All about the experience

There is a scene in the National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation, where Clark W. Griswold (Chevy Chase) walks deep into the woods in search of the perfect Griswold family Christmas tree. During their adventure, his daughter's eyes freeze shut, and he declares that it's "all part of the experience."

This is one of our favorite movies, and we watch it every year, but it wasn't until a few years ago that we really began to take that message to heart, and "all part of the experience" became a family motto for us. We have cut down on buying each other Christmas presents, and birthday presents, and just because presents, and use that money to go on adventures, so we can experience more things.

Crazy things like going in a hummer on the Hell's Revenge trail, and posing for a photo that makes you look like you've jumped off a cliff.

Horseback riding in the desert with Ashes.

Hiking to Corona Arch

Jb, and Ashes, and the Old Man, and Mia and Steven

Braving the dangers of the world famous Shafer Trail in a rented Ford Fiesta.

 That was an EXPERIENCE!

How will you know what it's like to be caught in a 2 hour traffic jam if you never leave the house?

We were able to experience red dirt that was not in Moab, 

We experienced what it felt like to stand 10 feet away from a monk seal as she basked in the sun.

We experienced watching a green sea turtle eat algae off of the coral. 

I know these experiences may seem pretty exotic, and you may say, "Yes, I will do  those things, some day,"  I tell you, experiences can be as simple as rolling your own sushi with friends, or sleeping outside on your lawn, or eating ice cream for dinner.  Today is July 14, 2015. This is the ONLY July 14, 2015 I will ever see in my lifetime. I will do my best to make it awesome.

What experiences have you had lately? I would love to hear about them!

For more photos of our Moab experience click here: https://flic.kr/s/aHske7vH4t

For more photos of our Kauai experience click here: https://flic.kr/s/aHskgdSB9z