Usery Mountain Regional Park

Joel had a few days off of school this week, so we decided to take advantage and do some hiking. We decided to go to Usery Park, and we hiked the Wind Cave trail. We took lots of pictures! Things kind of started off badly with Adam tripping on the road before we even hit the trail head. He scraped up his hand and was very upset for quite awhile. He did eventually cheer up, but it took awhile.

The weather was beautiful; sunny and mild. It's great to be able to hike in January. :) The trail was pretty nice, especially at the bottom. It got steep for awhile, and there were some rocks to climb over. I will admit that I was sweating and breathing hard for a little bit. It was great! Joel was awesome and carried Adam on his shoulders for most of the hike up (and down, for that matter).

Here's a view from the bottom of the large hill we climbed.

The big Phoenix sign...

There were some large cacti.

The view from the top...

And another...

And another...

Eating some snacks at the top.
The Phoenix sign again, from the top of the hill.
Just sittin' in a little alcove.

After we were done we ate a little picnic and headed home. It was a great morning, and I think we'll go again with the other kids. It was so nice to get a little distance from the city and breath some fresh air. And it was great that this park is only 15 minutes from our house; very convenient.

New toy

For the last few weeks Adam has had a new favorite "toy". It works great as a bat or golf club to hit balls with. It is also a pretty great gun.

We are back to the routine at our house. New years was a lot of fun. Joel and I stayed home and played Trivial Pursuit while eating goodies, then watched a movie until midnight. It was great! The rest of our vacation was spent being lazier than anyone has a right to be. But it was just what the doctor ordered.

Monday everyone was back to school and life went back to "normal". It's nice to get back to a schedule. We are also trying to be a little healthier; you know, it being the new year and all. So there is no more candy or goodies around the house, and the fridge is full of fruits and veggies. I've also been getting up early to work out; I can tell it's been nearly two months since I've done any sort of exercise. But it's feeling good! 2011 is going to be a great year!