Mountain Adventures

The weather has been amazingly beautiful lately.  I have really enjoyed spending time in the mountains.  

My sister Denise and I went on a hike to the Brighton Lakes tour.  I have been to the first lake, Lake Mary several times but the hike to get there is pretty steep so I never wanted to continue to the other  lakes. I also had little kids with me, so the one mile up and one mile down was plenty for us.  Denise and I decided to go up to the other two lakes because it was just the two of us.  The trail isn't nearly as steep past Lake Mary (go figure that I've done the hardest part many times!) so it was a lot easier than I had anticipated!  

It was great to spend the afternoon with my little sister.  On our way down the canyon we stopped off at Spruces Campground to visit my parents who were staying there for the week.  

A few days after the hike with Denise I went on a hike with my older boys and their friends Cordel and Ryan.  We went to Stairs Gulch to hike.  This is one of our favorite hikes.  I took my GPS with us to measure how far it is.  We were shocked to discover that the hike to the waterfall is only .56 miles up the trail.  It takes us 45 minutes to get there.  We are climbing up the riverbed and scaling rocks, so it isn't easy walking.  The elevation gain is 762 feet, so we gain quite a bit in that half mile!  

I really enjoyed hanging out with these boys.  They were all very respectful and fun to be with.  

Mark and Cordel

Paul, Ryan, Mark, Cordel

Me and Mark

For the past 4 years my friend Shelley and I have taken our kids camping.  Just the moms and kids.  My numbers shrank by two this year because Mark had to work and Paul had school.  Her numbers increased by two because she remarried and her husband's kids came with (they came last year, too, but Shelley wasn't even engaged to Tyson at that point!) It is fun to catch up with Shelley- aside from her Bridal Shower, the last time we got together was at last years camping trip!  

Paul has been taking a summer science class and it was finally over, so to celebrate his first week of summer break and Seth's last week (year-round elementary school is so tricky) we hiked up to Lake Solitude.  I had never gone on this hike.  I was hoping to hike around to Twin Lakes, but the trail that connects the two lakes was closed for construction that they are doing in the area.  It was a beautiful and easy hike.  This year the wildflowers have been brilliant.  I don't remember seeing so many in the years past.  

The trail head to Lake Solitude is next to Silver Lake.  I've been here more times than I can keep track of, so it's good to know that there is a great hike or two right next to this trail!

Payson Lakes Family Camping Trip

Last year's adventure at Payson Lakes was a hit, so we decided to return this year.  I got the reservations a bit messed up and reserved B loop instead of C loop.  But we had plenty of parking for everyone, so it was all good!  I had been worried about the weather being too hot (last year it was too cold) because it had been in the 100's in the valley all week. Fortunately things cooled down nicely and we had a pleasant stay.  I love being near the lake.  The view is absolutely beautiful.  I like that we can bring our canoes and kayaks and play in the water, too! 

These pictures are all out of chronological order but I've got to just roll with it.  I have a few minutes before I need to log off (I've been an updating fool with this blog today!) so I'm going to label to preserve and be good with it!

  

Cooper, LuJane and Tanner after our walk around the lake

Denise at our hike to the Payson Grotto

Mark and Paul during our second trip to the Grotto

Mark helping some kids get down the mountain. I was impressed that he saw that they needed help and just jumped right in and helped them out!

Mark and Ron at the Grotto

Sherron and Seth at the Grotto (second trip)

Sherron and Seth at the Grotto (first trip)

Getting ready to launch into the water
LuJane Seth Randy Kris Austen Tanner

Paul on the kayak.  This lake is surrounded by such beauty!

Randy and his precious bike on the pier

Seth launching Tanner into the lake.  Meet Kermit- he finally made an appearance on this blog!

I don't even know how this got started but Seth is an elephant, Paul made his ears and Mark is a poacher who is photobombing.  

Wendy and Sherron (or me, I'm not sure how I should be labeling myself)

Wendy on the canoe

One of these days I'll need to get the photos off of my mom's camera.  She took a bunch of the last two trips we've been on together.  

I am really happy that we have found a new tradition for our family.  Everyone seems to enjoy the water play and even though it is a lot to pack to bring up, I really think that it is worth it!

Black Ridge Reservoir

My brother Randy had the day off of work so we went to Black Ridge Reservoir over my house for some fun.  The weather was great and we got there before it was super busy, so it was a perfect visit!  I didn't even get sunburned!  Last year I got fried, so I'm super careful now!

Wendy and Randy

Paul on our new kayak. We named this one Ernie and the green one is Kermit.

Seth and Ernie.  They both like the orange one best!
Randy Jane and Tanner are in the canoe in the background.

Seth and I have taken time to go back a few time to kayak in the reservoir.  We have had a lot of fun using the kayaks.  This reservoir is only 15 minutes away from our house, so it makes it easy to get some water time in!

Father's Day

Jane was excited for Daniel to celebrate Father's Day!  She decided to have a little party for him.  She created a pinata for Daniel to hit (doll hanging in the dresser = pinata, dusting wand = stick, scarf = blindfold)

 After Daniel broke open the pinata they picked up all of the imaginary candy.  Jane even let Daniel have her favorite ones!

Then Jane presented Daniel with a crown for being her favorite dad!

These two make a great team!  

 Jane loves her daddy, that is certain!  She calls him her "love" and insists that she is going to marry him (she says that I won't mind sharing him!).  She was upset a few weeks ago and when Daniel asked her what was wrong, the conversation was adorable.

D: What's the problem?
J: The problem is that I wish I was bigger first?
D: What does that mean?
J: It means that if I was bigger first then you would marry me first instead of Mom first.  
D: You are right.  But I had to marry Mom first so that we could have you be our little girl.  
J: Ok.

So now Jane calls herself Daniel's "little love" and I am his "big love".  

Oh she has such a tender heart!  


One last picture, but it isn't Father's Day related.  Daniel's brother, Chris came over and I found him in Jane's room listening to her new book-on-cd that she checked out from the library.  She just has a way to get her uncles to hang out with her!   

Spruces with Grandma and Papa

A week after our California trip I pulled Seth out of school (again) to spend 4 days camping with my parents.  My sister and her husband were on a river rafting trip, so my parents were watching their daughter Hailey (age 3).  Jane was excited to have a friend to go camping with and they got along really well the whole trip.  

Mark had to work and Paul had a summer science class so they weren't able to join us.  

Grandma and Hailey roasting marshmallows

 We invited Kim's boys to stay with us.  They were only able to stay one night, but they stayed for two full days with us.  The first morning we left the little girls with the 'old people' and hiked to Lake Mary.  One of the classes at Seth's school had a field trip up to the lake so we saw some of his friend's little brothers.

Kevin, Nathan Seth

Kim and Sherron at Lake Mary (and no, that is not a baby carrier that Kim is wearing- it is Kevin's sling bag and the arms of Kim's white shirt that is wrapped around her waist!)

Jane posing on her chair and Seth

S'mores!

Jane doing another pose for the camera
The kids spent a lot of time playing in the creek that was in our campground.

We walked around Silver Lake
Jane Sherron Seth

Jane had no problems climbing to the top of this rock.  Once she was at the top she decided that she was afraid of heights and needed a little help to get down.

Kevin Seth Jane Nathan Ron

Kevin Nathan Seth Jane

My cute dad with Jane (pretending that her arm was broken and in a cast)

Seth- he sure is growing up!  He is a delight to be with!

The final night we were up there Daniel and Paul came up to the mountains to eat dinner with us.  About an hour before he was set to arrive, Jane had an accident.  She was talking with my mom and turned around to leave and she tripped on the cement fire pit ring and fell in.  Thankfully we didn't have a fire going, so it was cold and she didn't get burned.  She did, however, hit her teeth on the cement and it pushed her front right tooth behind her left tooth.  I had some teething gel with me so I put some on her gums and used my fingers to pop the tooth back into place while my dad held her.  She didn't give much of a fight, but I know that it hurt.  The gums around the area went from being white to pink.  I knew that she'd be sore that night, so I just planned on having her go home with Daniel.

I totally played the "Glad Game" after that happened.  I'm glad the fire wasn't going. I'm glad the tooth didn't break. I'm glad she didn't need stitches. I'm glad Daniel was coming up so that she could get some medication and a good night's sleep at home. I'm glad my mom had some frozen chicken tenders we could use as an ice compress (we didn't have any ice!). 

Seth decided to go home with Daniel so I got to spend a night in the tent by myself.  My parents were still there with me in their trailer, so I felt safe.  It was really nice to go to bed without having to get anyone else ready for bed!  I tried out a new air mattress that I had purchased and it wasn't a good fit for me.  I woke up early in the morning in a lot of pain. It was about 6 am when I decided to get up to walk and stretch to get my back feeling better.  The world was quiet but little birds and critters were running around.  I set up my chair next to the creek and did a lot of stretching and nature watching.  It was really amazing to be the only one awake- it was like I had the mountain all to myself for a little while.  The stretching helped me feel better, and I was getting a bit chilled, so I crawled back into bed and took a little nap until the rest of the world woke up.  It was one of the best mornings I've had while camping in a long time!