Bryce Canyon Glamping

July 21-24

We weren’t planning on camping again so soon after our Teton/ Yellowstone trip. They were originally planned 4 weeks apart, but Tetons ended up getting pushed back a week and Bryce bumped up a week! Viola! Camping overload. We had Grandma Christy and Grandpa Chuck come with us and they were able to get there early and snag us a great spot! The Ruby’s Inn Campground is pretty posh, especially for the same price as camping in the park itself. They had a sink for washing dishes with HOT water, showers, pool, and a hot tub! Can’t beat that.

On Saturday, we drove out to the rim nice and early. Since the season is so short, you really have to beat the crowds! If not, they close the parking lot and you’re forced to take the shuttle. No thanks! We did the shortest loop trail possible under the rim, Navajo Loop. The way down was fun, but coming up was a whole other adventure. Luckily we did make it and Dallin is still alive. We had lunch and decided to spend the afternoon at the pool. The kids loved it and could’ve spent all day there!

On Sunday, we drove down to Tropic for church. I just love going to sacrament meeting in other places! Since it was the 24^th of July weekend, it was super crowded, but we heard some great talks about the pioneer heritage in the area. Super cool! Afterwards, we drove out to Kodachrome Basin State Park, which isn’t too far from Tropic. It was a nice place to have lunch and walk around the nature trail. Large rocks to climb and rabbits to chase! We then stopped by the Mossy Cave trail on our way back. It was a short hike to a wet alcove and then a spur trail to a cool waterfall. I wouldn’t let the kids swim, but the misty spray satisfied! The kids were so hungry for dinner, they (almost) ate their tin-foil dinners without complaining! Good thing we brought ketchup.

Monday was the 24^th of July and Mom and Dad had to take off early to get home to party. We stuck around for a few more hours to check out the historic Bryce Canyon Inn, the new visitor center, some more cool overlooks, and of course the swimming pool, again! We had to get the kids tired enough to sleep the whole way home. It almost worked. Bryce Canyon was amazing and we can’t wait to go back...when the boys are old enough to hike on their own!

20 Weeks!

Wow, this pregnancy has gone by fast! The secret?... keeping busy! And that’s what we’ve been doing this summer. Between working and playing, there hasn’t been lots of time to think about how our lives are going to be changing, again! This is actually the best I’ve felt with any of my pregnancies, although it’s best to keep that to oneself sometimes. I feel bad for my friends that get really tired and sick. I don’t know why I have so much energy during the day. Maybe it’s because I quit “exercising”? I figured that growing a baby was enough exercise for me. Of course, by 8pm I’m completely exhausted and sometimes fall asleep reading bedtime stories. We’ll see if it keeps up like this. Due to scheduling conflicts and the fact that my 20-week-ultrasound was scheduled at IMC down in Murray, Bevan was unable to come with me. That’s alright. He’s been to enough that he gets the idea. During the ultrasound, everything looked great, measuring nice and big, and exposed his BOY parts very quickly! Another boy!!! Oh, boy! What are we going to do?! I was secretly hoping for a girl, but then again, I’m in a boy-mode right now. Might as well have another boy! Anna was sad not to get a sister, but they would have been 7 years apart anyway. Baby boy and Drew and Dallin will all be best buddies, I hope!   

Hawkins Family Reunions!

The kids have sure got their fill of water adventures this summer! We bought a family pass to the new pool in Heber, Anna had swimming lessons for 2 weeks, and we’ve been just playing in the water a whole lot more than any other summer! Thank you puddle jumpers! At the Hawkins Family Reunion, we played water games with balloons and cheap squirt guns. I never realized how popular those cheap squirt guns are! It was also fun to visit with family we don’t get to see very often! They took a giant family picture outside the original homestead, there in Mona. It was a miracle to get that many people to hold still, especially the littles.

We also had a smaller Hawkins get-together in Alpine at Crystal and Jared’s house (on the 29^th actually) and it again involved water! They have this amazing pool and we had so much fun with all the cousins! It was such a neat house, but I spent more time gawking at the landscaping than the house itself. They really went the extra mile and spent the time and money to install some nice features! Rich folks in Park City could learn a thing from Crystal and Jared, that’s for sure! I see so many times in my work, people who don’t realize that landscaping is an extension of the house itself. They cut corners, go with the cheapest price, and don’t take time to maintain what they’ve got!   

Teton and Yellowstone Pilgrimage

June 30-July 5

We first scheduled this one for end of June, but ended up changing it for the 4^th of July weekend (I forget why)! We had a blast and it was a great way to kick off our summer of camping with 3 kids. Due to the difficult nature of securing a camp site at Colter Bay so late in the day, we decided to reserve a cabin in Buffalo Valley ahead of time. I’m glad we had a place to stay, but was very disappointed in the quality. Oh well! We got to Colter Bay at 9am and waited in line for a campsite for an hour! We got one of the few remaining sites thankfully! The kids had fun running around the campsite and Drew did wander off a few times. This reputation earned him the nickname, “bear bait” for the rest of the trip, and we had to keep a closer eye on him!

That afternoon, we hiked out to Taggert Lake. We thought the 1.3 miles to the lake would be the limit of Dallin and Anna’s hiking abilities… but we were wrong! It’s more like ½ mile is their limit! There may have been a little bribery and empty threats, but we made it! Dallin immediately got IN the water and Drew sooooo much wanted to join him. We didn’t have any spare clothes with us, so I spent the remainder of the time wrestling the baby while Dallin splashed around in his underpants! We looked real classy!

The next day was Sunday and a little bit cooler! We attended the Jackson Lake Lodge branch at 10am. It’s so nice to see them keeping up that meeting! I remember it being a pain for the branch president having to drive from Jackson twice, or stick around for the 5pm service. Their sacrifice is appreciated by so many people! We spent the rest of the day driving/ walking to beautiful overlooks like Signal Mountain and Lunch Tree Hill. The Colter Bay marina gave us some good shots and we even attempted a ranger program there, but since Drew kept wandering off, back to the marina, we had to call it a night.

Monday was our day for Yellowstone! For our stage in life, it’s the perfect way to entertain 3 small kids: fascinating hot pots, very short hikes, and lots of driving! The Firehole River was too high for swimming, but we had fun just exploring the loop. Old Faithful never disappoints, the Yellowstone Falls were amazing, mud volcano was growling, and there were so many bison for the kids to spot! We just had to get pizza at Leeks on our way home, and it really did take an hour this time, but it was worth it, barely! The kids crashed that night!

Tuesday was the 4^th of July and we just loved spending it in the National Park! We took a boat ride across Jenny Lake because we KNEW the 3-mile hike was out of the question! The kids absolutely loved the boat ride and sat up front both times. Worth every penny! We had a late lunch at the Pioneer Grill and ate free (almost melted) ice cream in the lobby in celebration of the holiday. Afterwards, we tried to see if we could get into the pool, there at the lodge. Luckily, nobody cared if we were staying at the campground or the lodge, so we just walked right in! It was a perfect way to spend the next 3 hours, and even then, it was hard to get Dallin out of the pool! Those kids were beyond tired that night and slept like angels.

It was finally time to leave on Wednesday. So sad! Looking back, I think 5 nights of camping was maybe 1 day too many, but on the other hand, it takes so long to get there, you have to make it worth it. We stopped in Jackson and stuffed the kids with enough nuggets and fries to make them sleep the rest of the way home. We almost made it, but they were pretty good anyway. For our first camping trip of the season, I’d call it a success! I hope we get to do this a few more times this summer. It’s a very cheap and fun way to eat up a lot of time!