Saturday Adventure

Much to his disappointment, J did not get to climb The Grand Teton (13,770ft) as scheduled this weekend, so when he got home we piled into the van and went for a hike up Battle Creek Canyon.

My intrepid explorers


A wild animal!


We're all in this picture somewhere, can you find us?


S wanted to take this little guy home with us. Thankfully J said no.


Forging ahead

This cave is right next to the trail. J asked O and H, "What do you think lives in there?"

And away they went! They were not going to stick around to find out!

H stopped J and said, "Go down there. Take my picture, Daddy."

Click on this one and look at O's face. What is he doing? He cracks me up!

Well worth the hike

My happy boys

We've decided that we are going to become A Hiking Family. We stopped by Out-N-Back to pick up a water bottle each for the boys and a Camelback for me (J already has one). Whenever I go in that store I just want to buy everything and go camping every weekend. Is that bad?

I really want my boys to develop love and appreciation for the Great Outdoors. They seem to have this attitude that everything is there for them to experiment with and, if necessary, destroy. The last time we went for a walk by the Provo River I had to impose a "no throwing rocks into the river" rule. It may sound harsh, but whereas other kids will plop a rock or two into the water, mine will single-handedly erode a foot off the shoreline. I'm not sure why. This time when J told the kids we were going to go hike by a waterfall, O moaned that he didn't want to because they couldn't throw rocks into the water. J shot me a look that clearly said, "Party Pooper" and told them that it was ok where we were going today. Well, we found the river, the rock-throwing commenced, and after 10 minutes of watching S and O clear their immediate space of any and all throwable rocks, J decided he needed to intervene. No more rock-throwing. Okay, they could live with that. Hike on. Then S gets the idea to pick up some of the rocks from the trail and chip away at them, like an Indian making an arrowhead. Problem is, chips are flying, chunks of rock are being discarded in all directions, including down the trail and that's a big no-no -- never know when you'll hit somebody coming up the trail. Veto the rock-chipping. On the way down we stopped by where the snake went slithering away into the grass so J could show the boys Snake Grass. Which promptly got pulled up. Why oh why? Can we just leave nature alone? Leave the grass hopper be. Don't poke the snake with a stick. The plants are happiest firmly rooted in the ground! These are the lessons we will teach our young offspring on our hiking adventures.

Another Pleasant Valley Saturday

Our last Saturday in May was spent

burning yet more old wood

and planting corn.

When the kids saw this picture

they wanted to know how I could take the picture and be in it at the same time, so I showed them

Rainy Saturday

Apparently April 20 - 24 is TV Turn Off Week. I saw it on posters at S's school all this week when I dropped off and picked up. We even got a paper our family had the option to sign saying we would commit to turning off our TVs and doing something else. So, what are my kids doing this rainy Saturday afternoon? They're downstairs, watching their second movie of the day. Let me explain. I am not anti-establishment. I am all on board for most of the school activities. Science Fair optional for my first grader? No, I think we'll do that.

Extra library research on the Core Knowledge weekly topic? Let's do that too. Attend the (insert activity here) Shakespearean Festival, Core Knowledge Fair, goofy Faculty Talent Show? Let's go! Turn off the TV for the whole week? Well...we usually do that. No TV during the week and usually not weekends. It's my last resort on Fridays and Saturdays when the boredom hits and the fighting sets in. We will (insert activity here) go to the grocery store, play outside, read books, hit a museum or two, even get crafty (which is odd for me) before we stick a movie in. So, why this rebellion against the school's attempt to unplug our family? Here's the profound answer: I don't know. I really don't care. It's that simple. I think the class with the most commitments gets some kind of prize. Yeah, I don't really care. The few hours on Saturday when the kids are watching a movie -- not fighting, not bugging me for food, not making a huge mess of the playroom -- are mine. I love my monkeys dearly, but I really don't get breaks from them during the week. I am trying to love all the precious moments I have with them and really treasure them, because I know, soon enough, they will all be in school, off to play with friends, on their missions, out of the house, but in order for me to love my time with them, I need the TV to babysit for just a fraction of the day on the weekends. That is all. Sorry, Reagan Academy. I think I do pretty well to not let them watch TV during the week. Cut me some slack.