Utah Trip Day 7

We went swimming at Cottonwood Heights Recreation Center.

The younger kids enjoyed the indoor play area the most.

While the older kids enjoyed the outdoor swimming, slides, and diving boards.

Craig, Austin, and I all jumped off the 2nd highest platform but none of us were brave enough to do the top one. It was a long way down!

That evening while Craig and Austin did some Frisbee golf I stayed with the girls at the park.

Summer evenings in Utah are just lovely and the mountains as a backdrop just make it complete!

Utah Trip: Day 6

Another morning soak in the hot tub with cousins!

Today was the 1.5 mile hike to Donut Falls which was perfect for these kids!

The hike was short, covered in shady tall pine trees, and at the end we had to climb up the rocks to get a better view of the waterfall which the older kids enjoyed!

We took turns climbing up the rocks to get a better look at Donut Falls.

The water actually falls through a round opening in the rocks to a pool underneath then continues downstream. It was actually quite interesting and worth the extra climb to see it!

Another successful hiking day in Utah!!

Utah Trip Day 5

This day started off with a early morning golfing game for these fellows.

 And a morning soak in the hot tub for these kids (and grandma!)

 Today's adventure was a rafting ride down the Provo River.
Raft 1: Brandon, Jenna, Darian, Tyler, Austin, Travis and Jessica

 Raft 2: Jeff, Jamie, Matthew, Mom, Mikayla, Rachel, Kristina and Mitch

 Raft 3: Me, Craig, Nathan, Dayleigh, and Brooklyn

 It was a self-guided float trip with calm water which was good
since none of us were experienced rafters.

 But the scenery was beautiful and it was a very enjoyable trip.

I think everyone had a good time. I know our kids loved it!

Then we took in the beauty of Bridal Veil Falls.

What a beautiful waterfall a short distance off the road in Provo canyon!

Austin, Mikayla and Craig enjoyed climbing up the rocks at the base of the waterfall while Brooklyn stayed at the bottom scooping up the fresh mountain water with her hands and drinking it!

Now it was time for the most important part of the day---celebrating Brooklyn's birthday!!

We had pizza and played at the park

Followed by presents

Then ice-cream and Trolls cupcakes!!

A big Happy Birthday to the cutest 4 year old I know!!

We finished the evening with a family game of kickball!

We had no problem forming 2 complete teams. Large families are the best!!

Utah Trip Day 4

We decided as a family to do a more difficult hike while we were in Utah so we did Grandeur Peak which was 6.8 miles!!

Hiking in Utah is definitely a lot different that hiking in Oklahoma!

Just when I thought we were getting close to the end it would keep going and I started to doubt if we were going to make it to the top.

But we finally did and the view was spectacular. On one side it was the tree covered mountains.

And the other side was a view of the entire Salt Lake Valley.

I was very impressed with these boys who never complained once during the hike and were the leaders of the pack for most of the way.

Enjoyed getting to do this with my dad and siblings

(minus Kristina who we missed)

 And a big thank-you to my mom who volunteered to watch these 7 kids while we went on the hike. She was definitely outnumbered but I don't think it phased her a bit because she is just that awesome!

After we spent some time recovering from our morning hike we took the kids to the Nickel Arcade and had a great time. They loved playing all the games!!

 Brooklyn and Katelyn spent most of their nickels here

   

They left happy with a handful of treats and prizes from a night of good game playing!