A Soft Place to Land

(All of my photos downloaded fuzzy today, and I can't figure out why . . . any advice on that?)

Lily switched schools at the beginning of this school year. While she was confident that this was the right decision for her, she was a bit apprehensive about the whole "finding new friends thing."

She shouldn't have worried. She found a soft place to land. Within a few days, she was encircled by a great group of kids.

It's Fall Break this week, and I took as many as I could carry in my Suburban up to the cabin for a day trip.

Lily wanted to show them Tonto Natural Bridge, and once again, it didn't disappoint.

Most of the kids slid down this slope at one point.

When we got to the bridge, Lily and one of her friends continued to climb to the top. Who can resist a "King of the World" shot when you're on top of the world?

The bridge was much less crowded this time, and we spent over half an hour exploring the cave and enjoying the breeze as it blew through.

Lily was determined to get down to this island, but the descent was quite steep. She ended up sliding down much of it, and she was a little shaken up when she reached the bottom.

But she made it!

The other girls were satisfied to stay where they were, laughing and waiting for the more adventurous.

One of her friends was determined to get down that slope, but it took him about ten minutes to steel up his courage before he could descend.

Pictures can't show how huge these boulders are.

After lunch at the park, we headed back to the cabin for a breather (movies are best for that), a ping pong tournament, where the lefty reigned supreme.

Catch in the driveway . . .

. . . and time to talk and relax away from the valley. After dinner and a quick fire, we headed back to the valley.

I struggle to express how thankful I am for these kids and their willingness to accept Lily into their group.

I also hope this is our first day trip of many up north. I would have been happy to sit and listen to the wind through the ponderosa.