Living Life

 The initial week of Evan having diabetes was a big adjustment. But since then we have been enjoying life with a little extra carb counting and insulin.

Sometimes Evan likes to weigh his own food.

We went to Nana and Papa's once weekend for some fun reason that completely escapes me right now. Is this true? I feel like it is but actually I don't think it is. Nana and Papa came to visit us and we saw MONSTER TRUCKS. But that was actually before diagnosis of diabetes.

We went on a hike at the Barton Creek greenbelt with another family. It was loads of fun and lots of adventuring. I like to say on the trail but we were all over up in the rock wall area and the kids loved it and did super well.

 Taft climbed up into that cave above his head. He was the only kid who did!

Our final destination was a water hole on the dry creek bed that does not dry out. Evan LOVED it, in particular.

Kent picks all his own clothes, ok? He looks super stylish, especially with the hat!

We went to Oklahoma to see Doug, Amanda, and Dean and see an Easter pageant. Winner with seeing family, loser with seeing the pageant. Our tired family didn't make it very long. But we still had a great time with everyone!

Products of a fun Easter egg hut with cousins at cabins on base at Fort Sill/Lake Elmer Thomas Recreation Area (LETRA)

Evan really likes this toy.

Watching the retiring of the flag that is completely ceremonial with a cannon shot but not really the retiring of the flag because they just put it back up again.

Seeing the "Eniac" (phonetic spelling) computer in the artillery museum.

And life goes on. All the kids have been very patient with Evan's needs. Evan is very patient with all of his pokes. There are some really frustrating days when technology isn't working quite right. But for the most part things are going well. We take it one day at a time. Evan is blessed to have such great siblings who love him and do everything they can for him. I hope he always sees them as the friends they are, especially when he feels frustrated and different with managing his diabetes. 

Life going on...

Sometimes this is what my personal scripture study exercise time turns into in the morning. So many cute kids love me and like to find me!

Evan likes brooms and vacuums. He also likes to carry something long and sometimes dangerous. Toothbrushes are not too dangerous. The whisk he took to his endo appointment was ok though he was loathe to let go of it while they weighed him. The little hammer seen here is getting a little more dangerous and I think screw drivers are down right scary. 

Average Summer Activities

 Erik and Alyssa have been hiking on Saturdays to prepare for a longer hike - maybe Mount Timpanogos - while we are in Utah. They had fun last Saturday hiking along the Barton Creek greenbelt. They crossed the creek at some point and then ran out of trail and found themselves back in the creek and eventually swimming to get back on the trail. There was a little more water than they had anticipated!

While Alyssa and Erik are gone, I have been taking the boys to a community soccer thing. Taft loved it the last week because there was a school advertising and he got hand sanitizer! And chips and juice. Taft also played more than he had the previous week, which probably made it enjoyable. Can you find Taft and Joel? Joel is holding a rainbow kickball if that helps you and Taft has eyes...

We've also been engaging in fun playdates and water activities. This week we went to a splash pad. Joel spent most of the 2 hours on this frog. Alyssa and Taft also played on the nearby playground. There was a giant web swing and a bunch of kids piled on it while Alyssa pushed them and another kid dumped water on them. I had the lovely privilege of holding my sleeping Evan the entire time. :)

When we are not out and about which is actually most days, this is what our mornings look like. Alyssa and Taft have been doing Hoffman Academy piano lessons and everyone gathers around, doing their own thing.

Pedernales Falls 2021

Our family took a day trip to Pedernales Falls. We hiked to the falls and saw the water running over the massive rocks. We went a couple of years ago and it was bone dry. There has been enough rain this year that there was water!

Later we went to the swimming hole farther down river. It also involves a little hike with a lot of stairs, but the kids did great! Evan fell asleep on the way down and took a little nap under the large cypress tree that was our day camp shelter.

After swimming, Evan took another nap and I held him for that one. Erik had taken the kids in a tube down the river. He and Alyssa swung off a rope swing. Then he pulled the kids in the tube back up river against the current. I went down later on my own and couldn't even make it 10 feet back up the river. I don't know how he did it! But everyone had fun!

Kent and Joel spent a lot of time in this little pool. One time Kent managed to push out the pineapple (scented) tube and Erik went to grab it. Kent also managed to push himself out, so Erik grabbed him too.

Joel was ready to hike back up. He wanted to help carry something, so he carried Erik's life jacket. He was pretty proud of his water bottle's spot!

It's interesting. Even though we still have a baby and a 2 year old and a 3 year old, our family is figuring out how to go on adventures. I love being outside with the kids. It is not easy to take 5 kids hiking. We often don't get very far, and if we do go far, we end up carrying 3 of the 5 kids back. But we are creating memories that are priceless. We are developing our family culture and it is one that will endure throughout our entire lives. It probably won't be very easy for a long time. We will have little kids for quite awhile, but it doesn't have to stop us! Our outdoor adventures aren't so much about getting somewhere but about being together and soaking in nature while we do it.

 

A Hike to Owen's Creek Waterfall

We have a goal. Our goal is to do a backpacking trip this summer (2015). We would like Alyssa to walk the entire thing. It won't be too long and it may be slow, but we would like to be unplugged and one with nature and we want Alyssa to develop a love for all that is beautiful early on in life. 

Therefore, to achieve this goal, we must prepare. We told said goal to some friends and they told us about this hike:

Now, this was 2.5 miles one way, so we figured we could get to the falls and Erik could run back along the road (because this hike is along the Natchez Trace) and retrieve our car. It was our first real endeavor at hiking with Alyssa walking the whole way - maybe ambitious, but doable.

We established a rule - no complaining or you will be left behind.

We somehow did not establish the rule of "do not bring unnecessary junk" - hence New baby and a backpack with a few books brought by Alyssa.

The morning was beautiful - a little chilly, but not unbearable. We hiked along, sang some songs, pretended we were driving a bus, ate some snacks...you know, all those good things.

My GPS watch died about 45 minutes into the hike and so we were not able to track how far we had come. But somewhere along 1.7 miles we lost the trail so we hiked out to the road and Erik ran back to get the car and Alyssa and I walked the road to the falls! She did a stupendous job! No complaining! And when she asked if she could ride on Erik's shoulders, Erik would say, "How about you carry me on your shoulders?" And someone how the conversation was diverted in other directions and she walked the full distance on her own two feet.

When we got to Owen's Creek we found out that it was actually closed. Boo. And since we were willing to pay a $5000 fine or 6 months in jail if we got caught past the fence, we stayed right where we were. I do declare that it would have been nice to have a closed trail warning at the get-go, however!

Here is a picture of the small waterfall that greeted us from the road side stop! Woo hooooo!

After hiking 2.5+ miles Alyssa was still up for a game of "you can't catch me" which ended in Erik rolling his ankle and skinning his knee...he is still a gimp today (9 days later).

A Hike Up Bell's Canyon

The mountains were GORGEOUS! I don't think I have seen a fall like that in Utah for a long time. The leaves were turning colors, it wasn't raining or snowing at all. It was just beautiful and vibrant! The air was crisp. Mmm. A lovely, lovely fall.

We hiked a nice, level hike to Bell's Canyon. We made it to the reservoir and it was lovely! Everyone was very kind to carry Alyssa up the mountain. She had to "go" so bad that the burden of walking was almost more than she could bear.

Starting out on our journey...

Claire and Jacob helped, too!

 

Stand by that red tree for a pic op!

Mmm. Beauty!

I just hope I find those mountains in Delaware soon! They seem to be alluding me....