Cousin's Camp 2009- Day 2

Day two started with a cousin's recital- everyone prepared a song or two on the piano before they came, and then performed them for each other. Mom book a recital hall at the music store, and it was fun to let the kids show off a little. Once again, neither of us took any pictures.

When we were done with the recital, we went to this park in Orem to burn off some energy and have a picnic.

I just liked this sign- it made me smile.

As an added bonus to the day, there was some senior citizen's event at the pavilion nearby, and they handed out the balloons to all the kids in the park. Score!

The next stop was Chuck E. Cheese. Not surprisingly, this was pretty much the unanimous favorite activity of the week. It was fun, though- and the kids who had never been there were especially excited.

It was at this point of cousin's camp that I was suddenly really, really tired. 12 kids and nonstop activities really wears me out!

Cousin's Camp 2009- Day 1

This year was our first ever Steele cousin's camp. Everyone who was old enough to be away from parents for a week came- so we had 13 kids there, ages 4-13. Rebekah was actually only there the first evening and the last day, because of girl's camp, but the rest of us spent 5 days doing all kinds of fun stuff.

Day one involved hiking to the Timpanogos Cave in American Fork Canyon. To get to the cave entrance, you have to hike 1 1/2 miles, pretty much straight up- there is a 1600 foot elevation gain. We took our time with all those kids, but everyone made it the whole way walking under their own power- even Annie! They did great, there was a minimum of complaining, and the reward was a beautiful, cold cave tour at the end.


Almost there- getting worn out!


At the top- waiting for our tour. That's a long way down!


In the cave- the cold air felt wonderful after our long hike.


Hiking back down- not nearly so hard, although our toes were sore when we got to the bottom!

After our hike, we went swimming at a friend's pool- but I forgot the camera. Oh well.

Electric Lake

We took a quick camping/fishing trip with Tim's parents last weekend. They introduced us to the Manti/LaSal range, where there is an abundance of scenery and lots of beautiful lakes. We saw a bear, ground squirrels, and a ton of deer, and even caught a few fish.

Next time, I need to remember that even when it's 98 degrees down here, it will be cold at night in the mountains. I know that intellectually, of course, but it's always hard to pack extra blankets and clothes when it is sweltering here. I was pretty cold that night, at least until Annie came and crawled into my sleeping bag. Then I was nice and warm!

If you look closely at this picture, you will see that the hillside is covered with sheep. They were across the lake from us, but were making such a huge racket! We were kind of glad when they wandered out of hearing range.

Yet another trip to the zoo

Yes, it's true- we're trying to get as much value as possible out of our zoo membership. This trip was a little different, though, since we bought our pass in October, and this trip was the first to have everything open at the same time. So finally, we got to see the elephant show and the bird show, ride the carousel and the train, and see the new Madagascar exhibit. Don't go just for that- the foosa is kinda cool, but other than that it was less than scintillating.

Apparently, we were sitting in a good place for the bird show- the kids swore they could feel feathers when some of the birds flew over our heads!

We're planning at least one more trip before our membership expires: a new baby elephant is due sometime in the next month. Can't miss that one!

Second Waterfall Hike

This one needed to be an easy one-I was getting over a nasty cold that I came down with on the 4th of July. Seriously- who gets sick in July?

I wasn't feeling up to anything strenuous, so we just hiked to Bridal Veil Falls- short, level, paved... it was just right. And it has a great reward at the end- a beautiful waterfall, and water to play in!

That cold water felt so good after our walk- that recently melted snow is cold!

Birthdays

I have always loved the week of July 4th. My birthday is on the 3rd, we get parades and fireworks on the 4th, and then Dad's birthday is the 5th. Party!

This year, Tim took me on a 4 wheeler ride up in the mountains for my birthday. With his dad as the tour guide, we visited the gorgeous mountains east of Nephi, south of Manti- sorry I don't know the name of the range. It was beautiful- wildflowers everywhere and perfect weather. All those beautiful scenes will have to stay just as memories, though, since I forgot to bring the camera.

While we were gone, Tim's wonderful mother watched the kids- she even helped them to make a birthday cake for me! I can't believe that anyone out there has a better mother-in-law than I do. She is amazing.

Here are the kids and my first birthday cake of the day:

And here I am, a little worn out and dusty after our ride, but still up for a second cake!
Rebekah made this one, and it was SO good- angel food with a mixed berry sauce and whipped cream. Heaven.

Wow- birthdays wear me out.

No pictures of the 4th- we spent it at two different family gatherings- one in Salt Lake with extended Steele family, and then to Evanston with Tim's family. Home at last for fireworks.

Here's Dad's birthday- this one was white cake with lemon pudding and whipped cream. This weekend wasn't great for my diet.

And here's what Dad apparently thinks about turning 63:

Our first waterfall of the summer!

The first waterfall we hiked to this year was the one up Battlecreek Canyon near our home. It is a short, fairly easy hike, so it was a good start for all my novice hikers. The kids all did great, and the waterfall was beautiful and cold!

Resting on the bridge on the way there.

The water was pounding so hard at the bottom that it created a strong, cold, wet wind. The kids had a great time posing for wind tunnel pictures.

This last one was taken by Price- I took the clip out of my hair to illustrate how strong the wind from the falls was- that cold mist felt so good on a hot day!