We are really good parents

On Memorial Day Billy got off work early enough that we figured we could try for a cool hike. There are so many that I always want to do but can't with both the boys so we went for it and thought we'd try for the Cascade saddle, maybe the summit if we could.

Well, it was just the best ever for so much of it! The mountains were divine and Truman was a champ hiker and it was just so fun!

When we got to the meadow where Dad and Billy had their deer hunt camping adventure we stopped for lunch. It was a little chillier up there but we honestly did not even think anything about the weather or the cloudiness cus, like I said, we are really good parents. 

And we're really prideful hikers so once we had our lunch we saw the saddle right up there and decided we couldn't turn back now. Especially since my race course goes over that saddle I really wanted to check it out. So off we went. 

Never mind the cold temperatures, grumpy, tired babies, little drops of rain and hail we started to feel. 

The saddle was so great and cool and I got to check out where my race goes so we were happy! Except for the boys, who were tired and cold! Who cares, we're in the mountains!

Well, I thought at least that I would take the hoodie I had been wearing and put Burton's lower body in it so that his legs would be warm and as I was doing that Billy was looking over my shoulder towards the Cascade summit and was suddenly like, "Whoa, Krista, we gotta go right now! 

If you look in the top right corner of this picture, you can see from whence his sudden urgency came. Only when he said it, those ominous looking storm clouds were already ferociously charging their way towards us at a very frightening rate.  

Oh. my. I looked back at that, swung Burton back onto my back and both of us just started booking it, literally sprinting down the mountain as fast as we could. Of course we could not outrun such a disaster and seconds later we started getting pelted, and I mean pelted, with very painful and cold hail and oh my such thunder, such such thunder and lightning!!! Both the boys started bawling their heads off and we were just running as fast as we could and I was SO SCARED because I have serious horrible memories of being on top of a huge mountain in the middle of a deathly storm and this mountain was not so high and this storm was not so deathly but I had my whole family up there with me so the fear factor was mutliplied by 10,000 and we were all so scared! It was true terror!

It did not help that a) the boys were in light summer hiking clothes b) Truman's "coat" had no hood c) Billy and I were both carrying metal rods on our backs, which contained our children, d) no trees up there f) you can't actually run that fast with such equipment g) we had sacrificed any spare scrap of clothing for the children so we were getting totally demolished and soaking wet h) we were so high up. elevation and mileage wise. 

When we got down out of the real danger zone we stopped to put our spare diapers on the boys' heads, which immediately calmed Burton but truman was just still inconsolable. Poor kid, he only had my baseball hat on and Billy had run so fast down the mountain with him in the pack that his entire chin and cheek had been rubbed raw from the bouncing and was bleeding. It was so sad. 

We were slushing through rain and hail the whole rest of the way down and were so relieved when we finally made it back down the to the van. The boys were incredible troopers but if we had just been better parents they would not have had to experience such trauma. You have not heard thunder until you have heard it atop a very tall mountain. 

Poor kids. At least their really good parents had some spare blankets (and a sock) in the car for them. Happy Memorial Day, boys. 

End of May Goodies

Ahhh!!! Time goes so much faster in the summer!

Billy and Truman went on Father & Sons and did great!! 

We went to that cool museum in Salt Lake with Cynthia and some Bitter kids! So fun!

I took my boys to the reservoir before the crowds came to see how they would like it and even mr. cautious liked it (after I taught him to go in the water, now he always says, "We can go deeper and deeper and deeper and deeper!")

The swingset is pure, pure joy

Kim and her sister-in-law Jess ran the Ogden marathon and I was going to go cheer for them but then Billy decided to run a marathon the same day so I made signs with pictures of the boys cheering for them and posted them on the course instead. Fun!

And Truman made me a Mother's Day poster:) 

You must click on these pictures to see the full hilarity of them in full size. But also, be warned, they do contain nudity haha

And yes, Billy ran the Timp Trail marathon AND he did it 7 minutes faster than last time he did it!!! We had so much fun chasing him around the mountains and he did so good. 

He ran it with our friend Reed and also Phil, who decided to sign up for it two days before when he heard Billy was doing it haha! He's such a nut. 

Oh, look! How nice that those brothers will play nice together

(This is a fake picture. Or rare, in any case. Probably two minutes later Truman whacked Burton with a shovel for touching his bucket)

Went to IFA to get our garden stuff and encountered some creatures, which the boys loved, one more than the other

And we did plant our garden!

The boys

Yay May!

SUPERCROSS!! And many summer outings

Despite the snow we got yesterday (grrr) I do believe summer is here. We have loved having the outside option back in our lives!

Truman LOVES books. Have I mentioned this a thousand times before? It's still less than the times he asks me every day to read books with him. 

And he is just funny

When I don't feel like driving somewhere to play, we have picnics in our backyard! I live in the mountains so it is just as nice!

Here is the still unfinished but already cool firepit/living room area that billy is building for one of his clients. But seriously, who wants a wall in their backyard? I think it will look cool, I just would never have thought of it myself haha

hahah silly boys. They don't sleep in the same bed, Truman just sometimes wants Burton to come hang out with him when they wake up in the morning.

WE GOT A SWINGSET!!!!

Truman's psuedo grandma was getting rid of hers and we are so happy!!! It actually has not been as wonderful as I imagined cus Tru still needs help for every part of it haha but fun! 

Little fishing night at the res last week. Even though Billy is so busy and so tired, we always manage to take the boys to do something fun on the weekends. We actually caught 4 fish this time! ha!

My Sunday school kids, who I love. They are so dear.

I took the boys to explore this trail I had spied on a different run and we ran into this big wall shortly into it. I deserted them and climbed the wall then determined to come back later with Billy. 

Here is one of the many designs that BIlly draws. Isn't it cool that he does this? 

Ok so yes, then I took Billy and the boys back on that hike with the wall and we managed to climb around the wall (super sketchy, but I think I was the most scared one haha) and found a cool place! 

Then after BIlly wanted to climb the wall too haha and Truman's like, "Don't worry, Dad, I'll be right here to catch you if you fall!" 

Then we had a bonfire with tinfoil dinner and corn on the cob.. and watermelon that Burton dripped alllll over my leg...sticky!!!

 Billy decided he is going to run the Timp Trail marathon in a few weeks and so he has been doing some good training runs. I have been running with Kim and her sister-in-law Jess to train for their marathon which will take place the same day. Anyway, the only reason I provided that information is becasue I run with them on flat pavement cus that's what they like and Billy gets to summit the mountain across from our house haha jealous

PROVIDENCE. We saw a billboard advertising supercross coming to Salt Lake and I thought it would be fun to surprise billy with tickets and go but then they were too expensive for me so I let the dream die but then the day before the event Billy's CAT guy gave him tickets and pit passes!!!! I was so excited and so was truman!! (So i guess in the end we actually paid tens of thousands of dollars for those tickets since Billy gets shmoozed for buying his machines from Cat with supercross tickets haha oh well...)

It was the most fun and the boys did SO good with a long, hot day and no naps. And so loud. We had good, close seats and the racing was incredible. 

Truman was so funny and equally impressed by the weird Monster Energy logo slideshow playing on the jumbotron which looked like a "big storm" as he was with the bikes haha

Oh and even more enthralled by my thankfully endless supply of gummy worms haha

Burton was not impressed with any of it, but he had his sock and survived just fine. We had SO MUCH FUN there. 

And now we go onward! Truman has turned into a real live little boy with full thoughts and easy expression of those thoughts and it is such a delight (and sometimes a terror haha). I feel like he's just exploded in the past week or two. 

Burton is also as darling as ever and I think he will walk much sooner than Truman did. He is always laughing hysterically haha 

Such fun!