The Grotto: 2009

Although it hasn't been done purposefully, we've made a tradition of hiking to the Grotto up Payson Canyon the past 3 years. (2007)

We already knew that Sydney's a great hiker, but it was Jenna's first time. Aside from a few slips, both girls did great.

And just who puts their girls in skirts and flip-flops for a hike? It was for the water, really. :)

The water, Randy says, was very cold, but that didn't stop Jenna from joining him.

Always cautious, Sydney was hesitant to join them in the water.

Just look how deep Jenna went!

But wait...I think Sydney might join! Okay, nope. This is as far as she went. It was just too cold for her!

Sunset

I loved the pink reflection on the clouds last week as the sun was setting.

This Tree

Easter morning

2 days ago

I'm so glad the snow has melted, and today promises to be a beautiful day.

Early Spring

I love the beauty of spring.  Today, I went Laura Kay's Garden Center.  If I could have my way, I would have spent much more time & quite the pretty penny there.  But I can't, and I didn't.  

But I did break out the camera yesterday to capture the beauty.  My pictures are far from professional.  I was playing with all of the camera settings while the sun occasionally peeked through the clouds.  Enjoy.

(This one's of your mountain, Aunt Melanie.)

February Park Day

The girls and I headed to the park Friday with some friends.  It was a perfect 40-50 degree day for a long walk, or, in Sydney's case, a bike ride.  Despite the snow all around at the park, we had a lot of fun.

Kamrie

Carson, aka "Tarson" in Jenna-speak

Jenna pretty much wandered around.  She never went down a slide because I was busy chatting with Merri, but I did give her some pushes on the swing.  

Sydney had fun, too.  By the time we got home, she was entirely worn out.  I guess she's out of practice riding her bike 2 or so miles at a time.  I'll let her go on it this time.  :)

Cough, cough, cough

Oh, isn't it beautiful? Too bad what you see is neither snow, nor frost, nor fog. It's smog & smogcicles on my tree! We've had a horrible inversion this past week & will continue to have it this week. The air is horrible & we're all having sinus problems here at our house. Although it looks pretty in the morning, just knowing what it is makes me sick. Wind, please hurry our way!!

Frosty fall morning

Stewart Falls

Today, our little family took a hike to Stewart Falls. It was 1.75 miles to the falls. After a picnic lunch, we took a different trail back, which took us to Sundance. That trail was 1.5 miles, so we hiked a total of 3.25 miles today. It was a nice hike, although it was a bit hot. We started on the trail around 10:45am. If we do it again, we'll have to do it earlier in the day. Sydney is my hero. She walked the entire way & never complained or asked for us to carry her, or anything. She amazes me! We did have a few trips and slips. I slid on some rocks going down a hill & fell. I'm a bit bruised from it. Sydney tripped over a few tree roots & also slid a few times--more so as we got toward the end, probably because she was tired. Randy was also my hero as he carried Jenna on his back the entire time. Jenna loved it and even snuck in a nap. All in all, it was a great, photoless day. What? You think we would actually take our camera out for a picture??

These make me happy.

Missing:

One strawberry plant with potting soil.

Hey, crazy neighbors, which one of you stole a strawberry plant??

Sledding

We went sledding for the first time yesterday since early 2004 when we lived in Idaho. (Sydney was a little bean in my belly at that point.) We went with our neighbors, the Hackett's, to the local golf course where there are several little hills. The girls did great.

Jenna didn't mind the cold at all and was just as quiet as can be.


Sydney enjoyed the sledding, didn't like it when I got snow sprayed in our faces, and then was tired of doing it after and hour.

Randy didn't like me trying to roll around in the snow with him...not sure why?! We came home and shared hot chocolate with the Hackett's. It was so nice to get out!

First Walk

We took our first walk of the year today. The sun is shining and it's in the 40's, so we just had to get out.

And, we came to appreciate that most of our neighbors actually shovel their sidewalks...