Up On Top of the Mountain x4

It is summertime and we are finding ourselves spending time in the mountains a lot.  I am loving it! 
#1
Last Thursday our family went up to Storm Mountain picnic site in Big Cottonwood Canyon with Madeleine and Ed Giles (and their granddaughter Scout).  Madeleine made the foil dinners at home and brought them up hot and ready to eat- it was a marvelous idea!  We had a great time spending the evening with the Giles' "up on top of the mountain".  Jane LOVES the mountains!  She loves telling everyone that she is up on top of the mountain when we are up there! 

Jane, Madeleine and Seth

Ed and Scout

Daniel, Jane and Mark

Madeleine and Scout- Madeleine is such an awesome Grandma!

Paul playing with his marshmallows

My awesome family

Ummm.... not sure what Mark was doing here!

Scout was having a rough day.  She was relaxing with Grandpa by the fire.

Ed, Scout, Mark and Jane

Daniel and Yours Truly

#2
Last weekend I took the kids to the church camp out.  It was at the Spruces group campground in Big Cottonwood Canyon.  It was Jane's first time camping and it went great. She loved exploring the campground, playing in the tent and chasing around with the other kids.  It was a bit frustrating for me because I really wanted to relax and visit with friends, but I needed to keep Jane next to me, so I spent the evening with Jane (not bad company!).  I'm not a huge fan of camping with a lot of people.  We had tents set up 3 feet away from our tent- it wouldn't have been too bad, but when someone snores or talks, you can hear it.  I prefer camping to be more solitary, but I knew going in that this was what we were doing. 

I was really afraid of taking Jane because it was a cold weekend to be in the mountains.  The overnight low was 37 degrees (F).  I get so cold at home that I was worried about freezing all night.  I took precautions to stay warm and I wound up having to take a few layers off to make me more comfortable.  Jane started the night out in her own sleeping bag but was in my bag with me by morning.  We were all warm and happy, so no complaints! 

Jane with her backpack chair.  She loves to carry it around the camp!

Parker and Seth

Seth doing 'something' in front of the tent

Jane and Paul making some wood projects that a guy in the neighborhood brought.  It was a nice thing to do- but the hammering was driving me bonkers! 

Mark, Jane and Mountain Momma!

  Camping with Jane was fun, but I'm not taking her on any of our overnight adventures again until next year.  Thankfully, Daniel is willing to participate in that being a reality!

#3 We hiked up to the Battle Creek Falls in Pleasant Grove last Tuesday.  Mark was still at his Robotics class so he didn't join us.  I didn't know that this waterfall existed and I used to live about 1 mile away from the trailhead when I lived in Pleasant Grove.  It is too bad because I think that Daniel and I would have enjoyed going up there when we were engaged! 

I've decided to call this type of hike a Hobbit Hike.  It is an in-and-out hike, so you go there and back again- thus the Hobbit hike!  This one is a short and easy hike (the type where your neighbor won't think that you are trying to kill her!)

My cute little hikers

Next to the falls

Jane loved being next to the water falls, but didn't like getting water on her face.

Me and Jane

Paul and Seth hiked up a little farther to the top of the falls.  If you look closely, you can see them between the two falls. 

Here is a close up of the previous picture.  I wasn't too thrilled with them hanging out right there, so after I took the picture, I asked them to back away! 

#4
This weekend the boys and I went back up to the Spruces for our Willes Family Campout.  My parents are on their mission in Nauvoo, but they were kind enough to reserve the camp spots for us to use!  We only had 3 of the 7 of the siblings stay the night, but we had 6 of us together for dinner on Saturday night.  Daniel and Jane stayed home.  I really enjoyed relaxing and visiting with my brothers and sisters and their families. 

What a difference a week makes with the weather.  It was super hot (100+) in the valley but only about 80 degrees in the mountains with an overnight low in the mid 50's.  I didn't even get in my sleeping bag, but stayed on top of it and used a light blanket.  It was perfect camping weather!  We had a site that had a lot of shade, so we all stayed in the shade and visited.  The kids had a great time playing in the stream and chasing around.  It was a beautiful weekend. 

I think that I prefer to camp for two nights over one night because the second day is far more peaceful and relaxing since you don't have to set up camp again.  I didn't sleep well the second night and I was afraid of getting a "didn't get enough sleep migraine", so we packed up camp after breakfast and went home earlier than I wanted to.  We crammed everything into the back of the van because I was too tired to put the cargo carrier back up on the roof of the van.  I'm sorry that we had to leave early because it was a perfect morning- didn't even need to light a fire to warm up! 

Kim and her "Dream Man" (more on that later!)

Mark and Kevin

Mark reading in the hammock

Marci, Debbie, Kim, Kaitlyn

Nathan and Seth

The family group 



Seth' face was a little dirty.  He was trying really hard to keep a straight face when I took this picture.  He looks like an old man! 

Playing games (and Mark looking so pretty!)

 I don't have anything planned up in the mountains until next week when I'm going camping again with my friend and her boys.  I think that I need a few days to recover!