We weren’t sure what to expect as we pulled up to our next stop. It was hot as Hades and there’s not a stitch of air conditioning here. Thankfully, the weather was perfect when the sun went away. lol. And while each of us acted like buttholes at some point on the trip, this is where my buttholery particularly shined. I was hot. I was scared I’d get zero sleep here. And I don’t like being sweaty at all. I knew I wasn’t a camper; come to find out, I’m not a glamper either. I did manage to apologize to my family and pull myself together and enjoyed this part of the trip after all!
Josh is my coffee angel. I have called him that for years. He usually sets the coffee the night before or makes it in the morning so I always wake up to hot coffee. And on trips he makes sure I get coffee. He knows my first question about any spot we stay is, “What’s the coffee situation?” Amazingly, Under Canvas provided the tastiest and most unique surroundings for enjoying coffee and my Bible.
Under Canvas was special, and I am glad we made this experience a part of our trip. And just for clarity, we didn’t all sleep in this tent. This was our tent, and the kids slept in one next to us. Mack got the pull out sofa (again) here, but he did get a real bed at our next stop! He will always be the little brother—good and bad come with that position!
The sunsets were magical and the night sky had a gazillion stars!
Seeing the beauty of the night sky reminded me of Genesis when God made the sun, the great light….then the Bible says, “…and He made the stars also.” Like it was no big deal, and yet there’s untold numbers of them! Amazing. ✨⭐️✨⭐️
Edited to add:
My kids say I look like Caroline Ingalls. Well let me just say, she’d be thoroughly disappointed in me.
We were amazed at the scenery as we drove towards Under Canvas Grand Canyon. We didn’t realize there was a mile trek to get to Horseshoe Bend, so stopping in the heat of the day (and wearing jeans🙋🏼♀️) was not the best decision. Molly had taken Dramamine because she is easily car sick, so she felt delirious on the walk back and only wanted to lay down and close her eyes. Ruby was certain the view at the end was not going to be worth it. And Josh was shirtless by the end of the walk. lol! A few shots on our way out….
The drive from Horseshoe to Under Canvas was gorgeous and unique. GPS wanted to take us down a dirt road for like 30 miles but we opted for a few minutes longer in the car and staying on a real road.
Jury is still out if it was worth it to walk to Horseshoe Bend🤣🤣 but I think we’re glad for the memory!
All smiles as we started out with full bellies from Oscar’s Cafe and with decent temps at 8:00am!
The views were spectacular the whole way!
The switchbacks were wild.
We met a veteran on the way up who was super inspirational!
WE MADE IT TO THE TOP!
And we made it back to the bottom!
About halfway up I was telling Josh how many spiritual parallels there were—he quickly told me there were many, but no one wants to hear them right now. So I just treasured them in my own heart🤣
Now we took off towards The Narrows. I let them go get wet while I stayed with our bags and took pics for random folks!
It was a great day!! We rested up after dinner and got loaded up to head towards the Grand Canyon!
We just had the best vacation! The whole family was able to take ten days and enjoy time out west. We landed in Vegas, then drove our rental car down the strip—taking in all the sights. A little too much when we noticed the mostly not dressed ladies dancing around on the sidewalk. Good grief! The drive was um, enlightening, and I am glad we didn’t get out until we made it to In-N-Out Burger. It did not disappoint. And was the beginning of too many burgers and fries for me!
We drove on, making our way to Zion National Park. We stopped along the way for some photos.
We made it Zion National Park where we stayed at Cable Mountain Lodge, conveniently located at the gate of the park.
Not a bad view!!
We rented e-bikes for a couple of days here. Such a great way to see so much of the park!
We ended the first day by the pool with an amazing view. And then slept like babies!
Hard to believe twenty one years have passed since the day we welcomed our first baby into the world! But today Ruby turns 21. Technically not until almost 11pm. 🙂
So thankful for this past year with Ruby. She had an amazing summer last year working at a camp, she overcame some pretty big obstacles and never gave up, and she has matured so much this past year! I love watching her grow into the lovely young lady she is today. She is so quick-witted, she is a loyal friend and a great conversationalist. I love when she comes home to hang out with us.
We love you, Ruby!
Her sweet room mate made a cake for her! So kind and thoughtful.
May 23, 2025 Mack Joshua Dorminy walked across the stage to receive his high school diploma.
At the start of the ceremony, the pastor welcomed everyone and then prayed. I was particularly struck by his simple sentence of gratitude, “Thank you, Lord, for getting us here.”
It meant much more than the drive from home to school for this graduation ceremony—though The Lord definitely got us there.
“Here” meant more than the many drives from home to school on those early mornings when Mack was usually not talking to me and usually annoyed with anything I happened to say—though the Lord definitely was with us each and every weekday morning.
“Thank You, Lord, for getting us here” also meant more than for the solo drives Mack took to school since the day he got his license—though the Lord graciously protected each of his drives to school. So thankful!
The Lord got us “here” through rough mornings of waking Mack up and hollering upstairs, “You better not be late again!!!” And some rough evenings when we were sure he should be doing homework rather than galavanting around town.
The Lord got us to football games near and far over these years. The Lord has been with us in wins and losses, emotional highs and lows, through injury and recovery, from rebellion to receiving a Christian Leadership Award….through all of it we can say, “Thank You, Lord, for getting us here.”
Mack’s high school years were not smooth-sailing, easy-going days. There were some of those, but few and far between. I spent many of our “here” moments wishing we were “there”—somewhere, anywhere different, peaceful, or happy.
Watching a young boy grow into a man, maturing and changing and trying to figure life out brings with it a variety of emotions, many lessons and growth for the kid and parents alike. Mack is my first and only shot at raising a son. I am one of three girls, so a lot of raising Mack was new territory. Having a brother would have educated me at least a little. So in lots of ways Mack and I grew through this season together. From the best of friends as a toddler and elementary kid to whatever you would call us in this recent season, we have both been on a sanctifying journey.
Lord-willing, there is much more life to live for us both…more challenges, more growth, more opportunities to mature. I am confident in every season we will be able to say, “Thank You, Lord, for getting us here.” It will mean much more than meets the eye. Much, much more.
Thankful we had some family in town to help us celebrate! We had dinner at our house thanks to Josh’s dad. Then, we had lunch at Noble Smoke the next day and Bossy Beulahs after graduation.
My sister snapped this photo of us—two pretty tired parents. We have been married over 24 years and are about to have a mostly empty house in the fall. Maybe we will get more rest? Gain some of our sanity back? Lower our cortisol levels? I am not sure, but I know there is no one on earth I would rather be with to raise kids and launch kids than Joshua Lee Dorminy. He is simply the best. Here’s to dreaming about our Empty Nest!
May continues on with lots of things going on so I’m going to photo dump yet again! Deep thoughts will be for post-graduation, post-guests.
I got to watch my niece and nephew graduate because of technology!
Proud of all of them—home schooling is no joke. It takes the whole family plus some. Good job!
Mack had his last exam of highschool today! We took him to get an Apple Watch since he opted out of a traditional graduation party.
And I went with him to his last high school sports banquet. I hated Josh was out of town, but I loved being with just Mack. We’ve been hanging out together for lots of years.
And we said goodbye to Coach Baucom—a great football coach.
All the kids are home this week! Ruby, Molly and I went shopping Tuesday and met Mack for brunch. I enjoyed being with all of them. A rare occurrence! Should have snapped a photo of us all but I did get them doing a silly dance together.
And the rest of these are just pictures I’ve taken as I’ve been around the house and enjoying our yard. And Rolo of course!
We have missed Josh this week; he sent these gorgeous flowers because he knows this time of year is hard. May 20, 2019 everything in our world shifted at my mom’s tragic death. So much to reflect on and so much growth in the difficulty. Thankful for my thoughtful husband.
Guests begin arriving today! Going to practice being where my feet are—praying you will do the same!
