Hamilton Preserve Pool

A couple weeks ago Taylor took a Wednesday off and we drove out to Hamilton Preserve Pool about an hour away. It was pretty out there, would have looked a lot better if it had rained at all in the last 11 months, but it was still so nice. The walk in from the parking lot was about a 1/4 mile hike, pretty rocky but not difficult.

The kids and I LOVE swimming and were happy to have a new venue with Dad along for the fun. We were able to swim with tons of little fish as well as some large catfish. The pool didn't get too busy until we'd been there an hour or so. There was a larger shallow area than I thought there would be so that was nice.

We had fun walking around the cave. Normally a waterfall is dropping off the cliff in the back end of the pool, but since it has been so dry there were just a few trickles. The boys jumped off the rocks and Taylor spent time floating around. I tried swimming from the far side back in, but I am seriously afraid of deep water so I pretty much hyperventilated/doggy paddled back.

Then of course Matthias wanted to swim out to the rock on the back side. We'd been told it was 25-30 feet deep in the far end, but Taylor thought he could do it so off they went. It really wasn't a super far distance and Matthias took a couple breaks where Taylor just put his hand under his stomach for a few seconds. They swam out and back and I tried not to watch. James thought he would try it next year.

The trip was super fun and very relaxing.

Matthias and Taylor swimming to the rock

from the shore to the rock, you can see it in the distance, they are sitting on it

close up on the rock

First Grader!!

The commentary on the ride home:

"First grade is better than kindergarten."

"It's different though. One thing that is different is Ms. H (his K teacher) smiled all the time, all day. And Ms. Barnes (his 1st teacher) only smiles sometimes, still a couple times in the day, like five. But not all day."

"And Ms. Barnes is worried about the time. She is always looking at the time. She said we have 40 minutes to do one thing, and then 40 minutes to do another and then 40 minutes for the next thing, then 40 minutes, then 40 minutes. She set the timer for us. And Ms. H just hopped from one thing to the next thing. She wasn't looking so much at the clock."

Haha. And I always thought kindergarten was so chaotic, I loved Ms. H and thought she did a great job, but she was so chill. Perfect for a kindergarten teacher really. And at our meet the teacher hour orientation I could already tell Ms. Barnes was more my style because she was so precise and set clear expectations and I knew what the day would be structured like. I suppose I'm a stare at the clock kind of girl...which should come as a surprise to no one. I should try smiling all day though. If my cheeks don't get tired.

Love my little James. He is doing great and I love having half day school...it's wonderful.

Hannah Babble

Hannah: Do you have a baby in your tummy?
Me: No.
Hannah: But I do. I have a baby in my tummy and it`s going to get born and I`m going to feed it some food.
Me: What are you going to feed it?
Hannah: Chocolate ice cream.

Moments to Remember

In Utah

















































Highlights of the trip:
Katelyn's Wedding,
Seeing Kim!
My Birthday
Urie Family Reunion
Swimming
Hanging with my Mom
Stopping at the Farm
Killer Bunnies
Lesley Baby Lunch
Katelyn's Bridal Shower
Kennicott Copper Mine
Temple with my Mom
Reading
Cool Evenings
Fresh Rasberries
Brock & Adam
Hogle Zoo
Sleeping In Until 8
Homemade Ice Cream
Losing a Tooth (James)
Fireworks
Pounce
Family Pictures
Talking, Laughing
Family

Kids Talk

We saw a girl at the pool who was playing with her younger brother, she was an older teenager with long brown hair...so Hannah observed excitedly: "He has an aunt teresa too! Like we do. It`s at grandma`s house."


James (to me): I told you this before but you probably forgot since your mind isn`t very good, but in tennis I know how to bounce a ball on my racket and drop it and then flip over my racket and bounce it again.