Rock Throwing Weekend

After Liam's swim lesson yesterday morning, we came back to the house to pack up the camper and hit the road. We got some hamburgers on the way out of town and Liam quickly fell asleep until we were almost to Manti.


We arrived at the Palisades campground at 2pm and spent the rest of the warm day playing outside! Actually, Daddy didn't last long as he did all the camping prep and set up, so we let him take a nap in the comfy camper while we went exploring.


Liam has a long time relationship with rocks and water. The three combined make for hours of entertainment. I convinced him to take breaks and look at the camera a few times and also to go walking with me to check out the rest of the lake. Well... not before going back to camp for sunscreen, since it was so windy that dang hat kept taking flight.


He did find a use for that hat though...

Here Liam demonstrates how well he throws rocks into the lake...



A tree climbing demonstration is next...


Then we learn about docks and how on windy days, it feels as if you're on a boat. We laughed at how much we were bobbing on the water. Liam thought the water was going to take us away from shore.

On our way back to camp as we walked around the lake, I tried to teach him how to walk backwards. For once, he was actually slower than me! He kept on telling me to wait up!


There was a grate over the water in a small nook of the lake. Liam was nervous walking on it, but he quickly figured out that rocks may be compatible with this metal thing. He went and gathered a lot of rocks and went to work.


We woke up Daddy and started a fire for dinner. Hot dogs! Liam gobbled up his hot dog, apple sauce and pasta salad in a hurry because he knew there were marshmallows waiting for him soon after.

After dinner, the boys went to throw more rocks at Liam's request, then they got out the kite.


The wind was so fierce, Daddy kept faking like it was taking him away. Liam liked having the reins and making the kite dance. He also liked running around with it even though running was optional with the velocity of the winds.

We kicked the soccer ball around for a little while, then decided we better clean up and get ready for bedtime. We were all ready for bed before the sun actually went down. Since we didn't have any books to read per our regular routine, we let Liam call Grandpa in Minnesota and tell him about his day. I don't think he left any details out for Grandpa. Daddy took the phone when Liam was done and for one last activity, we looked at all the photos and video I had taken of him that day.

It took a long time for us all to finally fall asleep with the creaking of the camper furnace, the high winds and the glow of the sunset. But since we were the only campers in the entire place, we slept really great. No sounds other than the wind.

This morning, Liam woke around 7ish and Daddy got up to give him his graham bunnies to eat in bed. We all snuggled to keep warm for awhile. The furnace did run out of propane in the middle of the night, but we had a spare space heater to suffice into the morning. Thank goodness!

Liam and Daddy got dressed and transformed Liam's bed into the breakfast nook and Daddy started frying up eggs for our breakfast burritos. It was fun cooking and eating in the camper. In the past, we've always done those things outside since we usually camp in warmer times of the year. Liam thought it was pretty novel that he had actually slept on our breakfast table. What a deal!

We cleaned up breakfast and then went for a drive up Six-Mile Canyon. We stopped a couple times to throw rocks into the creek running through it. It was beautiful up there and I was sad my camera battery had died last night. We also drove into Manti to get a closer look at the temple. Liam said it wasn't a temple since it looked more like a castle and Moroni wasn't on the top of it.


Liam fell asleep on the way back to camp, so we tore down/packed up and checked out. He didn't wake up until we were half way home.

It felt so good to get out of town and spend quality time as a family -- outdoors. I have a resolution to get out more this spring/summer/fall and get to know Utah better. We've been here too long to have not seen Zion's and Arches (to name two). We'll definitely be checking out Antelope Island up north too. Lots to do and see outdoors in this great state and now that Liam is able to hike along with us, we are going to do lots of it!