Oh Zion, Dear Zion!

Brian had a client who was interested in purchasing a lot up near Zion and wanted pictures taken. We turned it into a family adventure. We tried to wait patiently while Brian wandered around 20 acres of land taking pictures.... Once he was done we hiked into the lower and middle emerald pools. It was a perfect time to hike, early in the evening, because the mountains were blocking the sun so our hike was completely in the shade. It was still quite hot so once we were done the kids went swimming in the river to cool off.

50 Miler Coming Up!

Brett and his friend Austin on a hike.
Brett is going on a 50 miler with the scouts in the middle of July. In preparation for the hike I've been driving him and some of the other scouts who are going out towards the Arizona Strip and they have been hiking back home. For their most recent hike I drove them 3 miles into Arizona and they walked home for a total of 8 miles. They didn't start until 8:45 am so it was a hot, dry hike.

Rock Climbing & Swimming at the Washington City Community Center

They built this beautiful new community center in Washington. It is about 9 miles from our home so it takes at least a gallon of gas for us to get there and back. I took my kids and a couple of their friends there and it was going to cost over $40 to get in just once so I bought a month pass. We've been there about a dozen times in 3 weeks to hit their swimming pool which is complete with a lazy river & huge waterslide. The kids have a lot of fun and so do I. Brian and I have done laps a few times and boy is that good exercise. Kylie loves it and considering she is a fish with no fear who can't swim we are lucky they have life jackets she wears while we are there.

They have a rock climbing wall that you can use for free with your membership. Kimberly is the rock climber in the family (along with Brian) she made it to the top and wanted to try again. As for me I watched a much younger and fitter girl struggle to climb the wall and decided it wasn't for me.
Bradley tried his hardest to climb and got up a ways with a boost from Brian. Brett and Bryce also tried the wall but I didn't have the camera out when they tried.

Kylie of course had to have a turn too. I hadn't even brought clothes for her to change into since I didn't think she would want to climb, I should have know better. She loved it too.

We have one week left on our pass so we'll head out there a couple more times this week. It's great exercise and a lot better than having the kids sit home and play video games all summer.