Four Peaks....

Andrew has been itching to go for a little drive for a few weeks now, so a day off school/work was the perfect opportunity and he'd found a nearby spot to go to....we could see the mountain range from our house....how far could it be.....so we threw the kids in the car and headed to 4 Peaks...

 Yes, we really do live in the desert and it was pretty cool to go out and see it all.....and the kids had lots of useful knowledge to share with us...

 we kept driving and driving and we figured we must be close and then rounded a corner to this view....yeah not so close....see that little ribbon of road down there...that was the road we took...

 But you know, having gone so far there was just no turning back....

 Til after 3 hours of driving we finally made it to the top....a little chilly (see the snow)....and note how well prepared we were (flip flops, no jackets...) But everyone is still smiling (almost)...

 

Now came the fun part....getting home. 

No-one was exactly keen on driving back the 19 miles on those bumpy dirt roads....we had a little car sickness settling in, so when a sign offered a 10 mile dirt road option down the other side of the mountain and google maps did not object we all but cheered....plus we got to see Roosevelt Lake a little closer....pretty pretty....

 

 Those ten miles were a piece of cake - barely bumpy at all and we were excited to let our stomachs settle for the rest of the smooth drive home.....until we hung a left to find a sign saying 22 miles of unpaved road ahead.....yeah I know 32 vs. 19 not a good trade off.....lets just move on and say it was a LONG ride home and luckily the sunset was beautiful:)

Birthday number 15....

I would like to claim that I am not really old enough to have a fifteen year old, but I am and I do....:) Which is both very cool and very uncool all at the same time.....am I really that old? is this amazing kid really mine??
We are counting down to Aug 15th when he gets his permit.....I think he's counting in anticipation and we're kinda counting with a little less enthusiasm:)

For the first time we gave the gift of actual hard cash.....I think he was ok with that.....:)

 And another first....I made the traditional ice cream birthday cake (with a little help from a friend...thanks Emily!)....but after all the work and effort I forgot to take a photo of it until it was more than half eaten....still looks almost as good as it tasted:)

So Happy Birthday to my oldest (and yet still my baby) boy.....love you xx