Hiking to Fifth Water

We've been enjoying hiking a lot this year, and last week we found another cool spot! We decided to drive up to Diamond Fork Canyon, which is really close to where we live. We hiked up to a place called Fifth Water, and it was such a fun and amazing place to see! We're really lucky to have it so close to us! The hike is about 2 miles one way, so we ended up hiking close to 4 miles. The hike up is beautiful. You walk along the stream, and it is mostly shaded the whole way. The boys had a lot of fun going up. Parker had to stop and throw rocks into the stream every chance he got. At one point, he fell down on the trail, and then just as suddenly he was on his feet again! When he fell to the ground, he saw a caterpillar and it scared him! LOL Once he realized what it was, he wanted to hold it of course. Isaac had a lot of fun too, and was curious the whole way because we had told him that there would be a surprise at the end of the hike.



When we started getting close to the end, we started smelling sulpher. At the end there is a really pretty waterfall and some hot spring pools! Right as the waterfall came into view, we almost stepped on a snake that slithered onto the trail. It was pretty cool. I think it was a blow snake.



The boys were really excited to discover the hot pots & the waterfall. We didn't bring swimsuits, but we all put our feet in and waded around. Josh did end up getting all the way in the water anyway. The water was so nice and warm! Bryce absolutely loved the water! he would have jumped right in if I had let him. Behind the waterfall was a hollow space behind a rock wall (almost shaped like a waterfall itself). It had a hole in it, so Josh went behind the waterfall and stuck his head through the hole. :)







We had got a late start and it took a bit longer than we thought with all the "exploring" the boys (and we) did, so as we were walking back, it started getting dark. The boys were all tired and a little cold from getting wet. We hadn't thought to bring a flashlight, so we were trying to hurry back as quickly as we could, but you can only travel 2 miles so fast with three tired kids in tow! Finally, we decided to just carry all of them. Josh took two kids, and I took one, and we jogged back on the trail. Just as it was getting too dark to move very fast, and couple of nice hikers came up behind us with a flashlight and walked behind us the rest of the way back to the car. It was an experience, that's for sure! It was worth it though and we all had a fun time despite the adventure coming back. Next time we'll know to bring an just-in-case flashlight! : )

I took so many shots along the way, that I'm putting some of them in a slideshow. Such a beautiful place! Click on it to see a bigger view.

Father's Day

We had a nice Father's Day on Sunday. Josh opened his presents before church that morning. He mostly got "necessity" stuff this year... a new wallet, new belt, electric razor, new scripture markers... and one fun thing (for him)..some basketball shoes. After church I made some homemade sushi for dinner. We've been on a sushi kick lately, and we recently tried some really yummy sushi at a place in SLC, so I tried to sort of duplicate that with my own touches. The sushi had tempura shrimp, green onions, avocado, and cream cheese with a thin slice of lemon on top. The lemon is my new favorite ingredient on sushi! YUM! Anyway, it wasn't like the restaurant, but it was pretty good!!

I think Josh had a good Father's Day. He is such an awesome dad and husband! We're so thankful for him and the hard work he does to take care of our family. We love him so much! :)

Strawberries!

Two weeks ago there was a big sale on strawberries, so I stocked up and made a bunch of strawberry jam! I ended up with 18 jars of strawberry jam and 3 jars of raspberry (I had some raspberries that needed to be used). It turned out really yummy, and I made it with only one cup of sugar (usually jam calls for 6-7 cups!). The next day I decided to try making "real" strawberry shortcake. I had only ever had strawberry shortcake made with either angel food cake or pound cake, and I've always wanted to try the real thing. It turned out pretty good! It's almost liking eating strawberries with a soft cookie. Not bad! I can't decide which way is my favorite. Not a big SSC fan anyway I guess.

Slip 'n' Slidin'!

I've been wanting to get the boys a Slip 'n' Slide since last year, but I wasn't sure they were old enough. We had one when we were kids in St. George and we had SO much fun on it. So a couple of weeks ago I decided the boys were probably old enough and I went ahead and bought one. So we got it all set up... and they totally didn't GET how to do it!! LOL! I tried to teach them how to run fast and land on their tummies to slide, but they would run... stop when they got to the slide and land on their knees. Totally didn't work. :) I think they had fun anyway. Bryce had fun playing in the water a bit. Unfortunately, the neighbor kids came over the next day and broke it! :( I was not happy. Hopefully we can figure out a way to fix it. Anyway, here are a couple of pictures of their attempts to slide on it. :)

Parker's Preschool Graduation

Technically, Parker has one more year of preschool, but last week he had a little graduation ceremony on the last day of preschool. They sang "You are My Sunshine". His teacher showed a slideshow of their year in preschool and read the Dr. Seuss book "Oh, The Places You'll Go". Then they each received a "diploma" and a portfolio of their work. It was a cute little program. Parker had a fun year in preschool and really liked his teacher Miss Melanie. Next year we'll be sending him to a different preschool that's a bit closer to our new house.

Our Memorial Day

On Memorial Day we decided to have a family outing day. We've heard a couple of recommendations, so that morning we decided to go up to BYU to the art museum. They're having an exhibit on Walter Wick, the man who creates all of the I Spy books (which my kids LOVE). It was a really fun exhibit and neat to see some of the props he used for his I Spy books. If you haven't seen it yet, go check it out! : ) Pretty cool.



After the museum we had lunch then wanted to go on a little hike, so we headed up to Hobble Creek Canyon. We just pulled off the side of the road and found a little unmarked trail. It followed a little creek, and we ended up finding a little waterfall! It was so cool! Such a neat little place, and SO pretty.