Timpanogos Falls

The weekend after Labor Day we were finally able to get together for a fun evening with some friends from the MBA program.  We'd been trying to coordinate a camping trip with these families, but 2 of the families had been in another state doing their internships over the summer, so this was the first chance we all had to hang out.  With so many people and so many kids playing sports and attending birthday parties and yadda yadda yadda, we settled for an evening of hanging out in the mountains instead of a full camp-out.  We hiked to Timpanogos Falls, then had a potluck campfire dinner near the parking lot.  It was lots of fun and we were so glad we were able to make it work!

The hike!  Once again, Ben ended up carrying two children at a time for a good portion of the hike.
It was labeled an "easy" hike, but it was somewhat steep and uneven.  It took longer than we thought it would, especially with all of those families (two of the families, who have the youngest kids, decided not to do the entire hike).  In our case, having the other kids around seemed to motivate Cat and Jack to have a better attitude and hike more ambitiously than they do when it's just us.  That's what I call positive peer pressure.

We made it to the waterfall!

So pretty.

The whole family, with Jack enjoying his must-look-as-spastic-as-possible phase.

When I finished the hike I saw this funny looking bug and wanted to show the kids.
It took some work, but I was able to get it onto a stick without touching it - I had no idea if it was poisonous or anything - and the kids thought it was pretty awesome.  It kept their attention for a while.

We took exactly one group picture using the timer on my camera and look how
well it turned out!  Pictured here, in addition to my family, are the families of Matt & Lindsay,
Krista & Eric, and Tiffany & Troy, plus their kids.

We all cooked our hot dogs over the campfire, except Eliza, who pretty much just sat
in that chair wrapped up in that blanket.

At about this point in the evening, the kids discovered an old outdoor theater near where we were eating and it was hard to get them to eat dinner because they just wanted to run around and play in the theater (which had two levels - so cool).  There was even a box of costume pieces someone had left out, which made it all the more fun.  I didn't take any pictures, but just imagine 11 kids (okay, maybe not the two young toddlers) running around, having a blast, and their parents not wanting to leave the warm campfire to round them up.  I think it was probably the highlight of the evening for all of them.

Then, of course, s'mores!  The reason for a campfire dinner.
Mmmmmmm.

So, I felt quite Utahan after this.  Because this is how you're supposed to get your kicks when you're 20 minutes from amazing hiking trails in majestic mountains, right?  Well, I think these Utah folks have the right idea.  It doesn't get much better than being in the great outdoors, getting a little exercise, and enjoying good food, all with a group of good friends.