Indoor Riding

Hope you had a great Thanksgiving! We enjoyed a delightful day with family and friends. I even managed a 5k Turkey Trot that made me feel really good and guilt-free throughout the rest of the food-rich day.

I didn't manage to get any photos of Thanksgiving as in the recent cleaning frenzy I misplaced both my cameras. I have since happily relocated them and downloaded photos from them. This set brought a smile to my face, hope it brightens your day, too!

We brought the riding horse into the living room, and the kids had so much fun bouncing on it one night. I'm not sure what caused their halos in the photo above, but I loved their expressions so much I decided to use the photo anyway.

This one's a winner. You can see how many teeth Desert Girl has now. In July she only had four, but they started popping out quickly after that. This was definitely a wild hair day for both of them. Desert Girl was wearing a shirt with a cowgirl and horse, so I think she was ready for a ride.

Part of the fun was that the horse kept bucking them off. Riding double made it happen even more frequently.

Oops! Off again.

I like Desert Boy's hair!

We might be getting a little out of control.

Off again! It's nice that on the cold days and evenings they can burn a little energy this way!

Leaf Jumping

A couple weeks ago--or was it longer?--it seems to be getting harder and harder to keep track of time--we decided it was time to go play in the leaves. We raked up the leaves under our catalpa trees and Desert Girl thought it was absolutely funtastic to fall into the leaves. She did it over and over again.

Desert Boy was also eager to partake in the fun. He helped Desert Girl dust the leaves off her clothes. It was precious to watch them play together.

The catalpa leaves were big and dry, so they didn't last too long. It's not so much fun to jump into shredded, crumpled leaves, so we decided to move to another part of the yard, under the apricot tree. The leaves at the top of the tree had turned a golden yellow and fallen off the day before, so they were still moist and perfect for jumping.

Takeoff!

Takeoff again!

If you're wondering about the helmet, we were about to go on a bike ride and Desert Boy decided he just had to jump in the leaves.

 

The kids convinced me I had to jump in the leaves, too, but I found my favorite activity was burying them in the leaves.

Now we have lots more leaves on the ground, but they aren't as pretty as the first ones. They're mostly green and brown. Fortunately the kids don't mind at all.  If we somehow miss the snow and rain that's supposed to come this weekend, I have a feeling we'll be raking up more piles of leaves and jumping in them!

Horse Canyon Hike

 We bumped our way up a really rocky road recently to go for a little hike. We were wishing that the new addition to our family was up to speed so we could get there in a little more comfort! Finally we arrived at the trailhead for Horse Canyon. I had been there before but had not hiked past the trailhead, and I really wanted to this day, despite the snow.

 So we trekked up the trail, which I found extremely beautiful. There were all sorts of things to look at, like this hornet's nest. I was glad it was winter and I didn't have to worry about them.

 Desert Boy thought it was fun to run. He had a lot of energy.

 He slowed down to get a stick. Why is it that every kid needs a stick to hike?

 We eventually got to the sign marking the Mount Moriah Wilderness. The kids thought that was far enough to hike, so they snacked with Dad while I went up the trail a little farther. I didn't want to turn around, it was so pretty. I will have to go back another day!

 They were still snacking when I got back. Snack breaks are very important.

 I couldn't resist a few candids of the kids.

 My, what big blue eyes you have, Desert Girl!

 On the way down Desert Boy wanted to run some more, so I went with him. (We teach the kids they have to stay in sight of us when hiking because we don't want them to become a mountain lion snack.) Desert Boy slid along just fine. When we got to this little branch across the trail, he decided he wanted to go under it. That required him laying in the snow, but he didn't seem to care.

When we got back to the two-track road that led to the trailhead, Desert Boy had so much energy that we kept hiking down the road, past the big, beautiful ponderosa pines. It was a really fun hike, more than any of us expected. It turned out that a little snow and cold didn't put a damper on the day.

A Last Glimpse of Fall Color

 We went with some friends for a hike on Saturday to enjoy some last fall colors. We're supposed to have a twenty-degree dip in the temperature on Tuesday, along with wind and rain/snow. An early October snowstorm turned most of the high elevation aspen leaves brown, so I was feeling like I had missed my opportunity to see the brilliant colors. When we got to the trailhead and saw the vibrant yellows, my soul just felt better. I needed that brilliance before we enter the monochrome winter.

 Rose hips dotted the bushes with little specks of red. At lower elevations, the scarlet skunkbush looked like little flames bursting through the brown grass. It was just a terrific day for color.

 Fortunately Jenny brought her good camera, so I can't wait to see what photos she got. Little Isaac was a patient helper.

 Jenny had suggested this hiking locale, and the loop trail was perfect for the kids. They raced to be the leader, hid in the bushes, ran back and forth from Nomi to the slower little kids.

 Here they are making a train. I was curious to see how this would work.

They chugged along in sync for a few steps.

Eventually the train decoupled and they ran up the trail, ready for the next game.

Then it was time for the inevitable question:

"Can we have a snack?"

We were ready for this, and told them they could have a snack at the bridge, which was the half-way point.

Before we got the snacks out, we asked the kids to sit for a photo. Here we have Isaac, Desert Girl, Charlie, Desert Boy, and Ava. Like how Ava is already barefoot? She had some plans.

It didn't take her long to convince Desert Boy and Charlie that they should join her in shucking their shoes and socks. They tiptoed through the cold mountain stream and commented on just how frigid it was.

Then Desert Boy fell in.

Fortunately Nomi had extra clothes he could wear.

Nomi was also the cuddle place, and the three bigger kids had so much fun cuddling in her lap.

Jenny and I took photos for a bit.

Then we got back to the bridge. Desert Boy had warmed up and wanted to go back into the water. I explained that we didn't have any more dry clothes, so if he wanted to go back into the water, he had to take off his clothes. He thought this was okay. Then Ava thought it was too. I sure hope this is a phase they will outgrow in a few years, and not a precursor to teenage behavior!

The underwear-clad little four-year olds hopped back into the creek and decided they would try to cross the rickety old log across the creek.

Their balance wasn't the best, but at least they didn't get any more clothes wet! The temperature was perfect, and we could warm up quickly, but not get too hot.

Isaac and Emma cooperated and laid in the leaves for a photo.

Then, after a lot of convincing, we got all the kids to lie down in the leaves.

I could have spent a long time looking at the fantastic patterns in the leaves. No two were exactly the same.

When a gust of wind blew, the leaves fluttered down to the ground. Desert Boy tried to catch a leaf, but didn't quite manage it.

Then it was time to start heading back, which meant heading downhill. Desert Girl and Isaac, despite missing naps, were eager to hike.

I followed the older kids, who were still full of excessive energy. They tore down the trail, enjoying the several bridges. Then Charlie tumbled on the trail and came back with a worried expression on his face. I checked out his scrape and told him Desert Boy had a first aid kit.

Desert Boy was eager to get out his first aid kit, which he had packed that morning. He had a handful of bandaids and a few gauze pads. He had wanted to pack more, but I had told him that would be enough. He also really wanted to pack treats for his patients if they were good, but I convinced him that really wouldn't be necessary.

Desert Boy patched up Charlie quickly.

Then they discovered that Ava had an owie. And it wasn't just any owie, it was a blood owie. That definitely required a bandaid.

Ava got patched up too. Then Desert Boy improvised. He didn't have the suckers for his patients, but he did have some chips, so they all ate some chips for being such good patients/first aid providers.

All us moms were trying not to giggle too much as the whole scene unfolded in front of us. It was infinitely adorable how they were solving their own problems with such calm.

Then we went back to hiking.

I found more beautiful leaves.

The leaves were coming down quickly, so we were all happy to have had our outing to commemorate the beautiful fall. The hike was especially fun because we were able to do it with friends. Now it will be a little easier to face the coming of cold weather.

Public Lands Day 2011

 We ended up being able to go to Public Lands Day on Saturday at Great Basin National Park. We got there a little later, but just in time to meet up with a new friend, Evan. Evan and Desert Boy quickly formed their own group to go visit the educational stations. They started with grinding corn in a mano.

 Then we checked out the sun through the solar telescope. We could see several sunspots and also some flares and a prominence. I learned that a prominence looks similar to a sun flare, but has a very different origin.

 Next we visited Ranger Joseph and learned about soundscapes. Desert Girl was willing to participate here, and she was awestruck by the neat sounds that he played.

 The kids had fun trying to guess what the different sounds were.

 Then we met up with Archeologist Eva and found out how Indians hunted and how they made their hunting tools.

 The whole group was enthusiastic.

 Nearby Melyssa was at the pictograph and petroglyph station. Desert Girl had so much fun with the stamps.

 We listened briefly to the wildlife talk, but the little ones were having a hard time sitting still, so we didn't last long. I wanted to touch the furs they had with them, but will have to do that another time!

 The station to make seed "bombs" was just what the kids needed. We put soil and seeds on some clay and rolled it up into a ball. We'll toss it in the yard and hope to see some flowers and Basin Wild Rye next year in a new spot.

 School kids were bussed in from Ely, and some folks were cooking up hamburgers and hot dogs for lunch. Yum. It wasn't time to eat yet, so we could go over to the last station, snakes.

 This was a favorite station of lots of the kids, as Bryan let the kids hold the snakes.

 Evan really got into it, and eventually Desert Boy was ready to hold a snake.

 Evan looks so comfortable with his new neck accessory!

It was a fun morning, and we look forward to spending more time with Evan and his mom. Hurray for new friends!