Corona Virus Quarantine Day #353: Rock Climbing and Saddling Up! Saturday, March 13, 2021:
Well, it’s been another full day. The kids have had a lot of fun exploring Phoenix…just wish it was a bit warmer. Goodness. It’s cold.
We started the day with a day out at the first ever breakfast joint, or at least that’s what we told the kids. Good times. They loved it. Cinnamon roll pancakes and red velvet waffles for the win.
From there we went for a hike. We found a family friendly mountain that wouldn’t give us a total heart attack hiking with Cooper and Fletcher who are basically the same person. They have absolutely no fear and it’s terrifying. See that sign there that says “stay on the path, climbing rocks is only for experienced climber?” Yep, I alerted them to it repeatedly but it didn’t stop them from climbing the rocks. Sweet Mother. It made me nervous. Finley, our child afraid of heights, handled it like a boss but definitely walked very carefully when we were at the edge of a cliff.
We had an absolute blast. I’m very grateful that our kids love the outdoors. We “hike” a lot at home but this is a different kind of hiking. It was awesome. I could do it everyday but for a little less stress I’d probably leave the kids at home.
Also, I’ve never taken so many pictures of people and rocks!
The whole crew on the mountain!
Fiona Bell loved the climbing. Her balance is amazing but dang…I don’t love watching them jump from one large rock to the next then back down to the path. Geez.
I don’t have as many of this girl, our Ellen, because she was taking her own photos. She did get assaulted by a cactus. Yikes. Don’t touch that. It gave us a few laughs and we had to get creative to get it off.
Just a few of him as well because he wasn’t as into climbing the crazy rocks as his siblings. I love his cautiousness in dangerous situations.
This kid was ready to repel from the mountain! Craziness. He was fearless and could have hiked all day. The last picture is of Cooper and the Arizona state tree. The kids liked these because they have green branches.
This guy is crazy. Absolutely fearless. It terrifies me. Please pray for me! Seconds after taking all these photos he climbed all those rocks.
So many photos of my favorite humans and rocks.
Cactus, rocks, and an opportunity to get dirty. We were in heaven.
Finley vs rock. Finley prevails.
After the hike we went for our first ever trail ride. The kids have never ridden a horse other than our neighbors for about 3 minutes total. We got to ride through the Sonoran Desert and it was pretty great. There were more cactus that I’ve ever seen. I also learned that a cactus has to be at least 70 years old to grow an arm. The more arms they have, the older it is! The kids really liked riding horses and now that they’ve had a taste of it, they are already asking when they can try again but next time…run. Finley and his horse Bear!Fiona and her horse Ruby Grapefruit! Her horse was a bit chubby and a little slow. Ellen’s and her horse Delta! My horse Vegas apparently had a large crush on Delta. He wouldn’t leave her side or stop sniffing her butt. Cooper and Casper made a great pair. Fletcher and his horse Teddy. Daddy and his horse Winston!
Trail ride goodness. It was not warm. Phoenix was 90 before we came and will be 90 next week when we are gone. Not sure how that happens. But we are making the absolute best of it all!
After all of this these crazy kids still had time for swimming. I have no idea how. I sat and watched comfortably with two pairs of pants on and three sweaters! Then I sat by an enormous fire pit which made it all the better.
#Celebr8Awesome 