Birthday Catch-Up

Byran turned 40 a month ago today. I didn't want him to forget what we did to celebrate his birthday because it ended up being a lot of fun!
The kids decided that Dad must need the same breakfast they made me for my 40th birthday too. So the day started out that way. Byran's birthday was on a Wednesday, so other than opening a few presents and ribs for dinner that was about it. He really wanted to go camping for his birthday, but unfortunately for Byran, he married someone who used to love camping, but has since developed an extreme fear of bear attacks, so we went hiking instead on Saturday.
We decided to hike Stewart Falls up above Sundance. We took the old traditional Grandpa Biddulph Trail- the trail less traveled. (Bonus points to anyone who can correctly identify where on the trail the above picture was taken!) It brought back so many memories of hikes with my grandparents and cousins, and was so neat for me to be hiking the same trail with my children.Just when we got within hearing range of the falls, Byran stopped us and had everyone be quiet to see if they could hear it. The kids got so excited when they realized they could hear the falls! Byran took a few minutes to talk with the kids about how listening to the Holy Ghost is like listening for the falls. Sometimes we need to stop and be still and try to listen to what Heavenly Father wants us to hear. It is there, but sometimes we are being to loud or busy to notice its presence in our lives.

Just before we came around the corner and saw this BEAUTIFUL view, a bigwild turkey was walking down the path in front of us! It was just taking its time walking along.

I'm glad that we went the way we did. We never saw another person on the trail until we got to Stewart Falls. There were TONS of people there (Memorial Weekend). We ate our lunch and enjoyed the cool spray from the falls.The good thing about having a bunch of people around is that there are people around to ask to take a family picture! AAWWWWW! Cute family...

Diego came with us too.

We took the Aspen Grove Trail on the way back, which was shorter, but obviously the most poplular route. Karissa made sure that whomever went by us with dogs knew that she was allergic to dogs.

It was such a fun day. The hike was LONGER than I remember it being, but the kids were troopers.
When we got back we had a fun hot dog roast with my brother Jeff and his wife Laura up a different canyon. It was a fun end to a great day.
Happy 40th Birthday Byran! We hope you have a wonderful year!