Wide Open Spaces

The park is usually a part of our normal weekly routine. However, summer in Utah makes for hot afternoons. Too hot for my brood to do much running around outside. The indoor playground at the mall is okay for a while, but today I really wanted them to be able run and play in the fresh air to their hearts content.

Luckily, I knew the perfect place. A bit of a drive, but so worth it. Up Hobble Creek Canyon in a remote camp area with not one other person there. It was nice to have the place to ourselves. The air was a bit cooler up in the canyon, and there was plenty of quiet, secluded space for the kids to run.
Ironically, we didn't do much running or climbing, but we still had fun. I'm not sure why the sprinklers were running mid afternoon for the entire hour and twenty minutes we were there, but these gigantic sprinklers (with very heavy spray, I might add) were drenching the entire playground. The kids weren't too thrilled with this, so we spent most of the time in our "secret hide out," underneath a plastic climbing wall which provided the perfect protection from the water.
Amazingly the kids were happy playing here for almost an hour, cooking up birthday cakes of wood chips, various games of pretend play thought up by Olivia, and some speed climbing while the sprinkler made its rounds.


Olivia was our photographer today.

She is still working on her aim.

I know I need to treasure these days where our to-do-lists are short, and the calender has plenty of wide open space. We aren't to far away from school days, sports, lessons, and, of course, an age where huddling with Mom as a princess in a secret cave to stay out the massive sprinklers isn't as fun.