Monday, January 19, 2009

Donut Falls

For our day off from school today (Ry had to work) we went on a winter hike with my mom, my brother-in-law Slade (Erin's husband) and his three boys, and my sister Lindsey and her son Jonah. The weather in the valleys has been cold and smoggy (gotta love that inversion!) and it was so nice to be above it all--it was sunny, warm, and the air was clean. It was a great way to spend the day! The path was pretty well groomed by previous snow-shoers and cross country skiiers.

We made it all the way to the falls (it's only about a mile hike to the falls, but there were times that the kids weren't sure they wanted to keep going). We talked about finishing what you started, pushing on just a little bit more, even when it's hard and all of that... and we were glad we did. I'm not sure the kids got the deeper meaning of it all, but it got me thinking about pressing on, pushing forward, etc.

Most of the falls were frozen over, but we still got a glimpse of the water.

Crazy cousins: Tayden, Liv, Coleman, Evan, and Brady. You can tell it's warm--Liv shed her coat. I wished I had dressed with fewer and thinner layers too.

I had to include this shot of Brady (2 years old)... he had his finger up his nose for a good few minutes while he got a ride on the sled.

We finished off by sledding for awhile and going back to my mom's for hot chocolate and lunch--a great way to spend the day!

**Do you enjoy winter hiking?
**Have you been sledding yet this year?

8 comments:

Cheri said...

Oooo, fun! I've only been to Donut Falls once, and it was in the heat of August. I can't believe all the snow!

We actually have gone sledding this year - a big deal for us since snow is nowhere close. It was this weekend, and we had a great time.

And, Spencer had to work today too. :)

Booklogged said...

Great way to beat the inversion. Your kids may not have soaked up all your wisdom, but I'm sure they got some and you've given them some good activities to remember.

Kristy said...

I really love to snow shoe and/or hike in the winter. The mountains are the place to be with all this inversion!

Julie Pia said...

Honestly Lisa, I hate to be COLD. I'll do anything to keep warm, however, my crazy husband loves to be cold. I think he's been to donut falls, only ice-climbing up and down the waterfalls.

Great pictures. I'd be right alongside Brady, picking my nose, trying to keep warm and side-tracked!

Unknown said...

Cold/snow=yucky. Hiking=good.
We are planing a hike into some very pretty sandstone slot canyons off my backyard in June if you are interested.
Warm/sand=good

Yoga Girl said...

how fun! Where is Donut Falls? What a great way to spend the day. I want to "learn" how to snowshoe in place of running in the winter. Love the finger in the nose shot!

Anonymous said...

We haven't been on any winter hikes since we moved to Utah. It looks fun though, and we will have to plan one.

emilyw said...

I'm loving the nose-picking shot. Great photos! It looks oh too cold for me! It does look like a fun family outing!