How Hash Plays Baseball

Just simple pictures of a fun evening I don't want to forget!

Apricot Festival 2015

July is one of our favorite months of the summer. It is also one of the busiest months of the summer. One of the highlights is the Apricot Ice Cream Festival that happens every year. This year, we were lucky enough to have Grandpa stay at our house for a few days. On Friday, we drove to Park City, to the Canyons and took a gondola ride up to the top of the mountain. Then grandpa kept a bench warm while the rest of us took another lift further up the mountain to a little lake and walked a mile back down.

The cool part about the second lift ride was that it was most commonly used by mountain bikers. On the way up, we got a bird's eye view of them taking jumps and doing tricks.  On the way down, we got this cool video.

OK, also in this video, you see how Hash hikes. Its a big ninja adventure. And then his Dad hides and scares him by saying "ooo, la la." Now when my kids scare each other, they jump out and say "ooo, la, la." Its hilarious and very random.

The next day the whole Brown clan got together and hiked Bald Mountain. It was a long, rocky, windy hike and it was awesome!

Look at all those natural mountain lakes. Bald Mountain is really really high! Its almost 12,000 feet above sea level.

At the summit!

After the hike and a nice picnic lunch, we returned home for a BBQ. The LDS missionaries made a guest appearance and shared a message.

After the missionaries left and were safely out of hearing distance, we had our first ever Lip Sync Battle. I started it off with "Kissed By a Rose" by Seal, but no one got video so these pictures will have to do.

And then the REAL show began!

We also awarded the traveling Apricot Festival award. This year it was awarded to Grandpa. 

There is so much to love about this family. I love this Apricot Festival and love hosting it, year after year!

Past years:
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008

Parker turns 12

This handsome man turned 12!

He also received the Aaronic priesthood. That is a pretty big deal. I have to say, this kid is growing up to be quite the awesome young man. He is developing a great sense of humor, compassion, self-control and zest for life. He is so fun to be around and is a hard worker. He mows the lawn every Saturday with nary a complaint. He has also been working like crazy on merit badges for Scouts, which is a post for another day. I'm sure proud of the young man Parker is growing into.

Not sure what Rachel's doing here. She's either singing Parker's praises or complaining that the cake isn't for her.

Early on with our kids, I knew I wouldn't be able to sustain 5 birthday parties every year, so I decided they would get parties on milestone years. 5, 8, 12 and 16.

Parker's party this year was a Pizza and Laser Tag party. These boys had a great time.

So, here's a video that isn't very good because its dark and echo-y, but I wanted to try and capture the atmosphere. There were two other boys who started trash talking MY boys and challenged them to a game. My five against those two. The game was on and it was pretty intense - until one of the other boys ran into a hand-rail on a ramp and got a big gash in his head and a bloody nose. It was kind of serious. 

I was really proud of my boys though. The minute they found out, they stopped the game yelling, "Guns down. This guy needs help!" They helped him out of the game and kept an eye on him until help from the facility took over. They were perfect gentlemen. I'm so grateful that Parker is surrounded by good boys with good hearts. 

Cedar City - Shakespeare and Mammoth Caves

After we got back from Kanarraville Falls, Ster and I took Syd and Park to the Shakespeare Festival. It was awesome. We had the option of watching "South Pacific" or "King Lear." Being an English major, I felt obligated to see a Shakespeare play. To see anything else felt a little sacrilegious. So King Lear it was and the tickets were purchased a month or so in advance. Only when we were driving to Cedar did I stop to think the play might be over my kids' heads. In fact, King Lear is the most tragic of Shakespeare's tragedies. And its a little gruesome. I could just imagine all the looks I would receive from actual responsible adults as I ushered my kids into the play. I could just imagine them judging me in bringing young, impressionable children to such a disturbing play. So I began to doubt myself. 

Questioning my decision, I looked up "King Lear for kids" on youtube and showed the kids the video before we left. It was confusing, even for me.  

Once we got to the theater though, all my doubts left. In fact, I was downright giddy. There I was at the outdoor, Adams Theater, watching a Shakespeare play with my husband and 2 of my children. It was awesome!!! We even saw former Senator Bob Bennett there. 

The cutest part was Parker explaining to Sterling who the characters were and what was going on. Thank heaven for the youtube video. It really helped.

Needless to say, we left at intermission, before anyone died or anyone's eyes were gouged out. And I think they enjoyed it. The atmosphere was fantastic and it was a great night out. I'd do it again in a heart beat. 

The next day, while Sterling finished up meetings, I took the kids to Cedar Breaks and then on to Mammoth Caves. The wild flowers were in full bloom at Cedar Breaks.

There were telescopes with two different lenses that kids could look through and see the sun. They thought that was pretty cool. 

After Cedar Breaks, we were back into the car and off to Mammoth Caves which was a lot further away than I thought. Like 40 extra minutes.

So I had to make a decision. Press on to Mammoth Caves or go back to pick up Sterling on time. We pressed on and I'm so glad we did. It was totally worth it.

There were 3 caves. One was far too small for us. This second one started out ok but really narrowed at the end. 

This is me sitting and looking back at the hole I crawled out of. Yes, that is a very small hole. Yes, I almost got stuck. Yes, my kids laughed at me. 

The last cave was big enough for us to walk upright in the whole time. It is also a natural bat habitat but they are only there during the winter. I didn't get any pictures of that cave. But I think this video might be from that cave. To be honest, I don't remember which cave we were in during this video. And its so dark it probably isn't worth watching anyway. But my kids might get a kick out of it, so here it is. 

Cedar City - Kanarraville Falls

This year for Sterling's Mid-Year conference for work, we headed to Cedar City. As I always do, a few days before we left, I scoured the internet for "fun things to do" near Cedar City. After viewing a few images, Kanarraville Falls quickly became number one on my list. This hike follows a river into a slot canyon and was kind of long but recommended for families so we went for it. 

I'll let the pictures speak for themselves.

We crossed over the creek a few times, back and forth, until eventually we just ended up walking in the creek all the time. It was FREEZING. And yes, that required all-caps. It was super, super cold.

Soon enough, the canyon walls narrowed and we entered the slot portion of the hike. It was breath taking!

This was the first of two bridges we had to climb. It was a little nerve wracking with my youngest kids but I just trusted in their good balance and hoped for the best. With some prayer added in for good measure.

After the first bridge, the canyon opens up a little and there was a rock we had heard you could slid down. The kids were chicken but I was not! I did it and the kids laughed and cheered me on but they didn't follow my example. Sydney promised she would do it on our way back, though.

It wasn't long before we entered the slots again.

And then the second bridge. This one was a little more precarious than the first bridge but my kids are mountain goats. They really are. They climbed that thing like it was nothing.

We hiked until we found a bit of sun, where we rested, warmed up and had some lunch. 

Sweet Millie was not feeling well. She was just starting with a cold and the freezing water on her feet wasn't helping, but she hung in there and kept a smile on her face. She especially loved sitting in the sun. There wasn't much sun in the middle of the slot canyon.

When our bellies were full and our feet were warm, we headed back the way we came.

On the way out, Sydney was true to her word and went down the mossy rock, followed by the rest of the kids. Some of them went down multiple times! I'm so proud of them.

All in all, we hiked almost 10 miles and no one complained until the last half mile. Crazy to think that such an amazing adventure is hidden in these hills.

A few tips:
- don't go on a weekend. We went on a Thursday morning and it was busy but not crowded. I had a friend who went on a holiday weekend and waited an hour to get up the first ladder.
- definitely wear water shoes. 
- special socks (neoprene, is that the right word) to keep feet warm and dry. If you have them, I would definitely wear them.