August 2, 2012
We just
returned from a 12-day trip to Utah! Our goals?
1. Spend time with family
2. Reconnect with old friends
3. Hike in the mountains
We wore ourselves out, but Mission Accomplished! Parts of the trip were very nice, and parts of it were about as miserable as I
had feared (see below). Miles and Clay were good sports for having their normal routine thrown to the wind. They caught cat naps between activities in the rental car, and Miles loved sharing an air mattress with Alvin!
Some things
I enjoyed:
Hiking to
Timpanogos caves. Miles hiked 1 ½ miles
up the steep trail all by himself! He
plead a few rides on Alvin’s shoulders on the way down. I carried Clay in the mei tai, and boy, were
my legs tired after that. The same day
we went to Seven Peaks water park, and it was hard to muster energy to climb
the stairs to the water slides.
Cooler
temperatures and no humidity. I had
forgotten how stifling humidity can be until I experienced its absence. We spent several days at high elevation (at
the cabin in Fairview and hikes in the Wasatch mountains), so we got to enjoy
daytime temperatures in the 70s (opposed to 100s in Oklahoma). Nighttime at the cabin even got to the
40s! What a relief. Although Clay wasn’t used to that. We bundled him up at night, but I think
feeling the cold air on his face woke him.
He screamed both nights we slept in the tent. L
Celebrating
Pioneer Day on the 24th of July.
We spent the day in Fairview, which was a first for me. It was lovely! All the festivities, and none of the crowds
or traffic. They even threw candy and
otter pops at their parade. There was a
really good feeling in the town, and they hosted free games with prizes for the
kids.
Shopping at
The Corner Station in Fairview. My
favorite toy store. Miles loved it, too,
because he got to play with the demo toys, and I bought him a firefighter
costume. I also bought birthday presents for my mom (a
scarf and necklace), Amber (a word-building game), and Jeni (a tin top and toy
zeppelin, to match her vintage theme), and a game for our family (Pass the
Pigs).
Biking with
my old actuary boss. He’s a road biker,
and he recently purchased a tandem bike.
So he took me for a ride near the mouth of Big Cottonwood Canyon. Two-horsepower is great for hills (we being
the horses).
Some things
I didn’t enjoy (are there things you hate about travelling?):
Extreme
fatigue
No quiet, private, dark place for midday naps
Interrupted
naps ("Mom, is it time to get up yet?")
Sleeping on inflatable mattresses
Clay
screaming at night
Did I mention being tired?
Miles wore earplugs to the Demolition Derby.
Grandma and Grandpa hiking near the cabin, Fairview Canyon.
Anderson Family cabin, just in case you forgot what it looks like.
A visit to Kennecott Mines. (I stayed home to catch up on sleep.)
Favorite past-time of the next generation.
Taking Birtchers' scooter for a spin.
Hiking to Cecret Lake at Alta.
Ahh, altitude.
More altitude!
Clay getting ready to crawl. He officially started crawling at 7 months (two months behind Miles). But he started cruising the furniture, too, so we'll see if he walks sooner.
Jen, Lucy, Clay, and Laura. Lucy was born 2 weeks before Clay.
A mid-hike snack with Oma.
We had high hopes for Miles when we signed him up for 3-yr-old soccer. A bunch of his friends from Nursery are on the same team, and one of the moms is the coach. He loves to run around and kick the ball, but as soon as the whistle starts an actual game, he becomes immobile. His friend, Adler, would also rather sit on the sidelines and play with a train than get in the middle of the soccer action. Oh well. It was a great learning experience for all of us.
Here's a picture of my growing-out hair. Alvin, who gave me the blue shirt, was very nervous when I told him I was going to get it trimmed. My hair, that is. I reminded him that the overall length is increasing, and shorter layers make it manageable.
