Hiking the "Y"

One of the true highlights of my trip to Utah was hiking with Taylor and the kids to the big, white "Y" on the side of the mountain above BYU campus. With tender feelings in my heart for "the good old days" at my alma mater I had convinced the entire family this was going to be a fun adventure. The kids talked about it and looked forward to it all week. "We're gonna hike the Y!" they told everyone. They were so disappointed when it had to be postponed due to a certain youngest child vomitting in the back of the minivan the night before our first attempt to reach the "summit". But Saturday morning...er...afternoon came and we faced that hill with the baby backpak strapped on and water bottles in hand. Sunscreen was applied librally. We were so excited. A family adventure! Here we are about to have the time of our lives:

I feel like I'm in great shape and all, but I didn't remember the climb being so...so...vertical. I guess we should have been doing training hikes previous to this experience, because this was Waverly about 3 minutes into our grand adventure:

Yes, there were tears. Yes, it literally continued ALL the way up the mountain. I'm not one to let a 6-year-old ruin my fun. So I carried her on my back...part of the way. And then it was my turn to carry the baby on my back. He got so uncomfortable in that contraption he started pulling on my ponytail and screaming "STOP!" I'll never forget that memorable part of our family adventure... My sweet, good-natured baby screaming at the top of his lungs in anguish...

A good long hour later, we finally reached the great, white Y!

No, Waverly isn't dead... but I'm sure she thought we were trying to kill her. She doesn't handle physical discomfort well... little drama queen! Just look how happy Henry is to be there! We sat and ate cheese sticks and grapes and guzzled water. Our trusty self-timer feature on the camera came in handy once again!

Say what you will about Utah being a desert... I think it is stunning! -Especially on Y Mountain at 1 pm on a sunny day in August!

When we finally reached the car about what seemed like an eternity later to the kids, I turned to Taylor and said, "I know that wasn't easy for the kids, but wasn't that FUN?!" His half-smile and uneasy nod said it all. He was glad I was having so much fun on vacation.