The First Week

CRAZY DAYS- So, we are done with the first week in our new "back-to-school" routine. It was a busy week (sadly I think that will be the new norm). I think Thursday's will be the worst of them all though. We will have piano lessons, trombone lessons, and Jacob's jazz band practice. This week we had to add pack meeting and a back-to-school night into that mix. I think it took at least a half an hour to sit and figure out how I was going to get everyone everywhere and on time. It gave me a brain cramp. We were running from 6am until 9pm and I think Jacob calculated that he played the trombone for 6 hours. Crazy. It's looking like Jacob will have quite a busy year. He has to leave for school at 6am (he has before school jazz band) and he doesn't get home until 5pm (he has cross-country after school). And he has to keep up with a very rigorous class schedule.
The ZOO-After a crazy Thursday, I wanted to play a bit. So on Friday we grabbed some neighbors and spent the day at the zoo. Nathan got to ride the train, ride the carousel, and , of course, see some animals. We even got to have a picnic lunch. It was a nice break after my crazy Thursday.
The FIRE-They were luckily able to put out the fire in Draper fairly quickly, but not before it burned over 800 acres. Here's a photo of the burned area. If you look closely on the right side you can see areas where it is still green. The area burned was directly north of where the new Draper Temple is. We think it just missed Jacob's trail. We are not sure yet though because the whole area is still closed to hikers.

TIMP-On Saturday morning Matt took Jacob and Tyler along with Tyler's friend Cole, his dad, Rich, and Grandpa Hatch to the top of Mt. Timpanogos. They made to the top (at an elevation of about 11,772) in about 6 hours and then it took another 4 and a half to climb down. They were quite tired (and dirty!), but so happy for their achievement. Way to go boys!!
The BOSS- Nathan was quite sad that he had to miss out on the Timp hike...he's just not quite big enough yet. So, instead of going with the older boys, he got to go on a hike with mom. We hiked on the trail towards Red Pine Lake in Little Cottonwood Canyon. We had a grand time. I let Nathan make all the hiking decisions. We stopped a lot. We threw a lot of rocks into the creek. I've discovered (awhile ago actually) that boys LOVE to throw rocks into water. We even stopped and watched bugs. One time Nathan stopped an said "It's time to stop and take a look at the view." And he was right, we chad a beautiful view of the canyon and the valley beyond it. Part way through the hike Nathan turned to me and said "Mom it's great to be the boss of a hike. I can do what I want. I like hiking with you mom." It made me laugh. I guess child #4 doesn't get to be "the boss" very often.

SNOW-We spent the rest of this Labor day weekend going to a Hatch Family dinner and doing lots of yard work. Urgh...yard work...that's what took up most of our day today. )It was a real Labor Day). But, we got a lot done...even if there's still so much to do. It's a good thing the boys did their big hike on Saturday though because this morning when we woke up there was snow at the top of the mountains! Crazy!! There is no way I am remotely ready for winter. Luckily the snow lasted about as long as the storm. It's mostly already gone.

So now we are gearing up for another week...Nathan starts Kindergarten this week. Wish me luck!