milk crates on the front of the quad. We stuffed them with coats and a blanket and made perfect little cubbies for Livy and Taters. Since they were on tight and we were only going around 8 miles per hour we felt safe. We ended up getting covered from head to toe in mud and had the time of our lives. Sadly no horns were spotted but our little family enjoyed piling on the quad so much we hardly could care. Chad of course was a little frustrated having to put up with a pregnant wife and two kiddos with short legs (that guy can hike for hours on end and not become winded) one of my main goals for the day was getting the famous wings in Tusayan. We had to strip the kids of their shoes and socks and roll up there jeans to hold in all of the mud and Chad and I were covered but I could not even imagine coming all of that way and not partaking of one of my favorite restaurants! We ended up getting the wings and turning the poor little restaurant into a mud mess. The wings were worth the embarrassment. I think all of the European tourists thought we were the definition of American rednecks. We got home super late and tired as can be with smiles on our faces from a fun day. Maybe we will find some horns yet............I need some extra money so I am motivated this year!