The End of the Trip...

One thing I wanted to do while we were out of the Texas heat was to get up in the mountains and bask in the cool air and hike around a bit.  We were able to squeeze it in on our last free day.  We decided to head up to Mirror Lake in the Uintahs with Dan's parents on Saturday, Aug. 15. 

We stopped at a waterfall on our way up the canyon.  I think it was called Provo Falls, but I don't know for sure.  It was just perfect.  My kids all whined about how cold it was and insisted on jackets as we hiked around a little.  I was in heaven!

My boys...

The fam...

3 generations...

The girls...

When we got to the lake it was BUSY!  But we found parking and even staked out a picnic table.  Then we set off on a hike around the lake.  It was only a mile and a half or so, but it took a while with our slow hikers. 

Our kids really liked this log at the lake's edge.  And so did that random other kid in there who photobombed us.  She was cute :)

Beautiful day, clear mountain lake...

Dan's sisters Michelle and Amberly and their families met us up there.  Michelle and Robby brought their kayak (canoe?) and were kind enough to let us all have turns going for a spin.  Megan and Brooke loved it. 

Our little fish children were not so sure about the FREEZING mountain lake water.  Even though it was hot in the sun (and Dan did get all the way in), when Megan and Brooke attempted to swim out to him, they got RIGHT back out!  Even our Utah cousins shied away from too much time in that cold water.  Jack wanted to be right in the thick of things, but even he started to complain about his cold feet.

Candy hardly got in more than ankle deep, but she was chilled!  She kept trying to warm her hands up in her suit.

After Jack was convinced that the water was cold, he was content to hang out in the stroller and watch all the action.

Savannah, Megan, Will, Brooke, and Michelle out for a ride...

On our way home we picked up some Apollo Burgers for the whole fam and stopped at the store to stock up for our drive home.  My roomie from college, Maren and her hubby Brian came by to eat dinner and hang out for a few hours.  Maren and I have been friends for about a million years now (ok, just 13).  We got married the same summer, and we've had our kids around the same time (weirdly similar schedules with the kids), and if only Riverton and Houston were closer together, we'd still be partying all the time.  Dan and I had so much fun catching up with them.  The kids ran wild but had fun together.  Which is good since I'm planning to arrange a marriage there someday.  We've got enough kids, surely someone will hit it off!

Sunday we went to Heather's ward again for Primary and Sunday School and then dashed over to Dan's parents' ward for sacrament meeting.  His cousin just got home from her mission and she spoke.  So we got a chance to see lots of aunts, uncles, and cousins.  Monday we left EARLY for our long trek home.  We stayed the night in Amarillo and made it home to Houston on Tuesday just before 5 pm.  It was SO good to be home (and out of the car).  Despite the challenges, I love family road trips.  It's so fun to be together and see sights, family, and friends.  Until next time Utah!