Y Trail Head

I had it on the calendar, but unfortunately I hadn't made out our weekly schedule where I review the calendar, so it wasn't until 6:00 last night that I remembered that it was time for the lighting of the Y. I came to check my brain (blog) to see how it went last year. Well, looks like I said it was a tradition that I'd try to pull off every year that I could. So, am I committed? Can I do it this year? I do have a newborn, does that mean I'm okay to bail? Hmm... Mel was at Ballet, Corey wasn't home from work yet, I hadn't finished preparing dinner and I would need to make sure Natalie nursed enough to make it through the hike (unless I wanted to nurse her sometime during the outing, which I didn't want...) So I paced the floor a few times and asked if any of the kids were even interested in going as I wondered if I could pull it off or if I should even try...

...Ok, let's try. Joseph and Ethan and Wesley said they'd come with me, I nursed Natalie, then into the kitchen to hurry and chop onions and cook beef for the chili that was on the dinner menu, I loaded the dishwasher to make it seem like I was on top of things for when Corey came home to find me gone. Joseph and Ethan ate some bananas and chips, I got Natalie's wrap and changed her diaper, into the car, Ok, I guess we will do it! As we headed out, I called Corey to tell him what my evening was going to look like. He was picking up Mel from Ballet and was there waiting for her class to finish. I said I was going to go hike the Y. Joe and Ethan are with me, Hyrum is watching the kids until you get home in 20 minutes. "Is that okay if I go?" "Well I guess so if you're already going..." "Well, you do have executive privilege, we're just leaving so if you have any negative impressions about it or would like us to stay..." With Hyrum watching the kids and dishing up dinner, and my assurance that everyone was alive and safe, I got the official ok to go. Fun!

There are only two things that are my "let's try to do it" tradition list right now that I can think of: Hiking the Y on the night of the lighting and seeing Brian Regan when he's on tour in Utah (coming in February 2014!!) So, I was glad it appeared I was going to make this hike tradition happen again. Since it was on the way, I swung by the ballet to give Corey a "see ya later" kiss.

Last year we were late, and we did it all about the same this year ~ left home at about the same time ~ 6:50. An hour drive there, then after the boys grabbed some doughnuts we were on our way up the trail at 7:50. The lights on the Y came on shortly after we started up the trail. Logistics Man (aka Joseph, see end of this post) informed us that we arrived at the Y at 8:37. We stayed up there enjoying the city lights for 10 minutes and headed down at 8:47. We arrived at the bottom at 9:30, in the car at 9:45, and got home at 10:30.

It would have been nice to go during the day and see the fall leaves. We haven't been on a fall hike yet, we gotta hurry before the falling of the leaves is over. As for next year's hike (note to future self) we shall try to leave at 5:00 to make it in time.

On the hike down the moon looked sooo amazingly cool, Ethan wanted to take a picture. I said a picture by my little point and shoot camera won't do it justice, but he took one anyway.

I'm gonna take up photography as a hobby and buy a more substantial camera someday, cause I really do wish I could get an awesome and "does justice" picture of the moon. So, that was our adventure and I'm pleased that we made a memory again and kept up with the tradition. Not too shabby. See ya next year, Y mountain!