Camping AND Hiking

We spent the longest days of the year out camping. Thursday we headed up Big Cottonwood Canyon to a great campground and had some fun.

Everyone had tons of fun helping build the fire.

Finn loved being able to get away with a lot in the great outdoors... including playing with the lighter.

The first night we made some tasty foil dinners and had a great little meal. Wyatt was already covered with dirt and loving life.

Gavin loved the foil dinners. He was a bit hesitant at first, but then quickly realized how normal boring food tastes so much better when cooked over the fire. He just kept saying how much he loved it.

Henry wasn't as big of a fan of the foil dinners, but he is the marshmallow roasting pro. He would slowly toast some marshmallows for everyone and then say, "Perfecto!" and bring them over to be turned into tasty smores. He is very impressive. He also had the same luck with hot dog roasting.

Gavin's best creepy face.

Everyone was very excited to try their hand at using the hatchet. The older boys got pretty good at it, and followed the rules about not standing anywhere near someone swinging a hatchet. Henry is good example of why that is a good rule.

Who better to show you how to use a hatchet than a true mountain man.

The campground had lots of great streams and the creek running through it, so there were plenty of log bridges to walk over, and lots of time spent throwing rocks into the water.

Finn got his first shoulder ride, and enjoyed it, especially the part where he pulls more of my hair out.

 We did a lot of wandering.

 Gavin and Henry spent some time coloring.

 Before we left on Saturday, we went on a hike to Doughnut Falls. The trail from the Spruces Campground to join up with the Doughnut Falls trail was probably the best part. It was a nice shaded and quiet walk. And of course, the boys loved getting to the water and throwing more rocks and sticks in.

 They were all great hikers considering they had slept outside for two nights and were awakened very early by Finn, who did not love sleeping in a tent. Wyatt did an excessive amount of whining on the way to the falls, but still managed to walk the entire way.

 This is not the expression that Finn had most of the night, but he was pretty happy riding along for the hike and snacking.

 Finally near the falls.

One of the best parts about this camping weekend is that we were so close to home that we came back for a few hours on Friday morning to go to swimming lessons and to load up more food and clothes for the day. It made the whole planning and packing much more manageable, and Finn even got a nap in his own bed. I would highly recommend camping that way.

Bells Canyon Hike- Take 2

We tested out this hike on fall break and really enjoyed it. That time we didn't end up finding the main trail so we set out last weekend to find the creek and the waterfall. These good hikers did pretty well most of the way.

The lake is much more beautiful when the water level is high like it was this time.

 Finn had a very good time riding in the backpack. He loved to catch his brother's attention and get a good laugh out of them.

 These two were just chewing some grass like good Iowa farmers.

 The leaders of our hike. They sometimes had to be told to slow down for the slower and shorter-legged of the bunch.

 Once Wyatt started to wear down a bit, I decided that carrying Finn was the lesser of two evils. That was probably before he started ripping out my hair. The creek was really beautiful on this hike and a nice surprise after hot and dusty trails.

 Always hunting for more rocks to throw in the water.

 We made it almost 4 miles on this hike, when didn't quite get us to the top of the waterfall. Maybe that is our goal for next time. We had a very eventful last mile in which Henry ended up bleeding in 3 places, from some constant falls, excluding one fall onto a stick he was carrying that scraped his rib cage. It was a good thing we turned back when we did. We barely made it in one piece.

Cousin Time

We love that summer gives us more time to get to see so many of our cousins and spend time with them. We especially love having our Cardon cousins so close. Wyatt and Jaren really love to play together. They love it so much that sometimes they fight about who loves it more... or anything else they can find to fight about. They are quite the pair.

They played in this puddle for almost an hour one day. They were so happy.

 Then they moved on to some scissor practice. They spent a surprising amount of time sitting still cutting paper into tiny scraps.

 Time to beat the heat with some Otter Pops. It is weird how much kids like those things.

Busting into Summer

We are diving right into our summer break. The weather has been great and we are loving spending a lot of time outside.

We have also hit up the Children's Museum several times already (and will continue to go almost weekly with Anne). There are some new fun things there that keep the boys happy and busy.

 Wyatt loves the kitchen in the little house, he makes meals with food from the grocery store and then serves them to any random kid he can convince to pretend to eat with him.

 He also gets a real kick out of cleaning up.

 Finn also loves going to play a lot more, now that he crawls everywhere and crawls on things. He recently discovered the funny mirror. He sits in front of it forever.

He also found a great place to climb into a sit with a few dolls.

 These 3 little fish are also going to be spending some time working on their swimming skills. They are all taking swimming lessons and then we are trying to get in some solid practice and pool time at other times too.

 Henry's first big leap to deep water.

 At least someone gets some use out of the baby float when Finn freaked out and wouldn't sit in it.

School's Out

Well, even though it seemed that we were in school so much longer than any friends or cousins, we finally made it to the last day of school. Both of the boys were so excited for summer. We have lots of plans. They each designed their own sign to commemorate the occassion. I love the personal touches.

 I think they really look so much older than when school started... this may call for a comparison photo soon.

 Henry had a great Kindergarten program for the last day... during which he showed his true personality, but trying to attract the least possible amount of attention. There were a few moments when he looked like the exaggerated hand movements might cause him physical pain to participate in. You can't see where he is hiding in this photo, unless you magnify it a million times and know where to look, but Caleb and I thought we should at least document the occasion.

 Despite his expression in this photo, Henry really did love his teacher and love his first year of school. Posing for photos, not so much love.

What a group

Wyatt and Potty Training

I have to say for all of my fears and apprehensions, this potty training experience has not been as bad as I expected. Wyatt has been talking a lot of getting out of diapers, as he is very eager to go to preschool in the fall, and potty training is a requirement. So, I guess all of the talk got him ready. After day two we felt confident enough to leave the house, and he has been going strong. He still struggles a little with one aspect, but hoping we can get that figured out in the next week. He loves his underwear and loves being big enough to tell everyone that he uses the potty now... if only preschool started before September. He now considers himself ready.

 For some reason, this new change just makes him seem so grown up to me. Good thing he is still having a serious tantrum now and then to remind me that he is not yet even three.

Finny McGregorpants

Our little Finn is growing up. He is such a fun guy and loves to show his personality every day. Here are just a few fun shots of him from the last month or so.

He loves to be under foot while I am getting dinner ready. It is worth it to trip on his dishes when he stays this happy.

 He loves to go outside for walks and is very happy to be in the stroller or wagon checking out the world.

 Finn's other obsession is trying to get his hands on some electronics. I can see a pattern forming here. He loves to watch Wyatt play games. These two are quite the pair in the mornings when they are alone with Mom.

  He loves his pacifier. That is going to be fun to try and cut back in a couple more months.

 Oh look, going after a computer again... well at least it motivates him to stand up for a while.

So when Finn was just a few months old, Gavin was playing with him and one day called him "Finny McGregorpants." We all laughed, but some how it stuck. Gavin continued to call him that and the rest of us seem to have joined in. Even some of the kids friends use that nickname. When I call him Finn William, Wyatt sometimes asks who I am talking about.