opening our wedding presents!

fall colors on the mountains, mom!

later at home I made dinner while andrew brushed the girl's hair (which is quite the event) as they watched a show.  he's the best dad ever.

We set out early early early one Saturday morning to go hike a specific trail we'd heard of.  For some reason it didn't work out and we decided to go find another nature-y place to spend our morning.  Which then became one of our favorite family hikes to date: early morning at Park City.

the sun had just risen and everything was still cool and shady and just starting to warm up.  i think andrew was getting nostalgic for his alaska life.  i love when he gets like that because he talks all about hiking and campouts with his dad and brothers.  we've talked about how we both feel so blessed to have grown up around some pretty amazing nature- for me the ocean and for him the mountains and all things alaska

he's making them nature girls

she was adamant that this baby come with us and be in the pictures.  it kind cracks me up now.

THIS ROCK is what made this one of my favorite hikes.  it was huge.  it was cold.  it had a humongous open sky above it.  it wasn't too far of a hike but it felt like you were out in the middle of nowhere.  it had the most perfect crevices to take a nap in.  i could've stayed here all day. seriously, it was a great rock!

a little beyond those trees we saw a moose!

this is him at the top of that beautiful rock!  he was reluctant to take a selfie but since the rest of us couldnt quite follow him up there he did it for me.  plus i don't have enough pictures of his handsome face.  seriously i wish we took more pictures of him/with him.  this is one of my new favorite pictures now.

and we found another creek to play in!  they just seem to find us wherever we go.

after the hike we went and had doughnuts on a bridge at memory grove park, a bridge that we had hung out on when we were dating!

and she just has a real good smile.

Someday I hope look back and think of us as an outdoors-y family.  I hope looking back I'll see that we've gone camping a bunch, hiking, long walking, picnicking, gardening, wading in creeks and waterfalls, sitting around a fire at night, tree climbing, stargazing, etc...all the things that will bring us to SPEND time in nature, not just walk through on our way to the next building.  That's my hope anyway.  (Never mind that we missed all three of our chances to see the Grand Canyon this summer) And every time I get a resurge of that desire I remember that we have to start it now!
So recently we went on a family hike to Battle Creek Falls again in Pleasant Grove.  It was a warm late-summer day and the big accomplishment is that Audrey and I made it in and out without any major melt-downs or 'I give ups.'  It was only about a mile and a half altogether, but believe me it was not easy.  A good chunk of it was uphill and there were some precarious slopes with sliding rocks.  The sun beating down, each of us with a kid strapped to us, and my balance already not being what it used to be definitely made it a test of endurance.  But we made it all the way to the water fall and it was worth it!  It would've been more fun if there weren't hundreds of people there...but that's probably what they were thinking about us being there too.

see them way up there??

hannah and i set up our blanket a ways down and just enjoyed the scenery

snack time

we stopped at two water spots, the waterfall and the creek a little ways down from the falls.  my favorite was the creek.  i love be able to play in the calmer water.

must be nice to be a baby