Adventures

My parents came down the last week of July. My dad had never seen our new house, and mom wanted to have some last adventures before everyone went back to school. Joe and Kym's family decided to come up and join us for a few days. It was so nice to be able to have everyone stay at our house and not feel too crowded. It has been so nice to live closer to cousins (Price, UT), and I am so glad Joe and Kym make the drive to come see us often.

The idea for this trip came from 4 year old McKay. Whenever McKay goes to the farm, he always asks Grandma if they can go on an adventure. I think Grandma likes them just as much as McKay, so she decided to come have some more adventures with her grandkids.

Adventure #1 TIMP FALLS

I have never been a fan of hiking. I have many bad memories of being the slowest hiker in a group and getting left behind, so it has never been a pastime that I would choose. Jonathon always teases me by reminding me that I once said about hiking, "Why would I want to go spend several hours to walk uphill?" That being said, I knew that my kids would enjoy it, so I decided to give it a shot. It also helped that we were going on "Family Friendly" hikes and had lots of little kids that needed to take breaks, so the pace would definitely be slow. 

On the morning of the hike, Grandma presented each grandchild with a little backpack with their name on it. In each bag was a sack lunch, a small water bottle, a pair of sunglasses, and a whistle. They were pretty excited to have their own special bags. 

We drove up Provo canyon to the base of Mount Timp where the hike started. The Stewart Falls Trail and the Timp Falls Trail both started at the same place. We had never been on this hike before, so we were hoping it was the right place. We were told that it was about 1.5 miles up to the waterfall, so we headed off for an adventure. 

Starting the hike. We told everyone to smile, and Bridger turned around. So funny!

The beginning of the Trail

Along the way, Grandma had lots of ideas to keep the kids entertained. She gave each one of them a special job to do. Christian was the scientist. He got to carry the magnifying glass and point out interesting bugs or plants to look at. Andrew was the Leader who got to go up the trail first and call to everyone if there were any big rocks or dangers to watch out for. McKay was on garbage patrol and made sure that everyone cleaned up after eating their snacks, and Jadyn was the cheerleader who encouraged anyone who was getting tired or having a hard time. They felt very important to have their own jobs. (On the way back down, everyone got to switch jobs.) After the first few hundred feet, the trail narrowed until it was just a single-file trail. It was pretty tight, but actually turned out to be pretty nice because we didn't have to worry about losing anyone since there was no other way to go.

The kids did a great job and kept going even though it was pretty hot and took a while. Even the toddlers (Bridger and Hyrum) walked a good portion of the trail before being carried in the backpacks. As we were hiking with all of the little kids, I kept thinking, "Either we are crazy or awesome." We all agreed that it was probably a little of both. The kids found some interesting things to look at including a Monarch caterpillar, flowers, and stinging nettle.

The First Waterfall in the distance

Finally, when everyone was getting really tired and starting to moan a bit, we reached the waterfall. It was pretty, but it was a lot farther off the trail than we were expecting, so we couldn't really get very close. We were just happy to have found a waterfall, since we still weren't sure we were on the right trail. We sat down and ate our lunches and took a rest.

Just as we were getting finished up, some other hikers came down from further up the trail and told us that we needed to keep going to the second waterfall, which according to them was much cooler. I thought the kids were going to throw a fit about the idea, but they all decided that they wanted to keep going. We hiked another 15 minutes or so, and finally came to the awesome waterfall that we were expecting. It was gorgeous, and the trail went right to the base of the waterfall where you could go play in the water or sit on the rocks.

The Second Waterfall

We sat at the base of the waterfall for a long time. It was much cooler near the water. The mist came up from the little pool of water and really took the edge off of the summer heat. The sides of the mountain were covered in green moss and were really beautiful. The kids took off their shoes and waded for a bit, and then we headed back down the trail. It was definitely worth the hike, and I was so impressed with all of the kids.

Then we headed home to take naps. After the littles got a good rest, we headed to BYU campus to take everyone on a tour of Jonathon's lab. It had been quite a long time since most of them had been to BYU. We showed them Jonathon's lab and office, and then headed to the WILK for Creamery Ice Cream! My parents met and married while at BYU, Joe and Kym met and married while at BYU, and Jonathon and I met and married while at BYU, so there was a lot of history at that campus. It was fun to take all of the kids back and show them the places that held so many memories for all of us. And the BYU Creamery Ice Cream still can't be beat. Earnestly Chocolate may be the best flavor in the world, followed closely by Raspberry Cheesecake. MMMM :)

Eating Swedish fish from the candy jar in Jonathon's office

BYU Campus

Ice Cream!

That night, we ate dinner and put the kids to bed since they were exhausted. Then we stayed up and made a bunch of bags of freezer corn. Dad and Mom brought a couple of gunny sacks full of fresh corn for us from Dad's field, so we spent the evening shucking, cooking, cutting, and bagging corn. It was nice to have lots of help to make it go fast. The guys shucked the corn, and then they headed out fishing while the girls finished up.

The corn shucking brigade

Adventure #2: BATTLE CREEK FALLS

Yes, we hiked two days in a row... with 7 kids! They did so well the day before that we knew they could do it again. Utah is such a great place for hiking. There are so many amazing hikes just a few miles from our house. I really need to learn to love hiking. This hike was in Pleasant Grove about 20 minutes from our house (although it ended up being about 45 minutes because we got lost :)

This hike was quite a bit easier than the first one. It had a wide trail, only one mile each way, and was only steep at the very end. This time Grandma gave each of the kids a scavenger hunt paper that had things to find while on the hike. Some things included: animal tracks, yellow flowers, a log, a bird, etc. The kids were so in to their papers that it took 15 minutes to go the first 500 feet. Once they found all of their things though, it was much faster. It also ended at a beautiful waterfall where we ate lunch and played in the water.

Grandpa and Hyrum

Love these cousins!

When we got done, we headed to Tucanos Brazilian Restaurant to eat. It is definitely a favorite of our family. We went at lunch time, so the prices were cheaper and kids under 7 eat for free. With my $10 off coupon, the three kids and I ate for $13. Not bad for all you can eat Brazilian barbecue! I only wish Jonathon could have come with us. 

Then we went home for naps... always an important part of the day. When everyone was rested, we headed out for...

Adventure #3: BIKING THE PROVO RIVER TRAIL

Just a few hundred feet from our house is the Provo River Trail. It is such a great place to walk and ride bikes. It is paved and shaded pretty much the whole way. We all hopped on our bikes and headed out. A little less than a  mile from our house, there is a fun spot on the trail with a tree swing, tire swing, and picnic tables. We rode to our special spot and played on the swings for a while. Once again, the kids did great. Jonathon pulled Bridger and McKay in the bike trailer, I had Hyrum in the baby seat on the back of my bike, and all of the other kids rode their own bikes. They were troopers and made it without any problems. All of the kids loved the tree swing (which is so tall that you feel like you are flying), but I think Grandma might have loved it most. She leaned back, spread out her arms, and flew through the air while my Dad pushed her. I loved seeing her so happy. 

2 cute 2 year olds

Add caption

Grandma on the swing

When we got home, we ate pizza, put the kids to bed, and then stayed up playing games. Everyone had to leave the next day, but we sure had fun while it lasted. We crammed as much into 3 days as we possibly could. I am so grateful for my parents who take time out of their busy lives to come make memories with us. My boys felt very loved and very special.