Redrock & Swimming

We got a pretty early start to the day this morning. Nothing like when I have to actually go to work, but pretty early for a vacation day! Our first adventure of the day was a hike with all the kids up in Redrock Canyon. We opted to complete the Children's Discovery Hike for two reasons, one we had a time limit and two we knew all the kids could handle it. And since we still only have one child carrier it was not a good idea to take an unfamiliar route where Lincoln might not be able to walk on his own.

It was Lincoln and I, Rachel and her 5 kids, and our friends the Meads. So we had a pretty large group. What was nice is we arrived so early in the morning we actually got a parking spot , usually when we go we have to park along the side of the road. And we only saw one other couple on their way down as we hiked up. So when we arrived at the water fall, our kids got to enjoy the area by themselves for most of the time. What was so crazy is we all made sure to take our jackets, but we definitely did not need any of them! It was quite warm.

The kids also had a good time playing with all the caterpillars we found along the trail. I have no idea what type of caterpillars they are or what they will turn in to later, but there are hundreds of "nests" writhing with them among the bushes. Lincoln was the first to spot one on the trail, but from there I think every child was able to touch a live caterpillar, that is those that would actually touch them!

Lincoln has learned that Mabry despises having someone touching her stuff. So his new passion is to annoy her at every turn! If she is sitting in the high chair he will walk over and grab the edge, if he is in the car seat next to her in the car, he will place his hand on her chair. He doesn't need anything, but he knows it pushes her buttons. And the more she complains and tries to push him off, the more determined he is to keep his hand there! I have no idea how to get him to stop, or how to tell Mabry to stop letting it get to her, so I hope he grows out of it soon!

We also went swimming in Worthen Circle this afternoon. The pool is indoors and heated, so although it has not been warm enough to heat most pools, we were still able to enjoy the water. Lincoln loved it and had a good time jumping in. The only problem was the tiles in the pool area are very slippery, so there were quite a few times he slipped as he tried to jump from the side. It did not seem to slow him down very much but it made me a lot more nervous. He also went down the water slide. Which although he initiated the climb up the ladder, I don't think he was too sure about it when arriving on the top. But he went down without much hesitation. I caught him at the end, and although he did not go down again, I think he liked it!

Needless to say he took quite a good nap this afternoon. He was a very tired little boy!