Farm Trip

In July we went on a short trip to the farm.  We were supposed to go by ourselves, but later found out that Jarem and Tressa were hoping to go up at the same time.  So we invited them to join us.

The first day up there we were alone.  Isaac decided to make Moana boats for the kids to float in the canals.  He told me he wanted to do this before we left, and I thought it sounded very time consuming.  He guaranteed me "I can make 3 boats in half an hour with my tools".  Um NOT.  He spent forever on those boats.  Finally he borrowed my pocket knife and it made the process much easier.  So even though I was annoyed with how long it took him, all the kids were so excited to paint, decorate, and test out their boats.

We also went for a hike up Praytor Canyon.  We'd never been over there before, but it was a really nice hike.  We probably hike about 4 miles, but you could drive all the way to the trailhead to shorten it (we couldn't tell how rough the dirt road was and didn't want to get our van stuck).  It was a nice walk with short ups and downs, but remained fairly flat, until you reach the Valley View Overlook where there is a bench and a nice view.  It was just about the perfect length for the kids.

Luke even hiked quite a bit of the trail.  He is actually a really good hiker for his age.  He usually keeps walking and doesn't get distracted by every blade of grass.  His biggest problem now is that he doesn't like staying on the trail.  He's always trying to bush wack it every time we stop watching him.  Sophie has really become a big kid this summer.  She's able to go for longer hikes and bike rides.  She can keep up much better and not complain.  Aspen is still really hit and miss.  If we are hiking with friends/cousins and she is the leader, she will be the best hiker ever.  But other times she has a bad attitude and we have to drag her along until we cave and end up carrying her.

Then Jarem, Tressa, Afton, and Heber arrived.  Our kids were so excited to play with their cousins.  We gave them their Moana boats and the kids decorated them.  Then we walked to the canal to see if they float.  Aspen fell in the mud and got her bum all wet.  She was screaming and crying the rest of the time.  Afton even sat in the mud to make her feel better.

The next day we decided to drive to the Tetons for a hike.  We got there right around lunch time so we stopped at a lake to eat.  Then we let the kids play in the lake for a while.  I think they had more fun doing that than anything else at the Tetons.

We were hoping to hike somewhere new, but the kids wanted to hike to a waterfall.  So we tried to hike to the Jenny Lake Hidden Falls.  The sign said it was 2.2 miles one way, but I swear we walked forever and weren't even close to making it there.  The kids were dropping like flies and we had to turn back.  Hopefully Jare and Tressa aren't mad at us for taking them on a death march.  We were about 1/4 mile from the car and Sophie was quietly crying.  I asked what was wrong and she said she was so tired.  I felt bad that we pushed her too hard, so I carried her the rest of the way and made sure she got lots of water and wasn't dehydrated.

The other really fun thing we did was take the kids to float the canal.  It was challenging getting all the kids to the canal, we had 5 kids under the age of 6, life jackets, a raft, etc.  And the grass was taller than the kids, so they really struggled to walk through it and we ended up having to carry them all most of the way.  But we finally made it.

I stepped into the water and it was FREEZING.  I thought it would feel good after the long trek over there, but it was soooo cold I could hardly stand in it.  But those crazy kids, Sophie, Afton, and Aspen, were swimming in it like it was nothing.  They were crazy!

The kids had a blast floating down and playing in the canal.

Our little family had to go home, but Jare's family ended up staying a while after we left.  We had a really fun time with them and it was nice to catch up a little since they lived out of state for so long.  We really haven't done anything one on one with them before, and we really enjoyed it and will have to do it again soon.