X Country

The mountains were calling and we took Josh up for his first time X country skiing... plenty of sunshine. Kelsie yelling that she is going too fast when she was really going .05 miles an hour.  Josh ending up teaching Kelsie to cut a piece of pizza. Josh looks like the classic mountain man with his nearly 11 month old beard. Not really needing skis because there was very little snow and people were hiking in boots.  Kelsie sliding down the mountain sitting on her skis (a habit she picked up as a child). Josh treating us to lunch at Baked, my new favorite place. Thank you. It was nice to spend time with these two. 

Saying Goodnight to the Sun

In my quest to get in shape we have been more active. And the kids have been wonderful to encourage me. True, sometime I don't want to go, but I have always been glad I did afterwards. We went on a quick walk before sundown in the foothills of Timp. We found a hill up above and made that our goal to hike to the top and then rested while the sun was saying goodnight. This has been such strange warm weather and we are taking advantage of it all we can.

cecret lake

We made a quick trip up Little Cottonwood Canyon and hiked up to Cecret Lake. I hadn't been up there for a long time and my love for this place quickly returned with so many good memories. Clouds covered SugarLoaf and Devil's Castle peaks. Both are breathtaking and are now on my growing bucket list. Part of the way up, Kelsie headed back with a headache and felt she was getting sick. The rest of us made it to the lake and hung out for just a bit as a storm was coming in quickly... we made it back in light sprinkles. It cools down quickly in the mountains this time of the year.

Conrad taking a moment to find peace

payson grotto falls

We headed up to the Payson Grotto Falls just has the storm clouds were gathering. By the time we started, there was a light drizzle which felt good, but it did make for a slippery trail. A lunch in hand, we made our way to the waterfalls which were only maybe a quarter mile walk. The little stream meanders along the path and we crossed it several times over planks. It is the most perfect little place for young kids to discover and I am sure we will come often. Abby slipped in the mud a couple of times :) On our way home our backseat girls tell me to change the channel, which I often ignore. Their only option is to change the channel on their own with the window scraper, which they laughingly do. It delights me. 

family camping trip

I wonder why leaving our somewhat clean homes and comfortable beds to spend time out in the great outdoors with all the dirt, bugs and smoke can be so relaxing. There is nothing like leaving the stresses of life behind and camping. It just has a way of rebalancing life and love it.  We originally planned on going to Flaming Gorge this year, but Ash and Paul found this cool place near Moon Lake, by Duchesne on an earlier trip and off we went.

Memories:

Had the camp all to ourselves. The diving june bugs into the lanterns on the first night with Phoebe screams. Conrad spending his time polishing up his skills non-stop running with his arrow, throwing it to kill the bear (bush) and jumping over a log, over and over again. Lindsey's creative camping ideas off Pinterest: blow up pool for crawling babies and the headlamp / jug of water that made a cool lantern. Ransom, Tyler and Larry mountain biking to the lake... pulling Ransom up the hills as he hung on to the Suburban. Favorite pastime? Knocking over dead aspen trees and listening to them crash. Homemade scones. Cooking omelets in a baggy. Ashlee dancing. Never ending stories around the campfire. Humming and playing name that tune. Jack clapping and saying 'Yah'. 30 Minutes of dirt roads. Phoebe being a dog with a stick in her mouth. Ashlee's burnt scalp. Phoebe hugging her dress non stop that she was finally wear a dress on the last day. Soda pop fridge in the river. Fishing at the lake. Watching Conrad catch a fish. Watching ants carry their eggs away. The boys tying up dead tree trunks and dragging them back to camp for our campfires. Constant sawing wood. Tin foil dinners. Cooking Lindsey's sugar cones filled with yummy good stuff over the fire. The thrill of catching fish! Playing camping games: throwing rocks at trees and heaving big rocks. Conrad pretending to be a bear and scaring his dad in the outhouse. The kids are happy throwing rocks in the river all day long... life is good!