finally, it was warm enough to swim. memorial day weekend is when all the outside pools begin to open in utah. and i have never been so excited. i craved a kiss from the sun, and a dip in the pool. i got both. steph and her girls met us at lifetime, and it was jam packed. the kids went down the slides, and steph and i got to lay out. we made some last minute plans to meet brad & malia at big cottonwood canyon for a bbq. my kids were excited to see their kids, penny and lady. we pulled into big cottonwood canyon a little after 6, and it was the most gorgeous canyon i've yet to see. parker was explaining that he had heard it was where most of salt lake city's water comes from. and that was clear, with all the running waters, on both sides of the road. parker thought, dogs were probably prohibited. sure enough, next sign we pass reads "no domestic pets allowed." so we flipped around and headed to millcreek. we thought we'd give it another chance, since last time we were rained out.
cheese burgers with all the fix-in's; we're talking avocado, grilled onions, letus, tomato, ketchup and mustard, all on a toasted bun, hot dogs, chips and dip, corn and watermelon. we ate till we were stuffed. and then ate s'more. literally. while the coals were getting hot and we were getting ready to cook, little p decides to take a hike. the mountain is really steep. we don't see or hear him for a little bit, and then i start asking questions, "are there bears?" brad, "no but there are mountain lions." malia, "they aren't called the byu cougars for nothing." brad, "i'll start heading that way..." a short amount of time passes, and i can't take it and head that way too. i see brad and penny, and no parker. i ask brad if he sees parker. he says "yes, he's hanging on to a tree, and he's missing a shoe." me, "what?" i finally reach parker, and sure enough, while climbing up the mountain one shoe comes off and gets taken by the river. perfect. this dude goes through more shoes than you could even imagine.
poor penny puked, after parker took her to the river to quench her thirst. later brad and malia mention that she can only have water in small doses, or she pukes. parker to himself, "oops..." we laughed about it while parker was dry heaving over the fire. he said he had thought to himself as penny was chugging, "dang do they not give her enough water or what!?" brad and malia mentioned they thought the same thing when they first got penny...and later that night she puked. my kids and parker all love penny. she's a bull dog, obviously. there's no freaking way. malia, i've told you once...no matter what parker offers you. she stays in orem! we left just after the sun set, which in utah is around 9:30pm. i'm still not used to it. only a couple days left of summer. and i have mixed feelings about it.
malia brought the goods for the candy bar game, but i forgot the dice. so she played red light green light and freeze tag till they all won a candy bar. then parker and quincy threw a golf ball around for the dogs to chase...till that went bad. thank you p & q for the entertainment...after being told to keep the dogs tight on the leashes, they chuck the golf ball and the dogs both yank the kids to the ground, and continue towards the ball, dragging the kids. the adults all had gut aches from laughing so hard, and the kids both had crocodile tears. it was so funny though. and before we left a skunk came running across the bridge, all through the camp. we were freaking out. everyone was trying to take a picture, without getting too close. it wasn't even dark yet, little dude should have known better! another fun canyon trip..and many more to come.
