cave hiking

today we took the kids up american fork canyon to hike up to timpanogos cave.  according to the photo above, it appears to have been a well planned adventure.  wrong.  the thing about the cave is we weren't the only people to have this idea today. weird.  we didn't think it would be crowded so we were shocked to see "4 hour wait for the next tour" when we reached the mouth of the canyon.  we proceeded anyway, it was what we were doing today and not even a 4 hour wait would stop us (me).  

trav and lindsay joined us.  i'm not sure if they were as enthusiastic about waiting four hours but they were troopers and did anyways.  

we tried to kill time.  we enjoyed lunch and hiked an extremely exciting "nature trail" with cayden huffing and puffing the entire .25 miles.  ... what was i thinking?  that was what i was thinking.

the kids were entertained at the visitors center with suckers too big to fit into gavin's mouth.

finally, we decided to head up the mountain.  more than 2 hours before our scheduled tour time.  

we took our time, enjoyed the scenery, drank a lot of water and took a couple of photos as we made our way up the mountain gaining over 1,000 feet in elevation.  

i have to admit, the hike up was a lot more difficult than i remembered it being, especially with a 5 year old on my back over the steepest parts. 

once at the top we were glad to be done but quickly regretted having not had brought everyone's jackets as the pamphlet had recommended.  we waited almost an hour for our tour and it was cold.  gavin was way over due for his nap and we had to drop the child carrier about 1/4 from the top because they're not allowed in the cave and the exit is not the same as the entrance.   

at tour time, we found the cave was even colder than outside and the tour was 45 minutes long.  another admission, i am not a fan of guided tours.  i just want to walk through, admire at my own pace and be done with it.  listening to the guide is not my cup of tea, i had to admit, and it's even more difficult with three kids in tow, especially when the oldest starts bouncing around doing the pee-pee dance only 1/2 way through the tour.

{inside the cave}

needless to say, we ended up moving ahead of our group.  i couldn't watch cayden dance any longer and he had tears in his eyes.  i know him too well and all i could think is if you can't touch the walls of the cave, imagine how they will react when he pees himself all over the floor!  the guide offered him a bag to pee in but honestly, we were all ready to use him as an excuse to bust ahead, admire and get out.

the walk down was a lot more pleasant physically although i had the pleasure of listening to cayden complain and whine about being too tired at that point.  maybe he was.  it was a long, long day.  lesson; buy tickets over the phone before hand.  got it.

no regrets.  i'm still glad we went.  i like getting out, moving around and being with my little family.

brooklyn was quite funny.  always a trooper, never complains.  she's strong and determined.  i kept reminding her to do her yoga breathing.  it was hilarious to listen to her thoughts;

"i feel like i should have already saw a bunny by now"

"i really like hiking, it makes me so strong" 

"oh, i just really need to hike on something"

i've diagnosed lindsay as being an asthmatic, the poor girl could hardly breathe as we climbed higher and higher (the elevation at the cave entrance is 6700 feet!).  at one point, i swear her lips were blue and it freaked me out a little.  we sat down and linds was frustrated. travis asked her if she was okay and brooklyn said "she just misses home."  true.  true.  linds, make an appointment, let an m.d. confirm my diagnose (so i can continue to believe that i really should be making more money).

{gavin was pooped on the way down. oh and my husband, yes, .. he's extremely sexy}

xoxoxo

today i express gratitude for the amazing place we live in, the sensational weather and the company we keep.  in short, and in my opinion, it was a wonderful weekend.