Adventure Day in the Uintas was oh.so.amazing. It’s crazy though that there’s already a foot of snow up there!
We met my friend Erin and her kids at the base of the canyon, we we hopped in her car and just drove way into the Uintas letting the wind take us where we should go , in a matter of speaking. We didn’t really have a plan, we just knew we wanted to get up in the mountains and explore! And explore, we did! What a great memory of a day!
Last week, we met up with our dear friends and went on a little hike. It was pretty hike, but I loved seeing the beautiful view of the valley around us!
Isn’t it funny how when you’re at home, your kids have tons of energy and are running around driving you nuts. But then as soon as you get out, suddenly they want to be carried or feel too tired to do what the parents want to do? Well, the day we hiked to the Bear Canyon Suspension Bridge, this exact scenario happened. Eva was running around that morning and then when we got on the hike, she was complaining immediately. But after about fifteen minutes, she finally got into it and then loved the bridge! The hike down was much easier and quicker (although my stupid shoes rubbed blisters, so that was rough!) and Finn did great on my back. Still loving that Ergo carrier! If you haven’t been do this bridge, you’ve got to check it out! It’s just in Draper and is a really neat hike with beautiful views of the valley.
There’s this cute little pond in Pleasant Grove we went to one afternoon at the end of May with our neighbors. It was such a hot day, then of course by the time we got there, a storm was about to blow through. But the kids still had a good time digging in the sand for an hour!
Occasionally we have days where the weather is just too perfect or we have something really fun planned smack dab in the middle of Finn’s nap time so we decide to skip it and just push through! 95% of the time it’s worth it. We don’t do it often, but on the days we do, we make memories. One Monday TJ was out of town and I took the kids to a new park and walking trail. Then I had promised to take Eva to pick out a new toy for completing her positivity/no fuss chart which led us to the mall play place. And then instead of heading home and having Finn take a late nap, I just kept driving west instead of getting on i-15 N and took the kids to the lake. The bugs were horrendous but it was sooooo gorgeous down there!
When I first had Eva and became a mom, I was incredibly strict with routines/schedules. That first summer TJ was gone and so I really stuck to it because it was the only way I had some sanity in my life. And as much as I believe structure and routines are SO good and extremely necessary for kids, I also a huge believer in getting out of your comfort zones, occasionally throwing out those routines, and just living in the moment when the moment calls! So find that balance! You won’t regret it!
We explored a cute little park one Saturday afternoon while TJ was getting his haircut. It had really nice trails and a duckpond. We love finding new places like this, especially ones that are close!
We tried out the trail that leads you up to the “G” in Pleasant Grove. It starts at the same place as the falls trail, but was definitely more steep and a harder hike with kids. It was the first hike Eva had done on the side of a mountain where you look down at the valley, so I think that scared her a bit. That being said, we didn’t make it to the G but we definitely got close! I am so proud of that little hiker of mine! I got quite the workout with Finn on my back, but my ergo is still so comfortable with him back there, I’m blown away at how good of a carrier it is! And sadly, I don’t have a photo of TJ with us, but he did join us for the hike… don’t worry! We do not do hikes like this alone!
Just wanted to say THANK YOU for all the sweet messages and tips on how to handle the hard days of motherhood! I really appreciated it! Today has already been so much better. I feel like the biggest thing I need to remember is to be patient with my kids, even though it can be so hard. And take a breath before I react!
I actually wrote this post last week but forgot to publish it. It kind of goes along with everything that’s been going on…
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Last week the kids were driving me crazy, for whatever reason. It was about 5 pm and we needed to get out. I didn’t know where, but I knew it needed to happen. So, I threw them in the car and we ran around the outlets for an hour. It cheered us all up and was exactly what the doctor ordered.
It reminded me of five years ago when I first went to NYC. TJ was interning there for the summer and I got to visit him with TJ’s parents for a few days. Each morning Eva would be so grumpy in the hotel room and we’d think it was going to be a hard day exploring the city with her. But surprisingly, once we got out, she was so happy! Sometimes that’s all our kids (and ourselves) need.
I feel like I’m usually pretty good about this, but when I get out of the habit or if the kids have been sick for awhile, it’s always hard to get back in the swing of it. TJ and I talk about this a lot, in fact. Outings with kids always seems like a lot of work, and oftentimes it really is tons of work. But it breaks up the monotonous part of life and we never regret it after it’s over!
When we moved to NYC, I was determined to get out immediately and get to know the city. I wanted to show Eva all that NYC had to offer and take advantage of that amazing city. We spent countless afternoons seeing children’s exhibits or going to new parks, even though Eva was young and probably wouldn’t remember it forever. But that was okay… it was just about getting out! If we would have stayed in our little apartment because it was inconvenient to push the stroller through the city or push our way into the subway, we would have gone crazy. So, for as much work as it was at times, it did so much for me mentally to just get out of the house!
Here in Utah, I’ve wanted to do the same thing with my kids. I want to show them all that Utah has to offer. I guess that’s why I started that Exploring Utah with Kids thing last summer. I wanted an excuse to get out of my house with my kids and try new hikes and parks. It’s so easy to get in the normal routine at home. Who needs the extra work, sometimes you think, right? But when we do get out, it’s so good for us and for our kids.
Then there are days where we just need to be lazy, and that’s okay. But when you need a change of pace, load up the kids and get out the house for an hour! Aaaaaand if you want a buddy, call me cause we’re always up for it!
I’ve had a hankering to hike recently. Mostly a hankering to just get out and be in SUN. I noticed that Moab was supposed to be in the 70s last weekend so I convinced TJ into doing a day trip!
It was an absolute gorgeous day, we couldn’t have asked for better weather. We left around 8 am, got there at 11:30, ate lunch in Moab then we were in the park by 12:30. We just did all the little “hikes” since TJ and I had done the bigger ones before and Finn’s pretty heavy to carry on longer ones. Finn fell asleep in the car in between arches so for two of them, I just took Eva up while TJ sat in the car with Finny. We finished the night visiting TJ’s grandma which was a great evening and made it so the kids slept the whole way home. If you’re in Utah county with kids, I totally recommend doing this as a day trip. You could spend the night if you wanted so you could do a longer hike in addition to the others, but we thought it was perfect.
We saw three waterfalls last week! Monday was Bridal Veil which I already blogged about, Wednesday was down in Payson called Grotto Falls, and Friday was Battle Creek in PG. Gorgeous trails, but even better company for each trip! It’s been fun to catch up with old friends and see our kids interact.
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