Triple Whammy

It all started with an inkling to hike Stewart Falls. We chose Saturday. Just as we were leaving, I google mapped the best way to get there and it was through American Fork Canyon and the Alpine Loop. "Yeah!" I thought, "Fall colors drive through the Alpine Loop--we can kill two birds with one stone!"

We were only a mile into the canyon when Sam made the fatal announcement: "Our gas light just turned on." Well, after waiting through 30 minutes of snail-pace construction traffic on Highway 92, there was no way we were flipping around. We'd risk the canyon. Off we went on our merry way...

Until the road ended. And there was a sign for Heber. Apparently we should have gone right not left at the unmarked fork. Blast. There goes 12 miles worth of gas (6 to get that far, and 6 to get back). BUT, there was a sign for Cascade Springs. Which is on my bucket list. Might as well do it while we were there, right? Plus, the sign said it was an easy 15-minute hike. Just my style. :)

After cascade awesomeness we hit the road. That's when we got our lucky break: once we got back to the main road it was all downhill. Sam popped the car into neutral and we literally coasted the next 4 miles to the the Stewart Falls trail head. At this point we've gone 27 miles on empty. And while we briefly considered going on to the gas station, we figured we might as well do Stewart Falls while we were passing it. So we did. All four, hilly, moderately difficult miles. (My kids are such champs. Seriously. I don't know how they do this stuff.)

So back to the car. We've gone 27 miles on empty and have 12 miles to go. Once again, luck is on our side. We popped in neutral and coasted the next 5 miles, all the way out of the canyon. And, believe it or not, we prayed ourselves all the way to the gas station. 39 miles on empty. I'm fairly certain that 40 would have killed it. I ❤ my Corolla.

ps. The Alpine Loop was spectacular--if you're gonna go, go soon! Cascade Springs was gorgeous, definitely recommend it. And as long as you're up for a work out, Stewart Falls was amazing.

Observations at Home

OBSERVATION #1 - One of these things is not like the others

When we are all home and Ty is visiting (which is often), there are seven cars in the driveway. Notice anything in common?

Can you say Toyota Dealership?? And, of course, the odd man out:




OBSERVATION #2 - Looks can deceive

Take a gander around our house and you might think we are a musical family. But you would be grossly mistaken. My mom would have liked us to be musical. Only we wouldn't practice. Hence only one of the eight kids is good enough to actually play at church. So sad!



OBSERVATION #3 - Sixteen years in the making

As a kid, one of the things I loved most about Grandma Baker's house were the senior pictures on her mantle. In 1994 my parents put up our very first senior picture. Now, 16 years later, the set is finally complete.

The Stalker Song

I still remember the first time I heard the song Every Breath You Take by The Police. I was driving down 7800 South, just past the light at 10th East. At first the song was just catchy. But the more I listened, the more my stomach churned. "This guy is a total stalker!" I thought. The song completely freaked me out. And I've hated it ever since.

Well, a few weeks ago I was talking to my 22 year-old brother Tyler, and somehow The Stalker Song (as I've affectionately referred to it for the last decade plus) came up. And guess what? Tyler said he loved it! I was grossed out.

So today I was driving down the freeway and suddenly I heard it: ♫ Da da na na na na na na ♫ ... Oh yeah. The Stalker Song. Just as I was about to change the station, I remembered Tyler. I decided to give the song another chance. And guess what? It's even more creeper than I remember. It could curdle milk inside my stomach. Ew.

Alright, so here's the question: Are you with me or are you with Tyler?

Camp Ricks

I grew up in a camping family. We went all the time. Once, when my mom was 6 months pregnant with Liam (and we were 15, 14, 12, 9--me, 7, 4, and 2) we did a week-long, camp in new places every night, trip. Seriously. My mom is a trooper.

Needless to say, I was thrilled when several of my aunts and uncles chipped in together to get Sam and I our own camping essentials for our wedding. The next summer we planned our very first camping trip. July 29-30th. Unfortunately, Seara decided to be born early--she came on the 28th. Trip canceled. And somehow, in the hubbub of life and new babies, we never did make it out camping.

Until this last weekend.

This was the view about 100 feet from our camping site.

Participants: Sam, me, and the kids.

Destination: Grand Teton National Park (with a brief stop in Yellowstone to see Old Faithful and Artist's Point--we missed them last time we went)

Duration: Two full days

The middle pic is us first thing in the morning. We look awesome.

One of my most vivid memories of camping as a kid was having endless free time to do nothing. So when I packed for our trip I made sure to bring books and tons of two-player games for Sam and I. You know, so we'd have something fun to do in all our free time. Ha, ha. Turns out that when you are the adult in charge, camping goes like this:

• Wake up
• Make breakfast
• Feed family
• Clean up breakfast
• Get kids ready for the day
• Make lunch
• Feed family
• Clean up lunch
• Take kids on a small hike
• Make dinner
• Feed family
• Clean up dinner
• Put kids to bed
• CRASH.

Yeah, who knew?? Honestly, though, I was a little nervous to go camping as the 'adult in charge' with three small kids, but it turned out to be a ton more fun than I expected!

(About the bison snow pic: the weather was a beautiful 75 degrees until the very end of the trip. It started snowing just as we left. Phew!)