Kid-Friendly Hikes in Utah

Lately, I've been racking my brain to come up with family activities that 1) keep us away from others 2) don't break the bank 3) burn a 3 year old's endless energy. Hiking has been the answer. We typically hike early in the morning and a lot of the time, we have the entire trail to ourselves.

Here are some of the hikes we've done over the last month or so (we aim for 1 hike a week):

1) Battle Creek Falls- Pleasant Grove, UT
Distance: 1.5 miles roundtrip
Monday, May 18

Oldie, but goodie. We've done this hike a few times. This time, James walked all by himself. The end is steep near the falls, but James did it!

2) Jungle Trail- Draper, UT
Distance: The trail is only about 0.1 miles, but you have to go 0.4 miles to get to the trail
Monday, May 25

It took us over 45 minutes to find the actual hike which was a bit frustrating. Once we did, James was in heaven exploring the little huts.

3) Dripping Rock- Spanish Fork, UT
Distance: 0.7 miles roundtrip (The paved trail continues further)
Thursday, June 4

This felt pretty far away from us which made me wonder if it was worth the drive. The surrounding mountains were beautiful. The water was quite nippy around 9:00am, so if we were to go again, I'd recommend going when it's hotter outside, so the water isn't so frigid. On our way home, we stopped by Krispy Kreme and got free doughnuts which was a highlight.

4) Suspension Bridge- Draper, UT
Distance: 2.3 miles roundtrip
Thursday, June 11

This was by far my favorite hike we've done this year. I think James and Andrew would agree. It was beautiful and James enjoyed running on the bridge, even though it kind of rocked back and forth. This hike was definitely more popular than the others we'd done. We went fairly early and still saw a fair amount of people. By the time we finished, it seemed to be getting even more crowded. Nana and Papa joined us on this hike which made it extra special. When we got back in the car to the leave, James said: "Why did we have to leave the hike? That was so fun!"

5) Rocky Mouth Falls- Sandy, UT

Distance: 0.8 roundtrip

Thursday, June 18

We had done this hike years ago before we had kids. It was cool to be back! The trail started with stairs which were steep for James and ended with rocks that were slippery. It was helpful to have my parents along! There was much more water than last time we went which meant that we had to walk in some water near the end. Isabelle and James were fascinated with the waterfall and went really close to it. It was an extremely chilly morning and Isabelle's hands were freezing. Cheez-its and fruit-snacks were great distractions for the kids. There were breathtaking views and on the way back, we took a mini detour on the Bonneville Trail and found the cutest bridge.

With Andrew starting a new job Monday, our 8:00am hikes won't work anymore. We will have to get creative with when we go and I hope we keep it up. I love the adventures we've had as a family outdoors. Hiking has turned into one of the biggest highlights of my week.

Spontaneous

We made a last-minute decision at about 2:15 on Wednesday, May 27. We decided to go to Washington to visit Andrew's family and see his mom since she's returned from serving her mission. Our decision was prompted by a couple of things: 1) Our BIL was having a bday party that weekend 2) Andrew was given a verbal offer from a company. 

We thought it would be fun to stop in Rexburg along the way to see how things have changed since we've left. Also, breaking up the 12 hour drive sounded awesome. We booked a hotel in Rexburg, and I left to teach at The Piano Place. Andrew frantically packed while I was gone and we left Thursday morning. 

Upon arriving in Rexburg, we picked up a Little Caesar's pizza. In Andrew's words: "The Rexburg Little Casear's is the best Little Caesar's. They've really figured out how to make the pizza the best." We ate the pizza in a park and then quickly checked into our hotel. (James had to pee and Andrew needed internet for his 3rd interview with a company.) James had a massive meltdown when the hotel receptionist told us that the pool was closed. We were all pretty bummed and I felt dumb for not checking on the pool before booking. 

The kids enjoyed exploring our spacious hotel room and James asked if it was our new house. The kitchenette sparked his imagination and he unwrapped plastic cups and used the microwave to "cook" us food. Both kids were quite upset by the bathing arrangements and it took Isabelle a couple weeks to like bath-time again. (The shower scared her.)

I decided to take the kids to get an oil change while Andrew had his virtual interview. What are the chances that Rexburg lost power during the interview? Andrew scrambled after losing his connection during his interview and quickly set up a hot spot to call the manager back. Guess what else the power-outage meant? I couldn't get my oil change. After the interview, Andrew took the kids to get frosty's and I napped. 

Someone loved her Frosty

In the afternoon, we went on a walk on campus. James especially liked walking through the gardens. It was weird to be back on campus and it was deserted. We were both a little surprised by how little change there was. Yes, some of the dorms were torn down to make a parking lot, and there was a ton of high-density new housing, but it still was recognizable. Cafe Rio is now in Rexburg which would have been a game-changer for me.

The Hinckley Building. I spent most of my time there.

Same spot we took our graduation pic, but 5 years later

After our walk, we went to get an oil change again. (Due to the spontaneity of our trip, one was due.) The workers let us stay in our car during the oil change! What! This is one of the best things that has happened due to Covid-19. I hope I can stay in my car during oil changes with my kids strapped in their carseats from now on. We were looking forward to getting takeout from our favorite restaurant, "The Hickory." Unfortunately, it wasn't as good as we remembered and the prices were higher. We ended the night watching a movie. James enjoyed having his very own queen-sized bed. (Note: I think we were the only people staying in our hotel which was cool. We never saw any other guests.)

Friday morning, we left bright and early to drive the rest of the way to Spokane. We arrived at Brent and Deena's at 12:30. Friday night we had a BBQ in their backyard. It was fun to see Tavia, Blayre and Ryan, and their kids who also joined us. Brent and Deena have lots of land and after we ate, we played frisbee golf. (Not my jam if you know what I mean, but still fun.) Andrew's great at it though! Grannie joined us later in the evening.

Saturday was Ryan's birthday party. We spent some time earlier in the day at Blayre and Ryan's house and then Logan and Julia's. Logan and Julia also have a frisbee golf course on their spacious property and Andrew had the time of his life. James loved having endless cousins to play with and a backyard to run around in! He especially LOVED the riding lawn mower and ATV. The birthday party was a hit with lots of yummy food and tons of family. There was a volleyball tournament and the rain waited to start until we'd had a few hours of sunshine.

Izzy and cousin Rhett

Izzy with cousin Lucy

Izzy and cousin Alysee

Sunday, Blayre and Ryan blessed baby Saydee. They weren't originally going to bless her this weekend, but with so much family in town, they decided to. It was neat to be there for the blessing and to have home church and a big lunch with Andrew's family. All of Andrew's siblings were together! Birch and Sara came from Yakima and Tavia and a few of her kids drove from Boise. We played games the rest of the afternoon. That evening, Debbie was asked to lead a virtual fireside about her mission, so we watched that.

Andrew with his siblings and mom

Matching hair with Blayre.  I wish Malia lived with me, so she could do my hair daily

Monday we had dentist appointments with Andrew's brother. It was extra nice that Logan was able to get us in because we don't currently have dental insurance. We left immediately after our appointments with plans to drive through the night. Don't worry, we did stop at Jack and the Box on our way out of town. (Andrew's fav and there isn't one in UT.) The kids slept almost the entire time which was a relief. It was interesting to travel during a pandemic (lots of bathrooms and fast food restaurant lobbies were closed). We have been very cautious since returning and have kept our distance.

James is already missing "Uncle Deena" and everyone else. A couple of days after we returned, I was telling James our plans for the day. He interrupted me and said, "Mom, let's go get gas and drive back to Jacob and Malia's house." We did a lot of driving for a short period of time, but I think it was worth it. I'm just trying not to think too much about that drive because we'll be doing it again in August for a reunion.

Quiet Time

One hour of alone time mid-day is critical for my sanity. James is 3 and doesn't necessarily need naps anymore. He dislikes playing alone though and many times, we find that he falls asleep during quiet time. These are the various positions and poses we've found him in throughout the last while:

Classic. Watching neighbors play outside and got too tuckered out.

Note that he has a blankie in every picture. James is very sentimental and treats his blankets like his "babies." It's adorable. Recently he colored a box to make into a crib for his blankies. We've had parties for his blankets' birthdays, he's blamed his blankets for doing things that he shouldn't, I've woken the said blankets up by being too loud, "his blankets don't like it when I...", the list goes on.

Now, going to get James when the timer goes off is kind of a game to see what position he'll be in. (If he's asleep.) I always make sure I have my camera handy. We love this sweet boy who plays hard and sleeps even harder. 

When in Quarantine

When in quarantine, how do you escape from your kids? Luckily, my parents offered to watch them for us. We picked up take-out, ate in an empty park, and played tennis. Nothing says "social distancing" quite like tennis. As for the score, Andrew did win the first set, but we had to stop before finishing the second set. I will say that I made quite the comeback in the second set. I was down 5-1 and we were tied at 5-5 when we had to leave. I'm glad we didn't set stakes like we usually do...

When in quarantine, how do you get a haircut? Most salons have been closed due to the current pandemic. Andrew's hair was out of control. I offered to cut it for him and he was hesitant. Last haircut, March 1, 2014, did not go well. Mother's Day was wonderful and I told Andrew that the icing on the cake would be him letting me cut his hair. He agreed! See for yourself, but I actually didn't destroy his hair this time. (Thank heavens as he has had many video job interviews.) In fact, me cutting his hair might be a regular thing now. He said so himself. I think he enjoyed watching a show during it. (At first, we attempted watching one together, but I couldn't look at the screen while trying to cut his hair, so he turned on some nerdy thing I don't care for.) I will say that I am quite slow when it comes to cutting hair... It took me about 40 minutes. I also am that person who sees a stray hair a few days later and gets the scissors out. His hair can be found ALL OVER THE HOUSE. I think I'll need a designated broom for sweeping up hair. In the future, I also might just take him outside for haircuts. Enough build-up.

If I do happen to change my mind and not take on the "hair stylist" anymore, many salons are now open.

When in quarantine, what do you do with your spare time? Paint, eat lots of food, paint some more, go on multiple walks daily, do piyo workout videos from home, binge-watch a T.V. show, read way too many books, teach Zoom piano lessons, re-evaluate how many children you want, play games, paint.

One of my previous posts shows more of what I've painted. (James' room, stairway) I'm about done painting all of our baseboards. I no longer have to tape the wall and the floor which means I've done too many. All of our doors are finished. Our archway needs a second coat of paint. I'm considering painting our bathroom cabinets. The list goes on. We'll see when I decide to stop. 

More times than not, I can be found baking. I tried a peanut butter lasagna recipe that was as rich as it sounds. I've made my favorite whole-wheat bread recipe. I finally tried the chocolate chip cookie recipe that my sister swears by. I can see why now. It's an intense process that requires a minimum of 36 hours refrigeration time. That hasn't stopped me though. I've made those cookies twice. This morning, I tried a new cinnamon roll recipe. I've also stumbled upon a new pizza dough recipe. The list goes on.

The weather has been dreamy. I thrive this time of year, even with allergies. James is now a pro at riding his bike and we walk the trail in our neighborhood frequently.

Books I've read in quarantine: 

"Love, Aubrey" By: Suzanne LaFleur

"The Girl with the Louding Voice" By: Abi Dare

"The Silent Patient" By: Alex Michaelides 

"Maid, Hard Work, Low Pay, and a Mother's Will to Survive" By: Stephanie Land

"I Capture the Castle" By: Dodie Smith

"The Nazi Officer's Wife: How One Jewish Woman Survived the Holocaust" By: Edith Hahn Beer

"The Paris Hours" By: Alex George

"Just Mercy: A Story of Justice and Redemption" By: Bryan Stevenson

"The Language of Flowers" By: Vanessa Diffenbaugh

"The Widows of Malabar Hill" By: Sujata Massey

"The War that Saved my Life" By: Kimberly Brubaker Bradley

**I got 200 pages into "The Water Dancer" By: Ta-Nehisi Coates and decided to stop. (Wasn't my fav.)

Zoom piano lessons:

Imagine trying to keep a 5 year old occupied virtually. It's hard. Especially when reading isn't mastered, opening books to the correct page is challenging, and finding middle C independently isn't possible. Enough said.

As my sister told me, "You've kept 2 children alive during quarantine, Jenna!" That's what's most important, right? 

Finding the Good

Andrew came down (yes-- downstairs from his temporary at home office) from work last Friday, April 17, and I could instantly tell that something was wrong. Andrew got laid off via zoom. This is not the easiest news to deal with. He was shocked and so was I even though I had brought up the possibility.

That being said, once we were over the initial shock we have felt peace. How, you might ask? Several reasons. 

First of all, we are in great financial shape. I could not have said the same thing even 7 months ago, so I'm not saying this to brag. Just last week, we were strongly considering paying off our van and we were excited to do so. We sought advice from my brother-in-law who recently graduated with a finance degree from BYU and he agreed that we should. I had even gone as far as calling our credit union to see how much we owe on the car. That being said, we kept feeling hesitant about the whole thing and decided not to move forward with paying the van off immediately. Thank heavens we didn't! Andrew got laid off later that week. Had we paid off our car, our bank account would have had $8,000 less and this unemployment business would be much more terrifying.

Also, Andrew's last layoff in November was probably one of our greatest blessings. Double pay for a couple of months was amazing for our bank account and makes our situation right now not dire.

Another small, but noticeable blessing or prompting we had also came last week. I've been itching to buy lots of things lately. (Boredom?) We talked about buying 2 adult bikes and a bike trailer, so we could go on family bike rides on the beautiful trail close to our house. This would have cost several hundred dollars. We also looked at some organizational shelving for our basement since we don't have any furniture down there. We were having a hard time deciding if we should spend money on bikes, basement furniture, or none of the above. Andrew wisely suggested that we wait a bit and think about it. (This isn't his typical response. He usually gives me the green light when it comes to money because I tend to be very cautious.) Little did Andrew know that the very NEXT day, he lost his job. What a relief that we hadn't spent several hundred dollars on things we didn't really need.

Something else that is noteworthy to mention is that we've been seriously looking at homes since January. We have a realtor and everything. She's toured our house and we've considered putting it on the market. We haven't been going into homes during the virus, but we toured several houses before this all started. Very recently, we found a home we loved. We took a virtual tour and drove through the neighborhood. What a relief that we aren't closing on a new house right now or having to pay an even higher mortgage.

I have told some of my close friends the news and we have been spoiled. The day after the layoff, my parents dropped off homemade cinnamon rolls and Papa Murphy's pizza which made my day. My friend door-bell ditched a box of Crumbl cookies. My other friend also dropped off a massive peanut butter cookie. (She knows me well.) My grandma brought by our favorite donuts and got me a Reese's. The list goes on. Several friends and family members have texted and called. It's been so comforting to know that other people care, love, and are praying for us. I was touched to hear from all of my siblings shortly after letting them know the news.

Andrew had multiple interviews this week which is encouraging. Due to the virus, the economy is struggling right now and we have been unsure about whether or not Andrew will be able to find work. The fact that several companies have reached out to him has helped ease some of that stress. Andrew had a second interview with a company and we're hopeful we'll hear some good news from them soon. It's a great opportunity. If not, something else will workout. 

For now, I'm enjoying some help with the kids. As my pediatrician told me this week during Isabelle's 9 month appointment, it's so much easier to play man-to-man defense with the kids instead of zone. I think every member of our household is glad we've retired zone defense for now.