Settlement Canyon

Our new elementary school is finally completed and has welcomed it's new students for this year. It is only about two blocks from our house, which is awesome. Anyway, it is called Settlement Canyon Elementary. It is named after the canyon that is right by our house. We went up there for a ward BBQ last Friday. It was fun! My friend's husband is the lead singer of a local band, and so him and his band played at the party. They did really well, and played songs we actually know. The kids LOVED it, and there was an open area where they could dance in front of the band. Gracie was busting out her "break dancing" moves, and some of the kids were copying her. I will have to take pics sometime. I have no clue where she learned them.

Ok, what does this have to do with these pics? We decided to go back up to Settlement Canyon the other day with the kids and hike to the playground. It is about a mile hike one way. You have to pay to go up the canyon in a vehicle, but you can stop at the entrance and just walk in if you want. There are not many cars that pass along the way. There are actual trails to go on as well, but not with strollers. Anyway the little river is pretty. It made for a good potty for Ava when she announced she had to go pee pee. I just hung her over the river, and rinsed her bottom with the water after! (Ava's potty training--another post for another day). I found out later there are actual restrooms by the park area. We saw some horses along the way. A big HUGE one came up to us, and Ava FREAKED! After the initial shock her and G ended up petting them, and thought they were pretty cool. We sat and talked with the owners for awhile, and pretty soon the big one, named Whiskey, let loose and splashed pee on Gracie's leg! lol! Sorry for the long oration. Lately we have been trying to be more active, and I think it is important to teach our kids to value activity. Kids are naturally active, but I think if they see their parents being more active then they are more likely to follow suit as they grow up.

This is me holding Breck in the carrier with G & A in tow. Such a cute little bridge.

Ryan says he looks like a "monster" in the pics of himself. I guess it's time we both buckle down and go on a diet! :-)My little girl in a big world! She looks so small compared to the big sky.

There are cows that graze in the area, and if you aren't careful you could actually step on a big pie as you are playing on the equipment. If you look close you can see one just left of the toys, kinda by the big red slide :-) There was actually a cow there when we got there that Ryan eventually chased off. I think the scenery can't be beat though, for a playground.

**Forgive the quality of the pics. I hate toting my big camera everywhere, so I just picked up the cheapest of the cheap disposable at Albertsons. The quality was so bad I decided to not even mess with them in Photoshop.