adventures outdoors

well, if you know anything about our family,you know that we enjoy the outdoors. i was anxious to check out the canyons around here, so i found a smallish hike to some falls, aka the donut falls, up big cottonwood canyon. apparently, they are very popular, since we actually found ourselves "yielding" to many hikers and families along the way. there was definitely more "people" traffic in the mountains than on I-15 this past labor day. it was crazy! so much for finding some peace out in nature. nevertheless, it was an enjoyable afternoon.

there was a short break in the line of people hiking to the falls, so i snapped a quick photo of the fam. at the base of the falls there were lots of rocks and shallow flowing water to play in. william loved to throw the rocks and hear me say, "plop." he laughed EVERY time. he is so cute! i could eat him up! here, he is making his famous pig face. unfortunately, you can't hear him snorting too. don't you love the mohawk? in fact, judging by the amount of mohawks i have seen since we have been here, he is totally sportin' the "in" look.

if you want to see the falls in action, you have to rock climb to the top of some very slippery and steep rocks. at the top is a cave with a hole in the top where the water falls through. it is pretty cool! click here to see a home video of the falls.


on our way down from the falls, we caught a glimpse of a moose.
it was pretty exciting.


after an adventurous afternoon in the mountains, we zoomed home for showers and dinner.
afterward, we went up to the University of Utah to check out free day at their gardens and arboretum. it was wonderful! we spent a few hours there and felt like we could have stayed at least 1 more before getting bored. the kids especially enjoyed the children's garden with climbing structures, ponds, waterfalls, fruit, butterflies, play areas, all kinds of plants and paths, etc.

while we were checking out the herb garden, which btw smelled delicious, i heard a rattle in the bushes. i looked down and saw a rattlesnake slithering away. it was awesome. he wasn't in a hurry and so i was able to snap a few shots.

how was your labor day? hope you weren't laboring too much!!