Julys' Passage

Summer has been so busy that I haven't taken the time to share some of our fun. It is sad that summer is over.

My favorite shaved ice shack is gone, arrgh!

Oh, on with the fun.

Way back in July I went on a little vacation with a friend(BOY MOM) and her children. We had a blast. Just Moms and BOYS, oh and Lily came also. We couldn't leave her home.

Where is and what is there to do in Loa?

It is a small little town a few freckles south of Levan, which is navel backwards, the center of Utah. My grandpa taught me that little fact. I have learned that if you live in Loa you mostly likely are, uhm country folk. A lot of farming, horses, cattle and so forth.

Why visit and what do we as visitors do there?

First off make sure you bring everything you need. There's not a Walmart or 7-11 in site. There is a local grocery store that closes somewhere between 5 and 7pm, something like that, and not open on Sunday. Store hours also depend on the season of the year as well. The light of day isn't put to waste there, bailing hay, harvesting, feeding and watering etc...

It took a lot of planning on our part to make sure we went to the store before going out to play or get back early enough to be the last ones running through the store gathering our forgotten or needed items for the next day. There is a lot of exploring to do in the area. My favorite spot in Utah is Capital Reef, only a 20 minute drive from Loa. We spent most of our time there this trip.

Boy moms' parents have a little 2 bedroom house in Loa. It is often called the "cabin". It is a house. The home has running water, shower, washer, dryer, etc. However no TV, unless you bring one. Which would be useless, because there is no antenna or cable hook up to the home. It is filled with lots of nick knacks and memories of Boy Moms family. I love staying there. I have even stayed there with out Boy Mom. I am so grateful to her family for sharing such a special part of their lives with us. The cell phone service is real iffy. There is a small patch of service between Loa and Capital Reef. It isn't exactly roughing it but who wants to rough it with 7 kids. Well the kids rough it, there are only two beds. I brought and air mattress for some comfort for the kids. Bless their hearts.

As I said, we spent most of our time in Capital Reef. The pictures I took were mostly of us having fun, not of the amazingly beautiful red rock cliffs. If you haven't been there you should look it up, Capital Reef National Park, Utah.

Boy mom and I are always a little slow at headin' out on out adventures. Good thing the dads don't come, they deserve a break from us. First full day there, we finished breakfast (10:30 or so...) and lazily pack supplies and head to Capital Reef. It was lunch time when we arrived at the park so we unloaded in the beautiful park and picnic area near the visitors center. Lunch took about and hour. We then headed out on our adventure. Boy Mom had never hiked to Hickman Bridge, so we decided to do that. The trail is mildly strenuous, severely strenuous at high noon when you are dragging 7 kids with you, many of whom are wandering chasing lizards." What the...... were we thinking?"

"Come on Issac, you can do it!" Encouragement by Lil'.

"I am so glad it is shady and breezy up here, unlike the trail."

"Hickman Bridge"

Playing under the bridge and exploring.

I hit my head on the rock above as I bent down to take this cute pic. Ouch!

Looking cool and handsome in the heat.

We went through a lot of water!

Sitting on air.

How is he doing that?

When we were all done with the hike and ready to cool off, we dashed to every ones favorite, the water fall.

What kind of mothers would let there children jump into this water hole? Need I answer that.

Bring on the mud!

What kind a mother would coerce her little boy into jumping off the cliff? Isn't that against all parental reasoning?

THE END!