This is my first posting on this site. I am hoping to keep it up to date. Kaira gave me the idea to do this, and it is a good one. I am posting so my family and friends can keep up with Ethan. I am starting with our trip to visit Grandma and Grandpa Bond in Phoenix, Arizona last June. We spent a week in Arizona, and took a fun trip to the Grand Canyon. We camped for four nights at Lake Kaibab near Flagstaff, Arizona.

This was Ethan's first real camping experience and he loved every minute of it. We camped near lake Kaibab and went fishing for Trout. Ethan did not catch any fish, but he helped mom, dad, and grandpa reel some in. I think his favorite parts of camping were finding sticks to throw in the camp fire and building his own log teepee. Even though it was june, the weather was just beautiful. It was cool in the mornings and evenings and not too hot during the day - thanks to the surprise rain showers and hail storm. Ethan is still talking about how we got caught in a rain storm at one of the shuttle bus stops and had to take cover under the trees.

We took an old fashioned steam train from a town near where we were camping (Williams, Arizona) to the Grand Canyon National Park. It was about a two hour ride with entertainment from cowboy singers along the way. They even staged a surprise train robbery with horses and all. This was Ethan's first encounter with cowboys, and he was a little scared at first. In the end though, he got used to the idea and even agreed to pose for a picture with one. We also went to Slide Rock State Park near Sedona, Arizona. Slide Rock is a natural water attraction where you can slide down slippery rock rapids and natural slides. It is very beautiful there - the rocks are deep red. We all took turns going down the different rock slides - even Grandma Bond! Grandpa Bond was our official photographer and got some great action shots. Here is a photo of Ethan riding down a slide with dad. We all had a nice time and the evening ended with a nice meal of Mexican food on the patio of a restaurant in the town of Sedona.
The Grand Canyon itself was just amazing. It is impossible to catch all that beauty in photograph. I think we all would like to go back again for more adventures.