It's Easier to Go Up ... Sometimes

When the brain 
is housed less than three feet from the soil
A  hillside with steep vertical inclination
becomes a mountain

And mountains are meant to be climbed.

Which seems to be easier to go up
than to come down.

Thank heavens for big brothers  ...

... who have the patience to rescue little sisters
Time and time
again.

Even when that little sister has a spark of imp
pent up inside
just bursting for release.

Watch out cousins,
who may just be positioned to be on the receiving end
of
IMP:

Hahaha!
Canyon Picnics and Dirt just go together!

Don't be deceived by these innocent looks.

 These two little dolls are really ...

A RUMPUS all packaged in SWEET!  waiting to happen!

 

Hooray!

We took a chance on Friday, July 18, and went up American Fork Canyon for a picnic and marshmallow roast with anyone who could join us.   (That makes it sound like it was my idea, doesn't it?  Actually, Stephanie and Makinzee planned this fun outing, and we invited Tonya and Heather, too, but they couldn't make it.)

 Bill was working and joined us later.  Brent was watching for him when Lilly decided to join her Grandpa and tell him a thing or two, and show him how to throw rocks clear to the other side of the road.

Picnic was cold pizza.  Well, it was hot when we bought it, but definitely cold by the time we ate it.  The big plus was it was EASY!  

Sorry, I know I've promised to avoid food photos, but this just tells the story too well to leave it out:

That mountainside remained a challenge to be met by each of the kids.  For some it was easier to get up than for others.  Karsyn struggled with it.  She is totally GIRL and getting dirty is NOT her thing.

I found her sulking - no, pondering, about halfway up the side of the hill.   She was trying to get the courage to finish scaling the hillside.   She looked like a fairy princess in her tunic and leggings and her hair braided to the side.

  So I gave the photo a fairy princess treatment:

As soon as she realized I had the camera on her, off she went, determined to make it to the top.  It's hard to tell in these photos, but it was a very steep incline, and the dirt was loose, making it hard to get one's footing.  We kind of hoped that would discourage the little ones, but it didn't.

Karsyn made it!  With a little help from a root.

As the kids climbed and explored, dessert came out and the visiting went on around the campfire Mike built.

We had Edna with us for this evening.  We love having her along for these little family jaunts and she's a good sport to come with us.

Canyon picnics mean DIRT with a capital D!

and CRAZY PICTURES with a capital C!

And Roasting Marshmallows over an open flame with a capital Y!-  YUM!

And marshmallow sandwiches, I found out, are even better than s'mores!

 Because the best part comes with the ROASTING!

 (The only photo I get of Jack actually facing the camera came out a little fuzzy.  So sad.  But at least fuzzy is better than none.)

 After they had enough desserts and enough juice and enough pizza (they came back for more), they took off to conquer their mountain once again.  The kids made friends with kids in the adjoining campground and that made for even more fun (though I didn't get any photos of their new friends).

And Bill went to rescue them, because as I said, coming down seemed to be harder than going up ...
unless they dove down head first:

 Or you just go with the flow of it all:

 Those of us whose brains reside higher than three feet from the soil, found it easier to sit around and visit.  And this evening was probably my happiest photo taking time of the entire summer!

 I told you it was steep:

 Rescuing each other:

Why her leggings are permanently going to be her official Canyon outfit:

 Hard to tell, but Lexi's shirt is cradling a big pack of special rocks she found.  We definitely need to get that girl out to Topaz Mountain:

As the sun sunk deeper behind the mountain behind us, shadows darkened and dusk set in.  It was time to pack up the gear, and head back down to the Valley.

Time for one more
RESCUE:

Thank Heavens for Daddys!

The End.