And this post, well it may be the grand example of photos and writing only a mother (and her six kids and husband) could love. You can stop now. I should take the blog private but someone always talks me out it.
We do all kinds of hiking, biking and running around here, but Timpanogus– 15 miles, 8 hours, 4,652 ft vertical climb– feels like a true accomplishment. Erik used to hike Mt. Olympus with the boys on the last Saturday before school started, but Timp is such an adventure. In theory, the last summer hike culminates a season of several smaller mountain forays, working up to the all-day climb.
But it didn’t really work out that way this year.
Our summer of way too much fun meant Gabe hardly hiked at all. And within three miles his legs were aching. I slowed behind with him as we got lost made a detour to Scout Falls.
Even when Gabe is tired, he’s cheerful and funny, cracking jokes and telling stories. I wasn’t exactly crushed when we decided to meet the others at Emerald Lake and within a few miles we caught up with Erik, Lisa, Dean and Izzy as they patiently waited for us.
So, I took hardly any photos, because it was just me and Gabe most of the hike and the drought killed all the wildflowers and it was just so much easier to keep the camera in my backpack.
but I did get a photo of the awesome toilet halfway up the mountain.
Seriously.
And this is the only photo I have of Lisa. Only she could look so adorable from that angle. Even Emerald Lake is a 13 mile hike, so Gabe is pretty tough. We waited there for these superheroes who completed the entire hike:
the boys: Seth (Stefan’s fabulous roommate at BYU), Stefan, Xander (who used up an entire inhaler on the ascent), Chet (Mr. Awesome) and Hans.
And that’s it. Here we are at the bottom (why aren’t we in this photo, Lisa?).
Gabe adores Dean. I often overhear him telling his buddies about, “My friend Dean…”
Ah but my lack of photos on this hike, opens the door to finally record our hike from two years ago. The images were already loaded into photobucket and have just been patiently waiting. I especially enjoy them because of this face:
Honestly, only two years ago. Look at Hansie, he was a kid. Look at me, I was so young and cute. He’s gone through a growth spurt; I’ve had an age spurt.
The hike may have been 2+ years ago, but I remember every moment. How often do you have an entire day to talk and laugh and eat masses of Oreos without any guilt? We were so silly other hikers told us, “We heard you laughing from a mile away.”
And the wildflowers. Oh my. Literally millions and millions of wildflowers scattered across the fields and hills. God’s own garden.
eating cinnamon pop tarts (the only true flavor of pop tarts) near the top
adding the summit to the Emerald Lake hike only adds two miles, but about two hours. And it’s rough. Both Xander and I were fighting for air as we reached the summit.
the view down to Emerald Lake
funny little shelter on top
It’s not that Stefan likes long hair, we just neglect to get it cut in the summer
You can hike back down the rocky path, but we prefer to circle around and slide down the glacier. Fast and freezing, this is the original alpine slide. We laughed and screamed and if we weren’t so tired, we would have hiked up and slid down again.
Victory!
Age spurt– I’m not that skinny anymore.
See the way the glacier feeds into the lake? This gives you an idea of the water temperature.
Of course, Stefan jumped right in.
Ben’s reaction
Ben knew what he was in for, but he jumped again.
My theme: if no one is wet or bleeding after a hike, you didn’t really have fun.
Xander calls this wise, I call it wimpy.
You’ll appreciate this photo if you’ve seen Hans lately.
Shirts back on, ready to head down.
obligatory flexing shot
No photo could better illustrate Ben and Stefan’s personalities.
down, down, down.
end of the hike
Ben’s beloved Converse. Ah, I miss those feet. But I miss this face even more:
worth seeing twice.
Annie
I love your family, up close or afar. (Don’t you dare stop blogging, my dear!)
Linn
Good grief, I loved this so much. And no disclaimers needed. You blog for your family. The rest of us will just consider ourselves blessed to watch from the sidelines. I’m so grateful.
Jess
Oh, you better hush, my friend. Even a brief mention of taking the blog private makes me obsessively check your blog multiple times a day. Don’t you even think about it!
Your family is so dear and your adventures so good to read. And, you? You are just as darling today as you were two years ago. You are so beautiful!
It’s funny, I say all the time that if I could go back to my 20-year old self, I’d tell her to love her body and be kind with her thoughts about it. Reading your post makes me think I should do the same to this 37 year old body. My 39- year old self will talk about how this body was less wrinkled…less other things too, I’m sure.
Be kind to yourself. You are beautiful and amazing and inspiring. Most of all, of course, you are a fantastic mom.
Love you!
Sara Jane
I love the posts like this the most. It’s a reminder of how the daily things we do bring us the most happiness–not to mention your gorgeous photos.
Claudia
Awesome! It made it even sweeter to see Benny boy now instead of then. So glad you posted! You’re right, Stefan’s roomie is cute 😉
Lisa
Even if I eliminate the photo of my back side, I have to say the photos of your first hike are my favorite. So green, so floral, so fun, so much Ben in the images! That’s it we’re going when he returns, and I will get to the summit this time. Love you and the blog forever!
ellen
No hiking boots?!?
Cath
*age spurt* – I am laughing out loud. No such thing. You are just as beautiful now. And your blog disclaimer is perfect. It’s what we already know. but exactly why we (I speak for all of us, right?) continue to come here. Ditto Annie: don’t you dare stop blogging. You have too much light to share. And I love seeing the old photos. Can’t get over how your boys have grown… and muscled. 😉