A Happy Birthday wish going out to the best
'clean dirt' wife and mom ever!!
We Love You!
Love, Your Boys
Monday, March 31, 2014
Monday, March 24, 2014
When mom’s away, the boys will play…
It was the father and sons campout weekend that can only be
called such because one of the sons is under 18 months old!J
Stef was out of town for the weekend, so naturally that
meant play time with the boys. Of course
we couldn’t just sit around and slowly drift into March Madness (due to the
fact that it was still a week away) so we decided to simulate the best camping
situations we could muster. For those deciding to pursue a similar campout
simulation, this particular outdoor adventure will require a fair amount of
patience and a significant amount of flexibility and innovation, but is certainly
worth the ride; if you are up a challenge.
Friday night was barbequing hot dogs, roasting marshmallows for s ’mores, and sleeping in the tent. None of these things are traditionally very difficult in their own right, but being outnumbered 2 to 1, and throwing ketchup, mustard, a scorching hot BBQ grill, roasting sticks, hot, sticky marshmallows, and a very independent 16 month old into the mix, makes for a grand old time!
Hot dogs on the BBQ were not an issue. Feeding them to the boys posed some minor
setbacks but nothing to write home about. Trying to roast marshmallows on a
propane BBQ grill while the wind is blowing…not necessarily a brilliant idea,
but it does work…eventually.
Sleeping in a tent with a 4 year old and a 16 month old when it is going to get down to 33 degrees…bad idea. Talmage was thankfully flexible and slept in his own bed. So, Sawyer and I slept in the tent. I worried about Sawyer and woke him up several times to make sure he wasn't cold. My favorite answer came around 2 am. Me: "Sawyer!" Sawyer in a very muffled voice: "What!?!" Me: "Are you doing okay?" Sawyer: rustling in his sleeping bag until he finally emerges, "What?" Me: "Are you getting cold?" Sawyer: "No dad! If you start to get cold you just crawl down to the bottom and its cozy!" Of course! What was I thinking!
So, we braved the cold until 3am when the baby monitor ran out of juice. Not wanting Talmage to wake up to no one listening, we spent the rest of the morning on the couch; quite cozy due to our brilliant efforts in igniting a perfect flame any boy scout could be proud of (by flipping the switch and enjoying the gas glow of the fireplaceJ).
Of course since we were all so well rested the next morning,
we needed to continue our campout themed weekend by enjoying a good hike. So, after breakfast we headed for Farmington
Creek Trail. Little did we know, until
arrival, but Farmington Canyon is not yet open to car traffic in early
March…oops! This is where the
flexibility aspect of the improvised camping trip kicks in. Instead of hiking the 3 mile trail we had
planned to hike, we hiked the 3 mile trail from the car to the originally
planned trailhead of the real hike…and back to the car. This may seem like a
fail, however, due to the adventurous nature of a 4 year old Sawyer and an
equally adventurous 16 month old Talmage, the getting to the starting line ‘trail’
turned out to be just as much fun as doing the ‘actual’ trail!
Adventures with kids may teach us many things, but they
almost always include one overarching lesson: learning to enjoy the journey.
Plans never quite go as planned, but there is always joy to be found in the
journey.
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Tuesday, March 11, 2014
Of Sun and Snowbasin
It may not have been an ‘epic’ powder day, nor was anyone
‘shredding the gnar’ (at least not in our party) but this super sunny Saturday
quickly turned into a fantastic family ski day! After a bit of a late start, Stef
and Sawyer headed up to Snowbasin around 11am to hit Little Cat lift. It was
decided that after an early nap for Talmage, he and I would head up the
mountain and meet them for lunch. Talmage and I finally arrived at the resort
around 1:30pm and it was full speed ahead from there.
Immediately upon arrival, Talmage was ready to play! He made
some new friends quickly while roaming the outdoor picnic area at Earl’s
Lodge. We convinced Stef and Sawyer to
take a quick break for the ever popular peanut butter and honey sandwiches,
before plowing back up the hill, this time with Talmage in tow. I got to play
awkward father photographer running up and down the slushy slope trying to
capture the eventful outing on the ever trusty iPhone.
Sawyer has become quite the skier, 100% due to his mother. I
am however not entirely sure you can call putting a 16 month old Talmage on skis and
‘assisting/carrying’ them down the hill ‘skiing’ but now
watching the just turned 4 year old Sawyer make it down the hill, and through the
terrain park, unassisted, some learning must to taking place somewhere in those
early years. We are now completely converted to the mantra: ‘It is never too
early to put a kid on skis.’ Norwegians
claim to be ‘born with skis on their feet’ so maybe that 2 year mission put a
little extra Norwegian in my blood…but if it did my kids absolutely got a
stronger dose of it than I didJ
Don’t hesitate to take kids skiing! It is a huge hassle and
you are guaranteed to have moments where you absolutely question your sanity
and whether this whole ordeal is really worth the effort…but it is! When your 4 year old can proudly announce to
friends, family, and even complete strangers that they “conquered the rainbow
rail box in the terrain park all by themself,” you can smile as the proud
parent who put up with the twenty thousand tantrums to get them to that elated
level of confidence!
Oh, and how awesome is it that you can be skiing one moment and
enjoying the sun in your front yard only a half hour later… Feeling blessed to be loving the outdoors in Utah!
Tuesday, March 4, 2014
4 Year Tribute to Clean Dirt Kid #1 – Happy Birthday Sawyer
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