Waterfalls and Hiking Dates

Like many, I've found it challenging to know how to engage with the world around me during a pandemic.  Everyone has their own level of comfort.  For me personally, I feel most secure when I am outside.  Which means....waterfalls!  This year I've enjoyed ever so many.  Here are photos of a few:

Big Cottonwood Canyon.  This is the creek near the Mill B trailhead.  While often a gentle flow, the water raged with the snowmelt.

Memory Grove.  Such a pretty little getaway; so close to our home.

I love how you can climb the stairs from one side of City Creek canyon to the other.

Adams Canyon.  Unlike the others, this one is a substantial hike.  Annika's teddy bear was good encouragement to continue on.

There are a several falls along the trail...

...but the one at the end is certainly the most impressive.

In case you couldn't tell, that's Talia next to the falls.  When did my kids get so grown-up?

Donut Falls.  A well-known hike up Big Cottonwood Canyon, we took the trail from the main road for the first time.

The ground squirrels were quite assertive.  Annika was delighted.

Note the ground squirrel on Annika's foot, hoping that she will drop a piece of her apple.


Donut Falls itself was quite crowded.  We didn't hang out long, but still had a nice time.

While I would love to hike every day, the kids would not.  Don't get me wrong--they love the mountains, just not quite as much as I do.  And so this summer we came up with the perfect solution: hiking dates.  I took turns taking each of the kids on their own personal hike, followed by the lunch of their choice.  It was a win-win!  I got to explore all sorts of new trails, and they got their favorite food.  Even more, I cherished the time to connect with each of my kids one-on-one.

Brooklyn kicked off the tradition with a hike up Lamb's Canyon.

The aspens were so tall!

We started at the trailhead off I-80 on the way to Park City and climbed up to the saddle before continuing down the trail for a mile into Millcreek.  Since we hadn't dropped a shuttle, we decided it would be prudent to turn around for an out and back trip.

Brooklyn's favorite part?  Sushi from City Creek after the hike.  Served warm after being flamed right in front of us, it was delicious.

For Talia's hike, we explored Neffs Canyon.

More waterfalls!  We almost lost the trail since we didn't expect to ford the stream.

It was steep, but such a beautiful meadow at the end.  As for Talia's celebratory lunch, she and I dined outside at Cucina in our neighborhood.  What a treat!

A tough hiker, Eli accompanied me up Lake Blanche.  The kids are still slightly traumatized from when we dragged them up this trail for our inaugural backpacking trip.  It really is a lengthy and steep trail, but stunning!  One of my very favorite along the Wasatch front.

No better place to skip rocks!

Sure love this boy.

On the way back, Eli noticed a snake right in the middle of the trail.  The woman on the trail behind us works for the zoo and identified it as a harmless rubber boa.  She was delighted to show it to Eli.

Eli loved the snake, but was even more excited about his lunch at J-Dawgs.

Last but not least, my hiking date with Annie Mae.


For Annika's special day, we headed to Lake Mary.  The trail ascends right beneath the chair lift at Brighton.  The area looks so different in summer.


Instead of dining out, Annika chose to go fishing instead.

So many little fish checking out our little worm!


We may not have caught any trout, but we still enjoyed a lovely day.

Happy hiking world, and hang in there!

Sunday Sillies

Heavens!  I've done it again--let myself get so far behind on this blog that I don't know how to catch up.  Let's just start with some photos of the random things that happen around here.  Everybody needs a little silly on a Sunday morning.

Perhaps it is unjust that I spend so much time taming the girls' hair while Eli's coiffure is neglected.  Apparently he decided to make up for a lifetime of missed bows, all in an instant.

Looking handsome, dude.

Jason gets in on the action.

I didn't think much about this bin of blankets...

...until it started to move.  Surprise

Annika made this cute unicorn headband out of one of the shells we brought back from Mexico.

While Annika loves playing with Sparkle and the rest of her imaginary unicorn herd, she is equally enamored with Scarlet Witch.  We are not quite certain where her affection for this Marvel character came from since she hasn't seen Endgame or Infinity War, but the girl is obsessed.

Always one to walk her own path, Annika prefers to use the doll clothes to dress her stuffed animals.

She likes hosting teaparties...

creating new habitats for her hermit crabs...

...and crafting.  This a  card for her teacher Ms. Blank.  Annika is in the middle, Ms. Blank is holding the blue balloon, and Ms. Blank's cat Spooky is below.  There are also a few roller coaster rides and a taco.

Things Annika does not enjoy--bug bites.  Obviously.

Also, I highly discourage anyone from trying to share a bed with her.

Moving on to Brooklyn, this gal still loves frisbee.  I appreciate that her Ultimate Team is trying to be extra-cautious when it comes to COVID.  During practices, they all wear masks or buffs for the entire time.  Games are cancelled for the time being.  It's hot and kind of inconvenient, but allows them to continue safely.

Brooklyn and her friends also put together these cute powerpoint presentations highlighting their socially-distanced lives.  I adore how delightfully nerdy this group is.  How many teens put together powerpoints for fun?  Brooklyn's powerpoint talked about how with six people in the house she feels the need to hide...

...but her siblings always find her and torment her anyway.

Naturally Brooklyn spends much of her day reading.  Notice how she's slipped Shannon Messenger's Keeper of the Lost Cities in front of To Kill a Mockingbird.  Brooklyn, Talia, and Eli are all obsessed.

Making gingersnaps, then destroying the evidence.

Back to the computer.  This summer, Brooklyn and Talia participated in Code to Success, an online coding class introducing them to HTML, CSS, and Javascript.  Brooklyn also tackled financial literacy online to make room for seminary in her schedule.  It was tedious, but last night she finished.  Yay!

The downside to Brooklyn's online work is that the screen keeps Talia awake.

Brooklyn gets kicked out of bed...

..and relegated to the laundry room.

Speaking of Talia, this cute gal remains our resident crafter.  Her skills are legendary, as are her messes.

Love it!

With more time on her hands, she and Eli have gotten quite creative with toys I once thought they'd outgrown.  They mapped out and designed this entire train village, even adding directional arrows so that the locomotives wouldn't collide.

My favorite detail.

Talia continues to crochet.  When you run out of yarn, there's always plastic!

Evidence that we spend far too much money on groceries at Smiths.

Talia also continues to work hard at the violin.  Both she and Brooklyn had Suzuki book recitals at the beginning of the summer, with Talia graduating Book 2 and Brooklyn completing Book 3.  I was nominated accompanist, courtesy of coronavirus.  On the bright side, it motivated me to practice.

As hard as this pandemic has been, I love how it's drawn our family closer through the sheer quantity of time together.

We've grown in appreciation for our neighborhood...

its lemonade stands...

...and the freedom to live brightly.

Stay safe, stay strong, stay silly!

***

To add to you amusement, some funny quotes from our youngest:

Annika: Actually Mom, your legs have more fur than mine.

Annika: "I'll work on getting money by losing my teeth."

Annie speaking to Jason: "Did horses pull school buses when you were young?"

Annika again, in a completely corona-inappropriate confession, given back in late January:
"I have a problem.  I sneezed and some goobers got in my mouth and I kind of like them so now I can't stop picking my nose."

Annika: "Goobers work as glue too."
Kara: "How do you know?"
Annika:  "I tested it out."

Keep smiling!