Cousins Camp Day Two: Amazing Race

The aunties outdid themselves and created a race that will live on in memory and tale forever. The challenges started in the park, moved to the cemetery for an ancestor activity, and headed up Rock Canyon for a food challenge. At Auntie Em's there was a family-tree-puzzle challenge before lunch. The afternoon began with a car washing challenge that won them a clue which sent them way up to the Jordanelle Reservoir for a paddle-board challenge and some water time. The final clue took them to Brickerhaven and the HDT cabin. The challenge was to find as many hidden colored ribbons as they could. The blue team, behind most of the race, came up with a victory by just a matter of seconds. The camp concluded with dinner at our house and a movie in Auntie Em's back yard. The clues, boxes, mats, shirts, and all the incredible details were fantastic and the kids LOVED it!

Thursday morning's sunrise was beautiful

I was happy to see the Ostergars on the way home from my walk

 The check-in table was ready

 Each cousin had a color-coded package waiting

 The aunties giving instructions

 Distributing packets

 Changing into camp shirts...

 That looked like this

 Beckham strikes a pose

 Almost ready

 There ya go

 The first clue was hidden on Opa's porch

The green team reads the clue

Searching for pennies in the park

Following the ancestor-grave map to do headstone rubbings

 Trying to eat GROSS baby food at the Rock Canyon trail head

 Solving the family-tree puzzle

Lunch at Opa's

Tucker and Mabel

 Green team washing the team car

 Red team washing theirs

 Blue team making quick work of their vehicle

 Paddle-board challenge at Jordanelle

 Some time for playing in the water

 Looking for ribbons at Brickerhaven

 An emotional win for Millie's blue team

 The racers at the end of the race

 Enjoying the prize: Grammy's cookies

After dinner, back to Auntie Em's for a movie

 

A good ending to a great day

Well done Emily, Anna, Maren, Millie, and Tiffany (with some organizational help from Katy). Cousins Camp was fantastic! Many thanks to Anna for several of the photos in this post. That's all for now.

OXO

D.

Taylor Cousins Camp 2015, Day One

The aunties have all been working hard in preparation for the 2015 cousins camp. Wednesday, 1 July, was day one. The festivities began with a hike to Battle Creek Falls on the front side of Mount Timpanogos above Pleasant Grove. It was, in fact, a "pleasant" hike, though steep in places, and very warm. The cousins played and ate lunch at Discovery Park in Pleasant Grove before returning to Provo for some swim time. Around the supper hour an episode of The Amazing Race got everyone psyched up for day two of cousins camp. The day ended with a dance party at Auntie Em's. The camp was off to a great start.

 More graffiti from my morning walk

 I love these blue cornflowers (?) from my morning walk

 The cousins ready to roll

 In Pleasant Grove at the trail head

 Up the road on a hot first day of July

 Lovely bits of shade along the way

 A bridge over Battle Creek

 Nature's evaporative cooler

 The gang at the falls

 Two of the lovely Taylor sisters

 A third sister with a bunch of bouncing binkers

 This spot certainly has all the earmarks of a Utah canyon

 Three of the planners

 Down is always easier than up

 Taking advantage of some shade at Discovery Park

 Lunch time

 Swim time at the Provo Recreation Center

 Watching The Amazing Race

 Dance Party at Auntie Em's

 Final preparations for the amazing-race portion of cousins camp

 It was a team effort

The aunties were up late and this morning it looked like Christmas

The cousins had a great day and went to bed with dreams of even more exciting things to come. That's all for now.

OXO

D.

The Hastings Arrived on Sunday

When the Hastings arrived, the fun doubled.  They have come for the 4th of July, a cousins camp, and a shower for Auntie Katy. There has been lots of playing, swimming, eating, hair cutting, and ICE CREAM!

 An interesting bit of graffiti spotted on my Sunday morning walk

 Sunday dinner for the masses

 Typical Sunday evening

 A Monday-night ice-cream feast

 Tuesday, Max arranged a Provo food tour for the cousins

 Grammy set up shop

We like to watch

That's all for now.

OXO

D.

Payson Canyon Grotto

Saturday, 27 June, we headed to Payson and up the canyon to a lovely little spot where a waterfall spills into a cool grotto. It was a short and easy hike, and shady the entire way. The main problem was lots of other people had the same idea. Fun, nonetheless.

 Greek Souvlakia and Love and Mercy with the kids in 

Lehi Friday evening

 Tom and Katy's sunflowers in full bloom

 Beck, Harry and Holdie observing nature

 Headed up the trail to the Grotto

 Mostly shady

 There are a few crossings along the trail

 In the grotto

 Millie and Mabes

 A significant drop creates the falls

 Cool, wet, and exciting

 Saturday's hikers

Crowded on a summer Saturday

 Back down the trail

 A lovely little stream

A pause by the stream for some snacks

This was a great hike for all ages. Thanks to Gavin for some of the photos. That's all for now.

OXO

D.