Bye, Bye, Summer

Wow, we had such a busy summer. Here's some of what we did:

For Labor Day, we hiked up to the G in Pleasant Grove. Jay had promised Sierra that we would go see what it was made of. I took Cole and Sierra, while Jay brought up the rear with Jax and Brooke. He had to carry Brooke the whole way, so he definitely got his exercise in. The trail was pretty steep and was only wide enough for one person, so it was quite the experience. It was a good thing we took our dog, he ended up pulling me all the way up and down the mountain! Sierra did great! She hiked and kept up with me until we were about 90% of the way there, then she decided she was too tired to go any further. So I grabbed her hand and Cole pulled us the rest of the way there. We stopped at the top for some snacks and more water. It took us about 2 hours, but it was a lot of fun. The view from the top was amazing and I'm still surprised that all of us made it up there! We were also able to take a long drive up Mirror Lake Highway to the Provo River Falls. It is such a beautiful drive. We stopped at 7-11 to stock up on treats and Slurpees, and we also took a picnic lunch with us. The weather was cool and we played in the water, hiked around, and even went canoeing in Uncle Kyle's raft. We'll have to plan a camping trip up there for next year!

It was nice to play in the water on some of those extra hot days! We went to the splash park in Riverton with our neighbors one day. We packed a lunch and played out in the sunshine for a couple hours. The water area was cute and not crowded at all! They also had a regular playset area there that the kids all played on. We'll keep this on our list of free, fun things to do for next summer.

For Pioneer Day, we decided to spend the day playing in the sprinklers, then we set up the tent and had popcorn and movie night outside in the backyard. I had Jay bring out the twin mattresses from the kids' beds so it was extra comfy out there. Jay and Brooke ended up inside for the night, but I stayed out with the kids. It was rainy and windy that night, but the kids didn't hear any of it. They slept like logs all night. I was up all night and swear there was a skunk trying to get in the tent to get at the popcorn crumbs the kids scattered all over. Yes, I know we were just in the backyard, but there are skunks and racoons all over in the fields around our house! Cole kept barking all night and I definitely smelled one! Needless to say, Mom was pretty tired the next day!

We also made the super long trip to Cabelas! We shopped there for Jay's birthday and Father's Day and go whenever we feel the urge. The kids love the fish, the animals, and the shooting gallery.

And here's one last bunch of pictures we took while we picnicked up American Fork Canyon. The kids love to be outdoors, hiking and climbing around. We have plans to do a lot more hikes next year. I think we'll be needing an annual pass!