Camping and Other First Time Adventures

May was an eventful month for our little family. 

A few weeks ago Kas took the kids to the Spanish Fork farm with Mom and Dad and Addie enjoyed sitting on the horses while Hinckley stated they were "stinky" so he couldn't get near them. I think that is one of the best excuses for being terrified of being around horses I've ever heard.

Addie riding princess style, help from Grandpa

For Family Home Evening we watched Good Dinosaur and I burned a bunch of popcorn that stunk up the house for the next three days. Hinckley was enraptured by that movie talked about it daily for at least a week. For some reason he didn't get scared of anything in that movie, but was sobbing during an episode of Thomas the Tank Engine because they were lost in the mist. Interesting time of life. 

Hinckley has been acting more "nervous" and shy recently, hugging my legs going into nursery and getting really agitated when visitors come, but he still softens up and is ok. He and I had a really fun visit to the Provo Beach Resort as a part of my work and we both had a blast! 

Hinckley rode the elephant and the gorilla and loved them both.

Joy in Nanna's backyard

The biggest news is we not only survived but enjoyed our first ever camp out with children. 

We had a great camping trip in Mesa Verde. There were lots of memorable things about it, but overall it was much better than I was expecting. The kids basically slept through the night the three nights we were there, we had enough to eat, and we made it to the places we wanted to without any melt down too big to handle. Hinckley did poop his pants which led to some uncomfortable cleaning sessions in the tiny camping bathroom, Addie bonked her head and was pretty cold at night, and we all almost didn’t handle the drive and get out, drive and get out, schedule of the first day there in which we saw lots of pit houses and kivas. But it all worked out! (Hinckley also survived the surprise at the end of the video below). 

Hinckley loved the s’mores and the camping, the fire and the “dirt houses”. His favorite thing was playing with his cars in the dirt though, he just loved that so much and it was funny to watch him. His little lizards (dollar store toys) also gave him lots to talk about. We were all freezing the first night, but made adaptations the next day to be a little warmer the following two nights. 

Best part of camping . . . playing in dirt

Gleeful vistas

Family picture + random guy and Mesa Verde cliffs

Kas and I got to go see Cliff Palace together which was really neat, and then I went with John and Rochelle to see Long House while Kas and the kids went with Naomi to Step House before going back down to the campground to get dinner started. It is remarkable what those ancient folks were able to construct! 

Cliff dwellings (AKA "Dirt Houses" as Hinckley calls them)

Beautiful hikers

After our campout Kas and the kids went down to New Mexico for a day or two to visit Kassie's grandparents and she had some really neat experiences learning about her family history there and interviewing her folks using the StoryCorps app. After that they headed to Colorado Springs for a week or two. Hinckley has been having a blast playing in the sandbox, following GrandDad around, pushing around trucks, fishing, going on exploration walks with Grandma, and much more. Addie has grown quite clingy it sounds like as she has been transported to three new locations (camping, NM, and CO) in a short amount of time for a little baby! But she seems to be doing alright. 

While alone I used just about every minute I could to develop the business and move things forward and it has started to pay off. We are on the verge of lots of great work and my partner may be able to join me part time or full time in the near future. 

Visiting Grandma and Grandpa Dally

Fishing with GrandDad

Grinning at the zoo

Kas, Hinckley, and Addie had a blast with the Burnsides in Colorado Springs. They went on a small train ride, enjoyed canoeing, visited the splash pad, ran about at the mall, and went to the zoo (where Hinckley's favorite thing was the frogs). They had a wonderful time and were a little reluctant to come home - but I am glad they did! It was wonderful to see them again and Addie especially was very happy to be home, shaking like crazy and giggling like mad. Hinckley expressed a few times that he was sad to not be at Grandma's house, but overall he seems to be glad to be back.