Monday, July 14, 2008

Blisters, Snakes and Dirt, Oh My!



Mike and I tested our vow to live life inconveniently with a hike w/ the girls this weekend. On Saturday we hooked up with the King family and took Kenzie and Hannah up to the waterfall in O-town. This is about a 3 mile round trip hike and wouldn't have been that inconvenient except for our decision to not carry Kenzie. Hahaha. This is Mark carrying Kenzie down the last part of the trail.

The hike started optimistically when a 12-13?? year old girl saw us traipsing through the parking lot with our caravan--two babies in packs on dad's backs and two blondie girls and their moms--- and asked us where we were going. "Up to the waterfall," we said.
She gave that perfect teenager look of skepticism and said, "You do realize it's like an hour hike, right?"
We smiled politely and headed up the trail. An hour? Who was she kidding? It took us approximately 2.5 hours to reach the top.
Rusti and Kenzie entertained each other for awhile, throwing rocks, looking at Rusti's lip gloss (a must-have for any serious hiker), and with Kenzie saying, "When we get there I'm going to put my whole body in cuz these are my swimming clothes." While I tried to warn her that it might be a little bit cold, she insisted.

We meandered, and it was fun. I tried not to have too many expectations of Kenz, and I think that might have been why it was a successful trip. Licorice and fruit snacks kept the girls going for awhile and then we tried distraction. Kristin and Rusti forged ahead and discovered a snake, much to Kristin's dismay.
The snake was a good distraction and kept Kenzie going for a little bit, but she had started telling me her shoes were too tired to walk anymore about 20 minutes into the hike. Slowly but surely we prodded her along and she actually did really well. Not as well as Rusti, who walked the whole way without any carrying and (I kid you not) no whining, but still it was encouraging.

I carried Kenzie a little ways up the top (Mike was carrying Hannah the whole time, and sometimes Kenzie as well) and her face was classic when she saw the waterfall! She was amazed. Then she refused to put her feet in because it was too cold and kind of whined a lot the rest of the trip. So much for her whole body theory.

Hannah fell asleep and loved putting her feet in, after the initial shock of the ice cold water wore off.
















When we got home I took off Kenzie's shoes and she had a huge blister on the back of her left foot. Poor girl. No wonder she whined. I'll have to find some different shoes for her when we hike again.

Sometimes I wonder if we are giving our children a healthy love of the outdoors, or just cultivating a deep-seeded hatred of it-- I can imagine my teenage Kenzie giving me that perfect look of teenage skepticism/'you are so stupid' and saying, "Mom- you and Dad totally made me hike all the time when I was so, like, little. I am, like, so totally, NOT hiking anymore." Except she'll text it to me, because teenagers don't really talk anymore. They just text.

We finished off the hike with a Farr's ice cream cone. It was good times! Thanks Mark and Kristin for being good sports with us!

When I told Kenzie she did a good job and asked her, "Did you have fun? Will you go hiking with me and Dad again?" She smiled (probably satiated by the bubble gum ice cream cone) and said, "First I will take a nap, and then we can go hiking again."

8 comments:

Em Russ said...

You guys are amazing and BRAVE! I can barely make that hike by myself! You're funny as always and I'm inspired by your "life of inconvenience"

Heidi said...

I always love your posts, you really are such a funny writer. I feel like I am sitting right next to you while I read your posts. You are gifted girl!! It was fun to see Mark too. I wish we could have an 'inconvenient' hike with you guys. Maybe...by the time our kids are teenagers.....!!

Anonymous said...

What a good surprise, seeing another blog so soon. Loved the story and the pictures. Grandpa and I did that hike when we lived in Ogden. I did in once and that was enough. Grandpa did it several times and loved it. It is beautiful, but so are a lot of flat places.
Good going Kenzie.
GB

kristi lou said...

What great times! I LOVE your vow to live life inconveniently. I'm gonna have to tell Nate, he will LOVE it!

Marcie said...

We parents have such good intentions when we make our kids do this kind of stuff. Actually your girls probably really enjoyed it, but I bet it was lots of work for you! I think it's great that you want them to have a love for hiking and the outdoors.

Hollyween said...

You're so amazing doing hikes with your kids. Seriously. I think I'd crash and burn. I can almost hear Levi whining now....

Amateur Steph said...

Thanks for the compliments! You guys are going to give me a big head (to match Hannah's)!

Charles, Kellie, Gabe and Khale said...

Hey Steph -
That looks like a ton of fun. Kristen told me that they had a great time. And I understand about Rusti being one tough cookie - she is such a little trooper as are your girls.