In a land far, far, away...or just up Big Cottonwood Canyon - Hike #7

Last week (August 3-4) was the first time we had the chance and opportunity to camp this summer. However, this was NOT the traditional camping trip you are thinking of. No, that camping trip is coming tonight. The one last week was a "chance of a lifetime", a "goal and milestone reached" type camping trip.

No it wasn't to Africa or the Brazilian Amazon (however those would DEFINITELY be on the list).

This trip was up Big Cottonwood Canyon to the "S" turn.

This trip did NOT involve driving the car to the spot, unloading and setting up camp.

This trip DID involve putting a 50 lb pack on my back and hiking in 3.7 miles.

This trip DID involve hiking up 2880 feet in Elevation.

This trip DID about kill me but was so freaking amazing I can't even believe it.

Last Tuesday we headed out. Ben had a pack and I had a pack. Each of the girls had a small backpack with a couple items. Lyse carried hers and Katy hers for about 10 minutes until Ben ended up with Katy's and Lyse ended up with nothing (she was VERY proud of that).

The hike was a bit ambitious even without the packs. With the girls and packs it took us about 6 hours to hike the 3.7 miles to Lake Blanche.

No that is not anything amazing...it is actually kinda embarrassing it took us so long. We took many rests.

The lake was gorgeous. We got up there in time to make dinner and enjoy the amazing sunset. We made a fire (even though it was outlawed). We were not the first. There was this perfectly flat rock in which a perfect fire pit was NATURALLY made. It was like we were being told it was ok! Yes I know we should have followed the rules but the girls wanted a fire and to roast marshmallows so bad, I decided to just go with it.

The girls made up an imaginary world (well not made up but believed that Terrabithia was over the stream's rock bridge). The girls said over and over again how much they LOVED it up there and how they wanted to stay longer. If we had brought enough food and had been able to notify family waiting and expecting our return, we would have LOVED staying for a second night. I was amazed at how quickly the girls forgot the LONG, HARD hike to get to the beautiful area at the top and around the lake. I tried to forget it but my body just didn't allow it! When we told them we had no other options than to go home the next morning they asked if we could just hike back up next week! Ummm...Maybe next summer?!?! :)

One of the most amazing things - our children and us were the ONLY campers in the area...for miles! It was a true back-country camping expedition! I have always wanted but never had the opportunity to be the only person in the wilderness camping. I LOVED it! Only us and the animals for MILES!

The girls played until it was dark and then roasted some marshmallows. Katy made me the most AMAZING roasted marshmallow ever! It was perfect. She was named the official marshmallow roaster forever! Her dad has taught her well!

As we settled in for the night, we still hadn't gotten out our jackets out. It was still quite warm outside. As we settled into the tent it was actually too warm and I was HOT! How can it be hot when you are up almost 9000 feet in elevation? That was definitely a first for me!!! The night was ANYTHING but a cold night, which is a blessing. I do wish I would have packed less clothes...less to carry!!

During the night an amazing thunderstorm came through. It was amazing and beautiful to hear the thunder crack and roar in the mountainous valley in which we were sleeping. The wind was whipping through the trees but extraordinarily enough it didn't touch our tent. We must have set our tent up in the perfect little spot because it was protected from the whipping winds. I loved listening to the rain as it pelted the top of our tent. It was very therapeutic.

After the storm was over I slept for a bit...well until the wild animal came sniffing around the tent. I laid awake listening to it for a bit and after it left stayed awake a bit longer to just make sure all was well.

The overall experience was unbelievable! I am so grateful that my family and I were able to do this. What an amazing experience and hopefully this will be a fun, memorable experience for my girls as much as it was for Ben and I!!

Katy's Baptism

I don't know how to even put into words the events of today! I can guarantee the words I do use are going to be many because today has been Spiritual, amazing, outstanding and terrific.

Today Katy was baptized.

Katy has been and will always be an amazing example. She is born a little missionary. Today she talked to her cousins that have not been baptized (either by choice or due to age) and made sure to ask each of them to think about doing it.

The day started off totally chaotic! The people to open the church and start the font never showed up!!! So at 8:00 this morning I was frantically calling around trying to find and get in touch with someone who could help us. I finally was able to get in touch with President Walker and he drove over and opened up the church for us. Ben stayed at the church while the font was filled.

Once the font was filled Ben headed home where I was trying to bake cinnamon rolls, frost cinnamon rolls, get myself ready, get Katy ready, get Elyse ready, make sure all the milks were in the cooler and all the baptism stuff put in a pile to be loaded into the car once Ben got here. It was CRAZY!!

As we loaded up the car and drove the LONG way to the Stake Center (the quickest and fastest way was BLOCKED due to Midvale Harvest Days Parade) I was frazzled. I said a quick, silent prayer asking for me to have peace and help bring the Spirit and the peace that comes with the comforter.

When we got to the church I was SOOO grateful for the Spirit cause I would have burst into tears had I not had peace that it would be okay. We were doing a brunch before the baptism in the Stake Pavilion and the sprinklers were on DRENCHING that same place! I could NOT believe it. The Spirit brought peace and I simply told Ben and the girls we would go in and practice our song and come out in a few. It was only 9:30 and the Brunch was set to start at 10:00.

After practicing the song for a bit we went back out and water was still sprinkling around all except a few tables. People were starting to arrive and I had NO clue how I was going to feed the masses with no where to feed them. I made an executive decision and just started unloading the car full of food onto the few tables that were not getting drenched in water. I was so grateful for family members that were willing to laugh and roll with the punches as they dodged water sprays while filling their plate with food!

At about 10:45 I took Katy and Lyse into the church and changed Lyse into her dress and Katy into her baptismal suit. There are certain times as a mom that your heart is full...that was one of them! My heart was so full as I watched my girl walk around in her all white jump suit. What a HUGE day in her life this was.

The program was as follows:

Conducting: Brother Mike Peterson
Pianist: Sister Becca Staker
Chorister: Shaylece Smith

Opening Song: Army of Helaman
Opening Prayer: Shaylece Smith
Talk on Baptism: Debbie Hawker
Song: "A Child's Prayer" by Katy and Tauni Hawker (more on this later)
Talk on Holy Ghost: Launa Smith

Baptism of Katlynn Ivie Hawker by her dad Benjamin Dee Hawker
Witnesses: Kevin Whitear Smith & Duane Kummer

Primary Remarks by Becca Staker
Stake Primary Remarks by Karen Carin

Song: "I am a Child of God" by Katy, Elyse and their cousins

Bishopric Remarks by Bishop Grant Pullan

Closing Song: I Belong to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints
Closing Prayer: Erin Sare

Katy was the one that made all the decisions in regards to who was doing what and when. The only thing that we changed was Bart was unable to be at the baptism and so we asked my uncle Duane if he would be a witness. Both Bret and Jason were there but we didn't want them to feel left out when one was asked and the other was not...so we just went the neutral ground! :) The other thing I changed was Katy wanted her cousins to sing "Army of Helaman". I agreed up until Friday when I realized that Katy didn't know the words that well which meant each of the other kids would also struggle. I decided to just switch the opening song of "I am a child of God" with "Army of Helaman"...all the kids know "I am a child of God".

The talk by Debbie was wonderful and she did a great job of talking about baptism and the importance of it all. Once she was done, it was Katy and my turn to sing. As we got up, I could sense that Katy was nervous. I told her to hold my hand and if she needed help with her part to just squeeze and it would be ok! I was the one that needed her help in the end! She sang like a pro and it was GORGEOUS. That girl has a voice and it is beautiful!!! When it came to my part to sing I BARELY got the words "Pray He is there, Speak He" and I just lost it. I couldn't sing anymore. I tried but I was overcome with emotion.

I wish I could say what emotion it was exactly I just felt so many. My baby was being baptized, my baby had just sang beautifully, my baby was picking up and singing where I was struggling. All those things played a HUGE part. Another part was the Spirit. The Spirit was so strong! As I looked out on all the people in our lives that we love so much and their eyes were filled with tears, I lost it again completely! I tried to pull it together for the 3rd verse in which Katy sang "Heavenly Father are you Really there?" While I sang, "Pray He is there" but I just couldn't do it. My mom, sister and Ben all stepped in and helped. What amazing, supportive family I have!! Katy sang like I pro and I bawled like a baby while squeezing her hand.

Even while I write this I feel those emotions and I remember the Spirit. I KNOW our Father in Heaven was so proud of Katy and her decision to be baptized. The Spirit testified of that!

When I asked Ben to describe his experience while we were singing and his perspective on the baptism as a whole, he said,
"I don't know. It was pretty Spiritual. Katy was really cute with it. Katy was trying really hard but she made a couple mistake. She would forget where she was at and the only times you were able to get words out was when you were prompting her (this was during the 3rd verse). While baptizing her I was trying to get the words right (in English) and not translate them to Portuguese. It was a great experience. It was very special and it was touching. She was excited about it which made it a greater experience for me. I don't know but I felt a lot of love for that little girl."

After Katy was baptized I took her back into the dressing room and got her out of the cold, wet clothes (the font got cold fast I guess). Katy was freezing so I fixed her hair a bit while she was wrapped in the HUGE white towel my mom had given her. I got her dressed in her beautiful butterfly dress and then I gave her the special baptism necklace that Ben and I had purchased for her a few days before. She loved the necklace and put it on immediately.

We walked out and finished the program. All the cousins singing, "I am a child of God" was beautiful and touching! What sweet kids that I love with all my heart! Becca Staker got choked up as she mentioned the Spirit she had felt that day and how grateful she was to have felt that Spirit. She said 2 very specific times were: when Katy and I were singing and then when Katy was baptized. I would have to agree 100% with her on both of those! Those were the 2 times I felt the Spirit the VERY strongest...testifying to me the truthfulness of the gospel and the Happiness our Father in Heaven felt in the decisions Katy was and is making.

Bishop Pullan said a couple things about how wonderful Katy was. He challenged her to write down the day and to try and read her scriptures daily and then the meeting closed. It was VERY touching and very Spiritual. What a beautiful girl my Father in Heaven has blessed me with!

The hardest part of the day for me was balancing family, friends and helping Katy balance out the same! Everyone being there for my special girl and trying to make them all feel loved and welcome was more of a challenge than I originally thought it would be. I hope they all know how much I appreciate and love them! Today would not have been the same if we had not had such amazing family and friends to share it with!

Here is a list of all the people that came today: Ben (Dad), Tauni (Mom), Elyse, Grandpa Kevin Smith, Grandma Launa Smith, Grandma Debbie Hawker, Aunt Shay, Uncle Bret, Aunt Nat, Addison, Aunt Nanner (Jana), Uncle Darin, Brooklyn, Dustin, Uncle Jason, Aunt Hazel, Keira, Aunt Ethney, Kellie, Spencer, Isaac, Eric, Aunt Erin, Uncle Tony, Ethan, Oakley, Aunt Jan Kummer, Uncle Duane Kummer, Aunt LeAnn Smith, Andrea Brown, Andrew Brown, Hadley Brown, Audrey Jacobsen, Becca Staker, Morgan Staker, Karen Carin (stake primary pres.), Bro. Mike Peterson, Tami Peterson, Tanner Peterson, Alex Peterson, Sophie Peterson, Peyton Peterson, Bishop Grant Pullan and I know a couple more people snuck in but that was all I was able to get down on paper!

Katy was blessed with many gifts from many of the people. She got: a porcelain girl praying (Bret, Nat and Addie); $5 and a card (Aunt Jan and Uncle Duane); a necklace, bracelet, $40 and a book (Aunt LeAnn); A Jenny Phillips Book and CD (Audrey Jacobsen); Book of Mormon with picture from day of baptism (Karen Carin, stake Primary); CTR ring with birthstone (Grandma and Grandpa Smith); CTR ring, journal and Primary Song Book (Jason, Hazel and Keira) and then of course the necklace from Ben and I. Aunt LeAnn gave the same necklace so Katy went an exchanged the necklace from LeAnn for a mustard seed necklace (a mustard seed inside a glass/plastic casing put on a necklace). I am only writing what she got because I want to have a record of WHY these items are important! Katy is surrounded by people that LOVE and ADORE her! What a HUGE blessing she has been in so many lives, not just ours! I hope and pray she will always be the amazing example she has been thus far in her life!

Today Katy said after her baptism, "You know that feeling inside when you feel like you are going to cry but it isn't cause you are sad at all? I have that feeling today!" I think she summed it up perfectly!!!

And last but not least, an "I told you so" moment for me and overall just funny experience from the day. Ben mentioned he wished he had remembered to bring DRY garments for after. See the night before I asked him to put all his stuff he was taking in the pile with all the other clothes. He said no he would just get it in the morning to which I said I was afraid we would forget important stuff if we didn't get them in the pile. He was tired and so instead we went to bed and put off getting his stuff for the morning. Well as I mentioned above our morning was CRAZY - I didn't have time to even think about Ben's clothes so he grabbed everything as we ran out to the car...I figured it was all there. It wasn't! After baptizing Katy he wringed dry his garments and put back on the cold, wet ones. Poor guy...never did say I told you so - just didn't feel right at the time...HOWEVER totally gonna say it now ;)

Growing Up

As Katy is turning 8, I am having quite the plethora of feelings!

On one hand:

I am soooo excited for her to grow up. I love seeing her make good decisions. I LOVE that she is getting baptized. I am excited for her to experience life!

On the other hand:

I hate that my baby is growing up! I hate that she doesn't have to be my friend or want to be around me. I hate that the baby I held in my arms is now a big girl that likes loves but wants to run off and play with friends.

I am FAR from the perfect mom...but I try! I try to keep it even and fair. Katy tonight was in tears that she had to walk in the house and didn't get carried. Growing up is hard! I have always heard that...what I didn't realize is that it is hard on the mom and dad too!

Tonight I go to bed with a 7 year old tucked away in her bed...tomorrow I wake up to an 8 year old! I swear it was only yesterday that we were giving a first bath to her at midnight! In many ways I wish I could go back with the knowledge I have now and enjoy that time more. I wish I could have breathed in all in more!

I hope I can move forward in the future with more love, compassion and awareness that it is only a split second and they are grown up! This year more than ever, I really hope and pray my girl wants me as a friend, a confidante and a mom! I hope just like I want a friendship with my mom...she will want a friendship with me! I need to be better about giving that to her now so that when she is 30 and has kids of her own, she will want to spend that time with me!!!

Happy Birthday Baby! You are sooo loved and adored! Thank you for making me smile. Thank you for being so good! Thank you for being my baby and letting me be your mom!

Katy Turns 8, Let's Celebrate friend party

Next Tuesday, July 27, my baby turns 8! That is HUGE! I can't believe that I almost have an 8 year old. What a huge blessing she has been in my life. I love and adore her more than I can put into words. I do know that she and her sister are the reasons I was put on this earth and that I need to do all in my power to protect and raise them right!

With such a big birthday around the corner, we had a super party for Katy. We planned and put it together on Tuesday and we went on Friday (yesterday).

For the party, we went to the Utah Olympic Oval. Aunt Shay was AWESOME and got most of us in for free. It was WONDERFUL! Almost every kid there had NEVER been ice skating before (and Katy had a LOT of kids at her party).

The kids in attendance for ice skating were: Katy, Elyse, Brookie, Dustin, Tanner, Alex, Josh, Isa, Lexi, Claire, Morgan, Margaret and Dorothy.

I got out on the ice with many of them for a while and then I was also on the sidelines with some of them for a while. We all had so much fun! I can hardly believe how well ALL of them did. I was so proud of them for trying something new. Some walked away thinking it was the best thing ever...others glad they survived!

After we skated we headed to my parents' house. It was extra fun having Katy's Aunt Erin (Ben's sister) come with Ethan and Oakley for the presents and treats. We fed the kids some pizza and then opened presents.

Katy was DEFINITELY spoiled! She got a purse, a backpack and school supplies, zuzu pet and clothes, playdoh and fun pencils, a webkinz gerbil and necklace, "K" necklace and earrings, some bracelets and ipod speakers, barbie doll, star wars toy and pokeman. I know there are some more things in there that I am forgetting but overall that is the loot! What fun presents!!!

After presents were opened, the kids sang happy birthday again and had some donuts and ice cream (Katy decided on donuts instead of cupcakes). The kids played in the backyard for a bit then it was time to send them all home. As they were leaving we gave each of them pictures (that my mom was great about going and getting developed while we finished ice skating) and a bottle of bubbles saying, "Katy was bubbling with joy that you came to her party".

I was EXHAUSTED at the end of the day! It was a fun but LONG party day.

When I asked Katy her favorite part she said, "Ice skating and having my friends over". I am so grateful we were able to pull off the party for her! It really was a blessing!

Thanks Mom, Dad, Shay and Jana!!!

Craftiness

One fun summer craft we did this year was make bird feeders out of pine cones, peanut butter and bird seed. The girls (and the little boy next door) had a blast...even though it was sooooooo hot the peanut butter was dripping off the pine cones. It was a lot of fun watching them make the fun craft. We have to thank Grandma (my mom) for letting us take the pine cones from her tree and some bird seed from her closet! Thanks Grandma!! We did this in July - after the Lake Mary Hike (July 10, 2010) and before the Twin Lake Hike (July 22, 2010)...but I don't remember the exact day! :)

PICTURES Hike #5 Twin Lakes and such

I need to put just a little info in here: First the pictures go in reverse order of the day. Second, the pictures of the zip line are first 2 are Lyse, next is one of Tauni, the following is Ben and the last 2 zip line pictures are of Katy. What a fun day it has been!!!

Hike #5 Twin Lakes and other misc. stuff!

*This entry is going to be a bit different than the others. I am going to type up all the fun things from today then in the next blog post put all the pictures...much easier that way. I struggle with Blogger and getting pictures how I want them, easier to just put them in a separate post!

Today has been an amazing and EXHAUSTING day! I honestly didn't know that Twin Lakes was as much of a hike as it was.

I am seriously second guessing my love and desire to hike Lake Blanche for an over-nighter. They say Twin Lakes is easy on the hiking scale?!?!?

I think I would have to disagree! My body is more sore and achy than it was when we hiked Lake Mary, Martha and Catherine!

We started off this morning early. I was up at 7:15. I finally got Ben to tumble out of bed at 7:30. He started getting water filled in all the backpacks while I took on the task of getting girls up and running.

The girls did not like the early wake-up call. This summer they have been spoiled to sleep in. Lyse is awake usually no later than 7:45 but Katy...well she has slept until 10 on some days! Since she was up at 6:30 watching the sunrise yesterday (sweet story...she came and woke me up so that I wouldn't miss it either...than thanked ME for coming and seeing it. Such an AMAZING girl) I knew she was tired.

Once we had the girls ready, bags packed and breakfast ate, we met my parents out on 700 west and headed up Big Cottonwood Canyon. It was a beautiful ride and the ground squirrels were EVERY where. We thought for sure we hit some but my dad and mom (they were in the car behind us) told us that the squirrels just went to the middle of the car and ran as soon as the car passed over them. Pretty smart little critters!

We got to the Silver Lake and took the small walk to the trailhead. Now I had not previously read the Twin Lake Trailhead information and I didn't stop this time to read it either.

As we started up, the incline starts right away. After a bit I thought, "This can't be inclined that much longer". See I didn't know that in the short distance to Twin Lakes I would be hiking up 1000 feet in elevation. Lake Mary, Martha and Catherine was only like 1200 over 2 miles.

My parents were hiking with us and I started to worry about my dad. Seriously, I was needing rests and him with his heart - it had me concerned. It was nice stopping and resting and really taking in nature several times. The beauty up there is absolutely beautiful!!! Lyse did start to tell US that we needed to get going, she wanted to find the moose!

While hiking we did see SEVERAL moose and deer prints. At one point we saw moose prints and then we saw Mountain Lion prints and then we saw moose prints that were deeper and well...you could see the moose was RUNNING. It was interesting to be able to see and be able to envision what had taken place.

There were several places along the way that the Indian Paintbrush, Wild Roses, Blue Bells and other wild flowers were so plentiful it just took your breath away. I had wished a couple times we had the canon because the beauty was outstanding. When we would walk in the first meadow, Ben would quote Bambi about being careful in the meadow, that is where the hunters are. For the rest of the day, any meadow we walked in, there would be comments about the hunters getting us!

When we got to the Lake, the girls had a blast! This lake had a sandy beach with scattered boulders...perfect for some sitting and enjoying the beauties. We had some snacks and the wind rustled amazing. Seriously, it was amazing!

Katy found a piece of wood and turned it into a boat. She made a mast and held the mast up with mud. Katy got it ready and "sent it out to sea" in her words. It was marvelous! I was very impressed with how good of a job she did in making it into a boat.

Lyse found a piece of wood and called it her "fish". She threw it back in and found another one that was a tent. She made it the home for the ground squirrels. She filled it with nuts and raisins and then watched with joy as the squirrels visited the house and ate some food.

Grandma was feeding squirrels and they were coming up right behind her on the boulder. It was fun to watch them get so close to her.

The girls took off their shoes and enjoyed some wading in the water and then we started the descent back down. Instead of coming up the way we went down, we actually went down the maintenance road. It was fun seeing different scenery.

When we got to the bottom, we heard the bag pipes. A lady was practicing and it was fun to watch her play some and get a pictures with her and the girls. She was up there for a wedding for the day. That was a different experience!

Seriously that hike was AMAZING and it was a LOT harder than expected. Grandma, Grandpa, Lyse and Katy were troopers! I was amazed that for the first time Lyse did not whine at the first of the hike at all. Usually she whines the first 5 minutes or so and we threaten a couple times to turn around. I think having Grandma and Grandpa this time totally changed that for her so it was GREAT! It was a fun, happy hike!

After we finished the super fun hike with Grandpa and Grandma (aka my mom and dad), we headed towards Donut Falls and Jen Mabey's family cabin. Play group was there and we were late but luckily we got there in time for LOTS of fun still! They had a fun zip line and we all had a blast going down it at least 1 time! Katy was the only one in our family that rode it a couple times.

After an hour of fun filled play group entertainment, we headed to home. I was EXHAUSTED...I think we all were. I took a 2 1/2 hour nap. Ben napped for about 1 1/2 hours and the girls watched a movie - they had no interest in napping. When I got up it was almost 7:00 pm. I made some hamburgers and BBQ'd some hamburgers and zucchini - YUMMY! It was the perfect food and perfect end to a wonderful family and friend filled day!

Tomorrow is Katy's birthday party. Sure to be lots of adventures and fun with that!