© 2012 kelly mccaleb
included: besties and fam, delish hot dogs, apple cider for a nice change, me begging grant to make the fire bigger and bigger because i was freezing, getting cozy in a grandma mccaleb hand crocheted blanket, cate loving the fire as usual, and singing church songs in the dark night. all in all a cozy evening.
and we once again decided we hate zoos. cate loves animals so much that we think it will be worth it to go, but we just end up depressed and swearing to never support these places again. it is just so hard to see a cheetah in a fenced yard for crying out loud. but, of course, the animals were beautiful and fascinating to look at. they just look so darn bored and it makes us super sad. from now on it's discovery channel and nat geo wild only for this fam. are we being ridiculous?
ps- i am smitten and obsessed with tying my hair back with vintage scarves.
it's good to bring teenagers camping with you because they do things like make collages of all the music you listened to by the fire. and now, a ton of pictures:
cate is hooked on sleeping in a tent and has requested a camping themed birthday party. she is turning EIGHT this weekend. what? seriously, eight, i'm in shock. but what a fun party to plan!
i had a moment of pure joy hanging at the campfire with my little family. can't wait to do it again.
yesterday afternoon was finally sunny and warm. we had to get out and enjoy it. we found ourselves on the dry creek trail that heads up to horsetail falls in alpine, utah.
the trail head is literally five minutes from where we live. grant found it- i can't believe how lame we've been not exploring the area more these last few years. it was so beautiful!
and the higher we climbed the more it smelled like tahoe and made me so happy. that smell is instant relaxant and enjoyment for me.
cate did so awesome. we climbed a lot of feet in 1.25 miles up with almost no complaining or wanting to stop. next time we'll take her all the way to the falls, a little higher than we went. it was sunday though, so we were taking it easy. you know.
the view of the whole valley was breath taking.
awwww.
cate caught a second wind as soon as she found a perfectly sized walking stick for her. she called it her power stick and it really helped her pick up the pace. grant said he will carve it and smooth it for her for our weekly hikes we are taking this summer.
the wonderful sound of rushing water accompanied us the whole way up. the flowing river was way below us, but little waterways on their way down needed occasional crossing.
just can't get over that view, and the sweet smelling air. it was a really fun afternoon. rejuvenating. we decided next time we are making my dad and his wife come, it will remind them a little of home.
hair in a bun when it got hot. i wish i could pull off short hair, but us chubby faced girls need some framing length.
beautiful meadow we hung out in. we are going to camp there in a couple weeks. so grant and i can pretend to be bella and edward. (just kidding).
grant finally finally got his tacoma back. this was the car he drove when we were dating, which soon after marrying me he had to sacrifice for a car that would accommodate a car seat. he has mourned his black tacoma for eight years. i have mourned our mostly one car status since then. a glorious day last week he found his near exact car and the price was right. we are so happy and are going to camp the crap out of it this summer.
on the way home (literally down our street) our lovely day outdoors was topped off with a close up sighting of these pretties. cate loves all animals, and takes special offense to the hunting culture where we live. she won't play at friend's houses who have animal head trophies on the wall. when she sees them alive she is often brought to tears- why would anyone shoot them? she's tried a few stints at vegetariansim. oh that girl, so much passion and emotion. i just don't know where she gets it?!
our second reward was cate getting ready for bed and out of the blue saying sweetly to us, "the hike was beautiful today. thank you for taking me." made my heart melt.
it was a good day.
