Pionner Day

Sunday, July 24th was Pioneer Day in the numerical and historical sense, but Monday, the 25th of July was Pioneer Day, observed by the state of Utah.

Side Note:  I've never heard it called, "Pie and Beer" day, but a bunch of people in my instagram feed called it that - ha.

To celebrate our pioneer heritage, all who were available to participate loaded in Grandma Judy's covered wagon (the family truckster) and ventured out on a hike in some dirt.  The boys and I (Ross had to work), joined Grandma, Grandpa and Uncle Willie (The Bings had other adventures planned) and we headed up Big Cottonwood Canyon to do the Doughnut Falls hike (with a good portion of the rest of Utah).




It was cooler up the canyon, we had three camel back water containers a backpack full of snacks and a 3 year old who we weren't really sure was going to walk.  But guess what!  We all made it, even grandmama and that little lazy fart that is my third child, known as Quinn, did the whole hike, round trip, without quitting or whining.  In fact, he ate an entire sleeve of ritz crackers for the duration of the mile to the falls and just held my hand and told me that he was so tired, he was "losing all his lives" on the way back.  He even crossed the water to get closer to the falls.  Proud of him I was.

All would have been excellent except I walked into a tree on the way back down the trail and smacked the top of my head really hard.  (Two days later it still hurts, FYI).  {Insert your, "hey Grace, how's charm school?" insult here.}

Wyatt, my mom, Quinn and I left the three daredevils to their own devices and they were a little over half an hour behind us coming back down the trail.  Why do you ask?  Because they decided to be Mountain Goats and climb over the falls, over the mountain, and then had to find their way back down.  But, no injuries or deaths occurred.  Phew!






After the hike, rehydrating and chewing a TON of bubble gum (not me) we were headed to lunch at Hires.  And though the food was good, the AC was broken and the building was roasting.  It was bad news.  But, the heat of the building made it a perfect excuse to jump in Great Grandpa's swimming pool  before it was time to head back home.








It's also worth noting, that on this day of Pioneer observance, all of our cell phones were dead.  My mom's had been dead for days.  Willie was at 15%.  Mine mysteriously died (to be revived later at the phone store) on the way up the canyon.  All we had to rely on for the day for service, pictures, and replying to the 1 million texts from Haley, who wasn't with us, was Boompa's trusty phone.  It served us well, and he actually left it on the whole time!

Phew!
If i'd have been a Pioneer, I would have died.