Mary Jane Falls

This past weekend we hiked to Mary Jane Falls on Mt. Charleston. It is a 3 mile, pretty strenuous hike. I for one was breathing pretty hard when we reached the top. We brought the pack to carry Miss Sade, and she wanted in almost immediately. She insisted her legs were soooooooo tired.

I gave her a little pep talk, telling her she had to believe in herself, never to use the word can't, and ended with telling her I knew she could do it. It worked! She hiked the entire 3 miles unassisted, without complaint, and with a smile on her face.

It is no easy task to hike around obstacles on trails when they are as big as you.

On the other hand I thought Megan was going to pass out. She doesn't do particularly well in the heat, plus she is prone to a complaining nature, but I am happy to say that with a little teasing and encouragement she persevered!

Jackson runs up the mountain. He ended up way ahead of us.

We eventually made it to the top, and it was gorgeous!

Not only the view, but the mini waterfalls too.

The kids first did a very quick run through one of the falls:

But soon Eric hunted each of them down and made them do a longer run through:

Eric and I asked Megan to take a picture of us under the falls. She agreed, but it ended up taking her forever!

We were soaked:

Eric and the kids under another waterfall:

While they hiked around Sade and I took some pics:

Everyone loves it when Eric is in charge of snacks. He always packs the good stuff:

A family pic before hiking back down:

The kids (especially Meg) had a lot more energy on the way down:

I love these after hike pics of Sade:

She's a little trooper.

Adventurous Women Activity #1

I am now in a new group that has yet to be named, but for the sake of my blog I am calling it Adventurous Women. Once a month we will be doing some sort of outdoorsy/adventurous activity, and then once a year we will we doing a super adventurous activity like white water rafting. This is in no way an exclusive group, so if you happen to be reading this and would like to join, that would be great!

Our first activity was Paint Ball. I wasn't overly thrilled and was kind of worried about the heat (over 100 degrees, and we were extremely fully clothed), and THE PAIN. But nevertheless I was game as I am always up for an adventure!

My nervousness wasn't abated when we arrived and discovered our teenage instructors had welts covering their bodies.



They seemed pretty proud of their wounds:



We geared up and tried not to pass out:



Gina, Rachael, April and me.



Me and Gina.

There are not many people crazy enough to play in this weather, but luckily we were! We were the only ones there which ended up being extremely fortunate. We played 2 on 2.

The course:



April and I battling it out:





WARNING: PAINTBALL IS PAINFUL! YOU WILL GET HURT!
 I say we were fortunate we were the only ones there, because if we would have played against any men or boys there is a possibility we would have ended up dead or in the hospital.

As it was it took a lot out of us:



I ended up getting hit in the face (luckily I had my face mask!), on the leg, and my gun took a couple of hits. I couldn't get a great picture of the bruise on my leg, but it is seriously large:



Can you imagine if I had these bruises covering my entire body?! Which could have happened if I had been playing with people a bit more ruthless.



Overall I would say I enjoyed it, but would probably be too worried about the pain to try it again.

Fathers & Sons 2012

As Eric and Jackson were packing up and getting ready to go, I was remembering Jacksons first Fathers & Sons when he was a 2 year old, and how hard it was for me to watch him drive away! It was slightly easier 6 years later, but I have to admit it was still hard! I am kind of attached to my little Jackson.

Nevertheless, each year they leave me behind for some man time. This year at Valley of Fire.

 The truck all packed and ready to go. I'm pretty sure they didn't leave anything behind.

 

 

When they arrived, they set up camp, and then drove down to Lake Mead with some friends.

 

Upon arriving back at camp, they started dinner. Eric and a friend had planned to do dinner together, which for no good reason I found to be amusing. Not that they would eat together, but that they were organized enough to split up the menu, and shop separately. They did a good job, and had plenty of dinner and treat choices. I heard they did such a good job that many other boys wanted to be part of the feast. They happily obliged.

Jackson spent the evening playing football, hunting for snakes, and running around wherever the heck he wanted with his friends. A truly perfect evening for him.

 

I don't know what time they attempted to go to bed, but I do know they didn't get much sleep. For a couple of reasons. One because they were at Valley of Fire in June and it was HOT, but also because Jackson was so wound up and didn't want to miss anytime playing with his friends. According to Eric he kept bolting out of bed every 10 minutes to try to listen and hear if any of his friends were out playing. It didn't help that the moon was really bright and made it seem like it was daytime. It may look like Jackson is sleeping in this picture, but I assure you he is not.

 

 

I think this Fathers & Sons will always been known to me as the year they were in extreme close proximity to venomous creatures, and no one died. While eating breakfast they discovered a RATTLE SNAKE right by them, under rocks that the kids had been playing on all of the night before and all morning. Not to mention the enormous scorpion and multiple black widows and brown recluses they had discovered the night before.

 

Did I mention neither Eric or Jackson seemed phased by these critters? I feel quite fortunate that I am a woman and thereby not invited to these campouts. I have no desire to encounter this particular set of wildlife, OR sleep in 100 degree weather!

After packing up, they set out with some friends to do some hiking. They visited Mouse's Tank, and hiked up Atlatl rock to see some petroglyps.

More wildlife they discovered while hiking. Check out the size of this lizard!

They had a lot of fun, but were very tired after getting home. They both succumbed to a nap. Picture courtesy of Sade:

 

 

Until next year!

Observations Of Disney

While at Disneyland a couple of weeks ago, I made some observations and conclusions that I feel compelled (that's right-compelled) to share.

1. Staying at a hotel that offers a HUGE free breakfast is a must. Disneyland food ain't cheap. Of course a hotel that offers a HUGE free breakfast ain't cheap either, BUT I enjoy the feeling that I am saving money, although in reality that may not be the case.



My personal favorite hotel is The Embassy Suites. Namely because of the aforementioned free breakfast, but ALSO because of the separate room situation. I don't share a room with the kids at home, and I enjoy not sharing a room with them on vacation, for numerous reasons that I will not divulge here.

2. Accept that Disney food is expensive and splurge anyway. Don't shy away from buying that ice cream cone, or pineapple float! Eat at a restaurant. Buy that $3.50 Diet Coke. It will make you feel better (I speak from experience).



3. If you stay from the time the park opens, until the time it closes (as we did), you have to accept that you will be so tired you may begin to wonder if you will ever feel normal again. But you must persevere and spend every waking moment at the happiest place on earth.



Now for a few observations:

4. There are no black people at Disneyland. Seriously. Well NO black people is maybe a bit of an extreme statement, but truly very few. As I waited for Eric, Megan and Jackson to finish riding California Screaming (about 20 minutes) I only saw ONE (1!) black person. Since being home we have asked our black friends about it (sadly not a large number), and although they said they did not like amusement parks, they didn't know of a reason for the lack of diversity at Disney. I'm hoping the 2 days we were there were just an anomaly.

(Do you think it is okay I am talking about this? You know since I am not African American?)

5. Tights with shorts are now back in fashion! Woot-woot. You may remember I am a fan of this look from the 90's! Eric and I both saw NUMEROUS individuals sporting tights and shorts.

Sorry. This picture was taken at night, but you get the idea.



6. And lastly, flip-flops have now been taken over by Tom's as the most popular shoe. At least at Disneyland. As Sade and I were waiting for Eric, Megan and Jackson to ride Space Mountain, I stealthily took all of these pictures of people walking by. Here are all of the Tom's shoes I spotted in a FIVE (5!) minute period:











I have to confess that I used to find them to be the ugliest shoes on the planet, but since I am powerless to a trend, Megan and I went to buy some on Saturday.



I think I will wear them with tights and shorts.