An Advegetable!

Destination: Bridal Veil Falls
Location: Provo Canyon
Time: 9:50 am
Temperature: 29 degrees

Today I took the tots on an adventure, or as Big E likes to say “An advegetable!” We went to Bridal Veil Falls in Provo Canyon for a mini hike on their paved but snow covered trail. I arrived to find construction cones blocking part of the entrance and the parking lot blocked off and covered in snow as well. I should have taken this as an omen that perhaps today was not the best day for an advegetable but I was excited to try it anyway.

With little g strapped in my moby and Big E bundled beside me we set off down the trail. Big E set the pace and it took us 20 minutes to walk there playing fast/slow and pointing out the river and pine trees. I was so proud of him walking like a champ with no complaining the whole way there. Not to worry, the complaining came later.

Big E’s first task once we got to the falls was to throw rocks into the water, trying to break the ice. He started climbing up the side of the falls on his own with no parental guidance or assistance. Luckily he didn’t get too high before I figured out he was just looking for more rocks to throw in.

After what seemed like 30 seconds little g started crying and Big E asked for a snack. Thus began our demise. We walked maybe 10 feet further down the path to a covered picnic table and sat down for a snack with little g screaming the whole time. My legs and fingers were starting to get cold even though I was wearing gloves, so I can only imagine how Big E and little g were doing. We sat down for some Joe’s Os and Animal Crackers, Big E took off his mittens and I tried nursing little g. Note for the future: pack snacks that are edible without removing mittens and feed the baby before embarkation. Big E started crying that his hands were cold, little g was just fussy and I was out of patience. We scrapped snack time.

The walk back to the car was cold, loud and stressful. Luckily little g fell asleep on the walk back and Big E finally consented to putting his hands in his pockets since he refused to put his mittens back on.

Was the excursion worth the pain? Yes…ish. Back at home Mountain Dad asked Big E about the adventure and he excitedly said “We saw a waterfaller!” Obviously the cold hands had been forgotten and he enjoyed himself. Little g slept soundly all afternoon too.

Practice Makes Perfect, I Hope


For Christmas I got cross country skis and today was my first time trying them out. I know how to snowboard and have skied in the past so I thought I’d be pretty good at this but only two words can describe my ski trip today: awkward and clumsy. Only time will tell if this will be possible with tots in tow.

First Snow of the Year!

Finally some snow! Mountain Dad and I moved into our new mountain home less than one month ago, ready to enjoy skiing, snowboarding, snowmobiling and snowshoeing. Unfortunately December 2011 was the driest month in recorded history and there were no snow sports to be had. So when we finally got snow on Saturday I was thrilled. Three inches isn’t much but at least it’s a start.

After 20 minutes of wrangling I finally got Big E into his new snow pants and boots, little g swaddled in her bear suit and moby wrap and my coat and hat on. It was worth the wrangling, Ethan loved the snow, loved playing bulldozers with the snow shovels and I loved being outside.