/ Nelson Notes

Rock Climbing in the City of Rocks

9.14.2015

^^New favorite! Totally blowing this image up and framing it.^^

I promise, our daily lives really are chuck full of the normal monotony that make up life. My couch had a pile of laundry to the ceiling this week. It took me two days, a bit of stress, and some help to get a load of {client} images off a corrupted SD card. Whew! And I'm trying to be mature about it (Am I 3 or am I 30?) but I still struggle waking up a sleeping child each morning to get ready for school. There were two mornings last week when I helped Jed get dressed in under ten minutes and then loaded him into the car--breakfast in hand--with instructions to 'eat on the way'. So yeah, all in all, I am still adjusting to this new school year's routine.

However, all that day-to-day tedium is easily overshadowed by weekend fun. On Saturday we followed our good friends, the Horsleys, out to the City of Rocks for an afternoon of rock climbing! Even the kids got in on the action. We parked the 'Acadia Brigadia'--we both drive GMC Acadias, haha--just off of a place called Practice Rock. It slopes upward and is the perfect spot for teaching kids how to climb.

Levi was the first to get on that train. He geared up and headed straight to the top of Practice Rock without ever looking back, though it was a little bit more difficult than he imagined. But the brave kid did it. The scary part was sitting back in the harness to come back down. Fortunately, Aaron was there every step of the way. And Jed climbed too! He is much more cautious by nature and actually claims to be afraid of heights. Jed got himself halfway up the rock and was ready to come down again. Nonetheless, he was determined and tried it twice. That's more than successful for a first time in my book!

Just adjacent to Practice Rock were a series of more difficult climbs that we adults (and Ollie too!) tried and I am proud to say, we conquered. Woot! Woot! Having very little experience rock climbing, I had no idea what I was doing. I approached the rock very differently than either Amy or Aaron, but the thing is, I did it!

Rock climbing is such an exhilarating sport: a heart-pounding, adrenaline pumping, strategy thinking, muscling through, kind of exercise. I am hopelessly hooked. It is time to start collecting our own gear because our whole family can't wait to go back! A whopping THANK YOU to the Horsleys for inviting us along. We feel so lucky to have friends whom enjoy adventuring in the outdoors just as much as we do! Saturday was soooo much fun.

See for yourself in pictures!

^^My brave little boy near the top of Practice Rock^^

^^While we all took turns climbing, the kids entertained themselves with monster trucks in the dirt and grazed on snacks. It worked out great.^^

^^Dirtier than the boys! Addy is one little girl whom is easy to love on.^^

^^Go, Jed, Go! I am so proud of that little man.^^

^^Oliver looking like a regular rock climbing pro.^^

^^Amy and Aaron showing us how it's done.^^

^^The little kids cheering on Bron while munching on snacks.^^

^^Chocolate pudding break^^

^^Our Saturday evening view. Crazy how there's a pocket of granite boulders in the middle of the desert.^^

^^Then the boys had the time of their lives climbing and exploring.^^

I couldn't help laughing at this view every single time. Jed ripped holes in his pants and all the way through his underwear by sliding down the rough rocks! It reminded me of a similar incidence that happened to me in high school repelling with a church youth group, except Jed didn't seemed phased at all. Embarassed? No. Ready to explore til he couldn't see his hand in front of his face? Yes. Good thing those pants were old.

^^I never want to forget just how animated Levi's facial expressions are these days! Lol. He was running to tell me about a bobcat he'd just seen. Thankfully he really didn't see one. He was just passing along the older boys' big imagination.^^

^^Tough Boys: Owyn, Jed, Ollie, and Levi^^

^^That's me! Seriously, love this stuff.^^

^^Looking pretty awesome there, Amy!^^

9.10.2015

Table Rock:

A strenuous day hike approximately 10 miles round-trip with 4300 feet elevation gain. The summit point is 11,106 feet above sea level and offers a gorgeous view of the surrounding areas just 2.5 miles west of the Grand Teton.

^^Nice photo bomb, Bron! Haha^^

^^The entire Nelson crew:

Me, Bron, Amber, Talon, Nichole, Garret, Call, Chantee (girlfriend), Kaleb, Tyrel, Merri Sue, and Flint.^^

^^Luuunch!^^

^^Cue Queen: "We are the Champions... of the world!"^^

This man, I love him. There is no one else with whom I'd rather do life. We got ahead of the group on our hike, so we sat down to eat our lunch together and wait. We rested our backs against a big rock and immediately commenced talking and laughing like a pair of kids. Yeah, I'm glad we still got it.

^^The whole group at the top of the world!^^

^^Lovebirds. The flat rock behind them is Table Rock.^^

Table Rock has been on my to-do list for quite a while now. I'm so happy we finally got to do it last Monday! Momma Nelson was determined to show us what the hike was all about so she planned a trip months ago, and miraculously, all six Nelson boys showed up to make it happen! No kids allowed, just adults. And it was so much fun! We walked and talked and cracked witty one-liners the entire afternoon, all the while encouraging our dear mother up the mountain. The trail is no joke! We took the North Trail on our way up (longer but less steep) and the Face Trail back down. At the bottom I happened to find a sign at the trail head that said, "Trail not maintained. Very steep. Not recommended." Hahaha. Joke is apparently on us. My quads are still sore and tight from that descent.

But no matter. We made it to the top! It was blustery and freezing cold. However, the view was unmatched. The Tetons were larger than life! So yes, it was totally worth it. (Though if I'm being completely honest, I think I'd recommend going over Hurricane Pass instead; it's prettier. That legendary adventure with those pictures are coming soooon!)

And then... we topped the evening off with a warm dinner in Victor, ID. Yum! I could have eaten three helpings of those french fries.

Thanks for planning a wonderful family adventure, Merri Sue! You rocked it. Our hike is already going down as a day I think we will all remember and talk and laugh about for a very long time.

9.09.2015

Labor Day weekend means Fair Weekend! We haven't missed a year yet and I don't ever plan on it. Yes, the fair is hot and dirty and crowded with people, but there's an atmosphere there that I just can't help but love. So we loaded the kids up into the car on Friday afternoon to have ourselves a good time. The boys sat on vintage tractors, explored the 4H barns--where Levi tried to hand feed every cow we encountered--were fascinated by the giant train set, and rode the mechanical bull! It was all fun and games up until we ended the evening with little people tantrums. Jed would not quit whiiiining about how he needed a prize or how he wanted to have even more fun. Ungrateful booger. The whole ordeal left me wondering what I am doing wrong as a parent?! Perhaps we go and do and play too much? Maybe I should say 'no' a lot more often? Or maybe it's simply a miserable part of teaching and raising kids? I'm not entirely sure. BUT I do know that I'd do it all over again next year. Yup, I love the fair. And I've got pictures to prove that despite the end-of-night-meltdown, it was totally a ton of fun!