After we got back from our anniversary fun, we stayed a couple more days in Utah to hang out with family. I managed to get pictures of our attempt at a picnic up the canyon with my folks (it was crowded due to the holiday weekend), but didn’t get any photos during our nature walk with my in laws – probably due to the fact that I was hauling my limp toddler on my back and melting in the process.
We drove up Little Cottonwood Canyon with my folks — all the way to the top in the Albion Basin where Alta Ski Resort is. Talk about a wildflower festival. It was gorgeous! We went flower hunting after we ate (and glared at the camera) and had lots of pretty things to draw in our Nature Journals even though the sun was going down and it was getting cold. My niece got set up with a notebook and her own colored pencils from grandma and joined in on the fun. None of my photos of their coloring turned out thanks to the low light.
You can’t see ‘em but there are two moose on the hill below that pretty crescent moon:
And there are two mule deer munching away under that gorgeous sunset:
Saturday, we took a nature walk with my mother in law in a place they call “The Hollow.” It’s kind of a marshy area so it boasted tall cattails and all kinds of interesting vines and plants that we don’t normally see in the arid Utah climate.
The kids have turned drawing in our Nature Journals into a verb. “Mom, can we Nature that?” “Mom! We can do Nature-ing on grandma’s flowers!” Rad, I say.
I really, really hope the novelty doesn’t wear off… tell me again what we’re going to draw during the million-months of snow? Maybe closeups of snowflakes?
Anyhoo. Oh my heck, I hate ‘anyhoo,’ and there I went and typed it. I’ve committed to it, I’m going to see it through. We’ve set up our seasons table for fall – even though it doesn’t feel fall-ish yet. The emphasis is on all that “Nature-ing” we’re doing:
Those peanut butter M&Ms sure have a tendency to disappear fast. Maybe because they are the best candy on the planet.
