The ridgity ridges.: Summer Adventures

Splash Pad with Grandpa Leckie
June 5

Grandpa Leckie came into town to help put a roof on our house among other things. We were able to convince him to stop for a few minutes to cool down at the splash park here in Springville.

Playing in the Park
June 1

Caroline really likes swings and we discovered that she likes the slide, too!

Art City Days Rodeo
June 7

I love to go to the Rodeo. Jared wouldn't mind so much if he wasn't so allergic to the horses. Thankfully, we were able to find a spot upwind so Jared was able to enjoy it a little more.

Escalante National Park
June 11-14
We were able to go with all but one of Dave's siblings to a small reunion in Escalante. It was great to get to know them a little better. There were a few cousins there and we had a really nice time. We hiked to see some petrified wood, rode four wheelers, picnicked by a slot canyon, saw a beautiful reservoir, saw some cool artifacts and petroglyphs, and hiked to see Calf Creek Falls. We stayed in the motorhome with Dave and Janette and Caroline just barely still fits in her suitcase.

Dave and Janette on the four wheeler

Hiking to the petrified wood

Pretty cactus blooms

In the slot canyon with Mary Jean and Anna

Beautiful vistas along the drive

Caroline was making cute faces while we were driving.

Posy Lake

Calf Creek Falls

I think Caroline was just a little too warm to hike in the Ergo. It was blazin'! The water in the pool at the falls felt so good on our feet after such a hot hike!

Petroglyphs

Asphalt Pad in the Backyard

June 27, 2014

We were duped into putting an asphalt pad in our backyard. It's something we've talked about doing so when someone came around who was "in our area" and offered a "screaming deal" we took it. (Do you detect a little buyers remorse?) At any rate, it's done now and it will be really nice in the winter when there's not a huge mud pit in the backyard or when Caroline learns to ride a bike, or when we get some basketball hoops up :)

New York
June 30- July 2
Through a long and random string of events Jared got asked to do some tile in the Oakland Temple. Since he was going to be out of town for three weeks and I was DREADING being home by myself for that whole time Caroline and I headed east. We flew into Newark- much cheaper than flying into Greenville and then we drove with Emily, Andrew, and Eric down to South Carolina picking Jeffrey and Caitlyn up in Durham along the way.
While in New York we went to Delafield pond on West Point campus and got to hear a local band perform in their little town. It was short but fun pit stop in NY.

At Delafield Pond

Eric and Andrew

Trophy Point at West Point along the Hudson River

Enjoying our slushies and listening to the jazz band

South Carolina
July 3-10
It turned into a little mini-reunion in South Carolina missing only Adam's family and a few spouses. The Shields were up from Florida and it was fun to see everyone. We mostly just hung around Mom and Dad's house, shot off fireworks, had a BBQ, played a few water games, played in the little pool, went for golf cart rides, went to a little water park, ate way too much food, and just had a good time.

At Otter Creek, a local water park

Quality time with cousins

Corbin (14 mo) and Caroline (12 mo)

We also went on a hike with Nathan, Kate, Emily, and Jeffrey to Rainbow Falls near Jones Gap. We didn't really know what we were hiking to or what the trail was like, but it was beautiful!

Caroline slept through the hard part.

Oakland, California
July 14-19
I still need to collect a few more pictures, but Caroline and I got to visit dad in Oakland. We flew out with Jamie and cousin Scott since Chris (Jared's brother) was working with him. While in California we saw the Oakland Temple, the Golden Gate Bridge, lots of traffic, the Lewis Gunter family, and we got to play in the pool at the hotel and at a beach in Alameda, CA. It was nice to get to sleep in the same city as Jared even though they were working such long hours that we didn't get to see him too much.