Desert Boy the train

I mentioned in my last post that one of the ways that I can keep Desert Boy hiking is having him pretend to be a train. Seeing him in action will give you a better idea of what that entails--with the arm motions, different speeds, sound effects, and youthful energy. Enjoy!

Sub-alpine Hike

A couple weeks ago I wanted to go on a hike. My husband was at work, which meant that it was going to be me and the kiddies. So I mentally geared up. Even though it can be a bit of a challenge to go for a hike with two young ones, I really wanted to get out of the desert heat and escape to the mountains. So we packed our backpacks (Desert Boy is required to carry one now, although I take out most of what he puts in it), and headed up to 10,000 feet to the trailhead. The temperature was fabulous, in the 60's.

The trail I selected was a loop, about two and a half miles long. I carried Desert Girl in a baby carrier, which meant Desert Boy was going to have to hike the entire way by himself. I knew physically he could do it, but mentally he would have to be persuaded. So we played games, and he remembered one from a previous hike, where we looked for hollowed out stumps.

The flaky bark on this Engelmann spruce caught my eye, a victim of spruce beetles.

I showed Desert Boy all the flaky bark at the base and the numerous holes in the bark on the tree. He probably won't remember it at all, but sometimes I can't muffle the ecologist in me! Even if my audience is a three-year old.

Bridges and elevated walkways are automatically counted in the fun category, and they don't take any extra persuading to cross.

We spotted this unusual knot in an aspen tree. Where I grew up, the Native Americans and early settlers sometimes twisted trees like this to mark trails, but I'm not sure what caused this one.

Then Desert Boy started in on the "Are we there yet?" questions. I had told him that we were going to visit two lakes, and although it was apparent that we weren't at a lake, he couldn't resist asking the question.

Repeatedly.

So we started a new game: throwing pine cones.

It was a pretty good game, lasting about five minutes.

Then it was back to, "Are we there yet?"

Fortunately we found some more distractions: some deer and then this Uinta chipmunk.

Then we proceeded with more of the same question.

Finally we got to the lake, and both kids were delighted. Desert Boy was mainly happy because I would finally let him eat a snack, and Desert Girl was happy because she could sit.

She cooperated with me for a scenic photo.

And then she said, "Come on mama, isn't that enough? I think you're taking too many photos."

Desert Girl can be opinionated like that.

Besides taking photos of my adorable kids, I also took lots of flower photos. I've been able to keep up my A Plant a Day blog better than I expected this summer, and in the process have been able to learn many more plants. I even jumped into the grasses, a plant family that has intimidated me in the past.

Oh, and if you're wondering what the flower is, it's some kind of aster. I'm not actually one hundred percent sure which one. I have a few (or more than a few) photos of plants that I still have yet to identify. So when it's all cold and snowy this winter, I'll be able to reminisce about the warm summer weather by looking at my 'unknown plant' photo file.


It was obvious that winter isn't all that far away by the low level of the second lake. Most of it had evaporated or drained away during the summer.

Some other people were at the lake when we were, and Desert Boy decided that they were his friends (we had never seen them before, but Desert Boy didn't let that stop him). He wanted to hike back to the trailhead with them. So when they left, we scurried to pack up our backpack contents and started running after them.

Desert Boy followed closely for a long way. Then he got distracted by some logs.

He wanted to walk on the logs, and I told him to go ahead.

He was balancing carefully. Oh, and if you're wondering about the outfit, he picked it out. He really wanted to wear the pajama bottoms, and I didn't see that it mattered, so I told him fine. He has quite the fashion sense.

He continued playing on the logs until he fell, then we managed to catch up to the other hikers (who had stopped to talk to other hikers). We followed them back to the trailhead, Desert Boy entertaining them by pretending to be a train. He was a very loud train, especially since he had packed his train whistle, but they fortunately didn't care.
It was a great hike, especially once Desert Boy stopped asking, "Are we there yet?" He didn't ask that any after the first lake.

Thank you to all hikers who encourage little kids--it does make a difference!

A Day at the Fair

On Saturday we went to the local county fair to watch the nieces and nephews show their animals, enjoy the exhibits and booths, and eat some yummy, unhealthy, hey-I-only-eat-it-once-a-year fair food (like fry bread).

We got there in time to see the large class of steers. Before entering the arena, the steers (and in some cases, the kids) were given a last brush. Note that Caleb has his number on in the above photo.

The steers were led into the grassy show arena.

Clay, Alyshia, and Caleb were all in this class, and had really big steers! Alyshia's had been behaving on the ranch, but in the show arena he kept wanting to make a getaway, making Alyshia run after him.

They walked them around so that the judge could get a view of all sides.

Note Caleb's shirt now. There are safety pins, but no number. Where did it go?

Apparently his steer thought it would taste yummy and ate his number off of him. Completely.

Clay smiled as he listened to his mom.

The judge ended up awarding Clay, Caleb, and Alyshia blue ribbons. He commented that their steers looked like they were from a commercial cattle ranch. He was right about that!

Next we walked around the booths. Desert Boy had fun collecting free stuff like yoyos and balloons and crayons. He also really liked this game where he threw ping pong balls into a house that had areas open to show where fires could burn.

Then it was back to the arena to watch the Showmanship round. Megan did a good job with her sheep. We were informed that Desert Boy will be able to take a sheep to the fair the summer after next. Yikes, that seems soon! And I know about nothing about sheep!

Alyshia's misbehaving steer kept up the act the second time around, while her dad and uncle looked on from the fence.

Caleb (with a new number attached) did a good job and won a Grand Champion for the junior showmanship class. That meant he got to compete in the round robin and also show a sheep and a pig; the latter was a new experience for him.

Caleb's steer.

After visiting more animals like ducks and rabbits and chickens, we went through the exhibit hall and wandered around again. We were lucky to catch a competition about to start.

It was the watermelon eating contest, and Desert Boy was willing to compete in the 0-3 year old division.

On your marks, get set...notice the boy on the left and the girl on the far right didn't really think it necessary to wait for the "go."

They had one minute to eat as much as they could. The girl next to Desert Boy needed a little coaching.

She's taken a couple bites, while Desert Boy keeps chomping down. Usually he hates the seeds, but he didn't complain at all about them.

It seemed like a long minute, but finally the time was up. The kids had to stop eating and the judges tried to figure out who had eaten the most.

And the winner was Desert Boy! He got a nice first place medal. He also achieved a very slimy shirt, hands, and face.

He was happy to keep eating the watermelon. And Desert Girl was happy to assist. She'll be ready for this age group next year!

Some Random Silliness

We got out the Johnny Jump-up for Desert Girl recently, but she wasn't too interested in it. Desert Boy was delighted, though. It was his favorite toy from about four to eight months old, and he would have been happy to spend hours in it if we would have let him. He still would be happy to spend hours in it, as you can see in the video below. I think the jumping is a bit more exercise for him now, but that doesn't seem to matter!

A Camping Adventure

So I was thinking we should go camping and enjoy some of that great nature and outdoorsiness and listen to the wind in the trees all night and hear the crickets chirping and listen to the birds wake up early in the morning.

My husband said, "Open the window. We can get all that right here plus sleep in a comfortable bed."

And he was right. But I got Desert Boy on my side and we convinced him we should go anyway.
Desert Boy was extremely excited to go camping. We didn't go far from home, and we went to a developed campground so we had bathrooms and running water nearby, nice amenities with little kids. But still, we were camping. We set up a tent and had coolers of food and buckets of supplies, and sleeping bags and sleeping pads and headlamps and loads of other stuff.

The cousins and their parents came up to eat dinner with us, which was proceeded by an Emma photoshoot.

Kayli, Megan, and Caleb were also going to stay the night with us and give Desert Boy some entertainment (or channel his energy, depending on your mindset).

Megan was dudded up in her cowboy hat and boots.

Before long the burgers and steaks were on the grill and we were ready to eat.

I'm not sure if this is Kayli's impression of the food or if she just likes making faces for the camera.

After dinner, we wandered down to the ranger evening program and learned a little about some animal adaptations to the desert.

And then it was time to eat again. After all, one of the best parts of camping is eating. We put all the ingredients pictured above together to make some yummy S'mores.

I hadn't had one in a long time and I had forgotten how good they are!

Then it was time to get in the tent. The kids had a little tent party, while my husband and I relaxed a bit outside. Then it was time for us to go to bed.

My husband looked in the tent and said, "I'm going to go sleep in the van."

What? That left me and five kids in the tent. What a wuss.

Actually, I was just jealous he had thought of it before me. Emma refused to sleep unless she was on the same tiny air mattress as me, and Desert Boy woke up before the birds even began singing, waking up his cousins (and me) in the process. I was not a happy camper in the morning.

We eventually made some breakfast burritos and that made everyone a little cheerier.

Desert Girl thought camping was fun because she got to play in the dirt.

Then I asked the cousins to take Desert Boy for a walk and my husband to take Desert Girl and I went back into the tent and went to sleep.

When I got up, I wandered out to see where the kids were, and they were playing school in the picnic area.

Caleb had a lot of fun cutting things with his knife, and Desert Boy really wanted to help.

My hubby came down and joined in the fun.

And because you can't have fun in our world unless you get dirty, Desert Boy went over to the fire pit and started playing with the charred bits of wood.

Ah, good times. Caleb and Desert Boy.

Megan.
Kayli.
And Emma, who managed to get a stick and eat it.

This is an interesting texture and flavor. A little chewy, with a tangy wood taste. Perhaps I should try eating more sticks.

On second thought, the aftertaste isn't so great. Perhaps I'll reconsider.

Maybe I should stick to dirt and leaves.

Desert Boy still asks almost every day if we can go camping again, so I guess that means it was a successful trip!

We packed everything up so that it will be easier to go the next time. Now I just need to work up the nerve and not think so much about my comfortable bed.