This hike to the Y wasn't anything super spectacular but it was an enjoyable trip. David has been looking forward to it since the end of school. His kindergarten teacher gave him some summer homework which included things like "go to the park", "go camping" and "hike to the Y". So he's been asking us when we were going to go hiking to the Y. So we decided that Saturday was the day.
Donovan was excited for this hike because he wanted to carry the water backpack. David was pretty certain that he didn't want to carry the water backpack on this trip. And since he knew where he was going it was pretty hard to keep him contained. We had to give David specific instructions to not get too far ahead of the rest of the family. Had we not given him these directions he probably would have run to the Y and back before we made it to turn 2.
Don't let 'em fool you. This was the closest we were to David until we reached the Y. The other boys started strong, trying to keep up with David but their legs aren't quite as long as David's and they eventually decided that hiking with mom and dad was a better hiking strategy.
I hiked with Aleky in the child backpack so that we could move a little faster. But it was still hot (mid 90's) and we were excited to sit down on the Y and have some water while we rested and prepared for the return journey.(It took us just over an hour from our house to the top of the Y.)
It's almost hard to believe that the Y isn't perfectly smooth. It looks so good from nearly everywhere in Utah County. And the cement is cracking, paint is peeling, etc. But that didn't stop us from enjoying the trip. They boys had to go up and down to check it out. However, we had to put an end to the rock throwing (our boys favorite pastime).
We knew it was time to go when the boys starting exploring other parts of the mountain. They were pretty proud of themselves when to got on top of this metal bunker/storage thing near the Y.
The boys decided they didn't need to wait for us on the way down. Michelle thinks we've officially become the slow-poke parents. The boys made it to the bottom and Michelle and I were still up around turn 2! My legs were getting tired from that descent. But it only took us about 20 minutes to walk down the mountain.At the parking lot we had a chance to offer a little bit of service. A fellow set of hikers were unable to get their truck started. Fortunately their truck has a standard transmission so we were able to push the truck back and then roll it down the hill to help them get it started. However, after we loaded up the boys in our car and headed down the hill we passed them again, pulled over on the side of the road. Oh well, we tried.
David got home and went straight to his summer homework paper that we have posted on the wall. He got his marker out and checked off another homework assignment. We gave the kids quick baths and threw them in bed. We didn't have to fight them to go to sleep! They seemed quite content to go to sleep all on their own.
