I've missed being surrounded by the trees and the fresh air of Arkansas, my home.
But, there just isn't anything like the mountains of Utah.
Especially in the fall.
It will put a smile on anyone's face!
Last Saturday we took our traditional family hike and visited the fall colors.
We packed a picnic lunch, loaded the kids in the family van, then made our way up and around the
Alpine Loop until we reached the
Stewart Falls hiking trail.
It was gorgeous.
The trees were on fire with bright yellow, red, purple, and orange leaves.
A light breeze was blowing, the sun was shining, and the air was crisp on our faces.
The children sang and laughed at the top of their lungs (I love seeing them so happy), Mr. JP had the windows down pointing out every new scene as if I couldn't possibly see them without his help, and I felt on top of the world!
Once we arrived at the start of our hike, finding a place to park was a nightmare.
Apparently, we weren't the only ones enjoying nature.
After driving around for 30 minutes, Mr. JP got out and moved someones scooter to the scooter parking area, so we could use the parking spot that their itty bitty scooter was hogging (I was a bit nervous about this...but the scooter did have a ticket, so...blame the ranger?).
My hero :)
After unloading the cargo and strapping little Timmy in the baby carrier...we were off!
This is how it went down:
The girls wanted a picture on the "bench tree"(as we call it).
It's there to greet us every year...
The trees seemed especially glorious this fall!
Up we climbed...
I had to keep hold of Minnie's hand the whole way up.
She was so nervous about falling down the mountain.
Try not to look at the beaver smile, just enjoy the scenery :)
I was very happy to be surrounded by trees!
A third of the way up, the little ones needed a time out.
We found the perfect tree branch just off the trail, sat and talked about the fun we were having!
Mr. JP mentioned that he was in paradise and Princess wanted to know what that meant.
So, he explained that it meant he was in a beautiful place and felt very happy and that when we live with Heavenly Father again, we will live in paradise!
Isn't that something to look forward to?
Minnie quickly piped in and said, "Ooooh no! I don't want to live in paradise then! There's nowhere for a backyard! Only trees and rocks and hills. There's nowhere to play!"
We had a good laugh.
At least we know where she stands!
Minnie enjoys the comforts of life and prefers to steer clear of any and all danger.
The Mr. and I probably heard, "Are we almost there?" at least twenty times from Minnie...
and, "Come on guys! If it was just me, I would have turned around and headed back to the car a long time ago!"
It was quite the 2 1/2 mile hike (up hill) for little legs!
The children were troopers though, and we finally made it to the water fall.
What a beautiful relief!
Sport was in boy heaven.
The shoes came off and the feet went into the icy cold water...
Baby Timmy wanted to join in the fun...until his little toes splashed the water.
It was too cold for him!
Minnie agreed that it was worth the tough climb to get there!
She was so pleased with herself, and I think she gained a bit of confidence.
We saw so many bright yellow and orange caterpillars along the way
and had to be careful not to smoosh them on the trail.
The kids were thrilled!
I got to just sit with my baby and watch my other babies play with their daddy.
It was wonderful.
I could feel a pleasant breeze on my face as I listened to the sounds of nature and giggling children.
Color covered the mountains as far as I could see, and I offered a prayer of gratitude for the beauty all around.
We bugged a fellow hiker for a quick family picture and she kindly obliged...
although, I think she was a little annoyed until we offered to take one of her family!
Poor little Timmy was completely tuckered out.
He started resting his head on daddy as we hiked back down the mountain...
No matter how many times I placed Timmy's head on daddy, he would flop it back again!
Made us laugh.
What a sweetheart!
We were starved!
So we pulled out the cooler and walked over to one of the theaters at
Sundance for a picnic.
The children love to explore the old stage.
While their imaginations soared, baby Timmy and I set out the picnic...
Dad showed the kids a secret entrance that led them under the stage.
What an adventure!
Mmm...lunch!
We love our mountains.
I'm pulling out the seasonal decor and hunting for pumpkins with the children.
It's Autumn time!
Sept. 2012
