FHE - A Play and Sunset Hike

Two Mondays ago, Morgan and her Brownie Scout troop put on a Readers' Theater play all about eating healthy and exercising.  They had been practicing for a few weeks, and it turned out really cute!  Morgan was one of the Princesses...she did a great job.

I have to mention this...during the play, every time Morgan had a line she would step forward, say her line dripping with passion, cock her cute face to the side, and then step back in line.  My friend commented to me on how dramatic Morgan was.  I had to laugh because when we were practicing the lines together, it was almost depressing to hear her speak her parts.  She was so drab and boring about it.  So I told her, "Dress it up a little honey...when you talk act like you are actaully enjoying it!" :)  This dramatics come showtime were the result. :)  Funny girl.

Since Morgan's play started at 5:15 p.m., we were all invited to come, and it is about 20 minutes from our house; we just decided to bring pizza, have a picnic at the park nearby, and finish off Family Night with a sunset hike! :) 

Not far from where Morgan's troop meets, there is a trailhead that goes up to a place called "Potato Hill."  Trev found it, and so we headed out.

Everything was going great for about the first 3 minutes.  Then Morgan fell, next Abby fell, and then Claire fell.  Jake was the only survivor. :)  All the girls cried.  Abby and Claire wanted Trev and I to hold them.  So we did, for about 5 minutes.  Then we tried to put them down, and they started to cry again.  We, or maybe I, decided that we were not going to carry them this entire hike.  They could walk.  They did not like that idea. :)  Claire eventually was fine with it.  This one however, was not. :)

Seriously, is that not the saddest little face. :)

But we held firm, and kept going.  I held her hand, but was not going to climb this hill carrying her when she was perfectly capable of walking.  I have done hikes like that before and I refused to do it again.  Mean mom??  Maybe.

After the power struggle started to subside however, the sun was just starting to set and it was beautiful!  Add in the changing Fall colors on the trees...and wow!  M&J kept saying, "GORGEOUS ALERT!"  I am so glad they noticed. :)

This is about half-way up the hill, it was pretty steep actually.  You could DEFINATELY consider this a hike. :)

Notice that I am not holding Abby's hand any longer??  I think it was more that she was upset with me, than doing better.  As witnessed on the top when she wouldn't even come sit by us. :)  See what I mean???

In the midst of all the Abby shananagans, I suprisingly wasn't too bothered.  I was just enjoying the scenery and LOVING seeing my kids enjoy it as well.  Great moment as a mom.

Well, Abby did finally warm back up to me.  Maybe it was the beauty on the top that got to her too. :)  This was pretty much the last sad face she sported that night.  Sure love this little girl, fire and all. :)

So the best part of the whole hike (and the reason we took this one in the first place), was that from the top of Potato Hill you can see the whole valley on one side (as noted above), and the beautiful Draper Temple on the other. 

This just melts my heart.  Trev and I just pointed out the temple, and then didn't say much more.  We just listened to the kids talk about it.  They mentioned words like "beautiful...families...marriage...Heavenly Father's house."  Then we sang "I love to see the Temple" together.  Family night lesson - complete.

I believe in this world there is "the beautiful" and "the ugly." I have oftened pondered how to protect my kids from the ugly in the world.  I used to think that I needed to shield them from it. Which I still do try to do and believe in many instances that is appropriate and also my job as their mother. However, as my kids grow, I realize that I will not always be able to shield them from it. I have started to feel that if I try to surround them with the beautiful, then hopefully that is what they will choose later on. They will understand and connect with how the beautiful makes them feel, because it will be starkly different than the feelings that come from the ugly. That is why I want them to learn to appreciate the beautiful now, so they will look for it later.

Some of the things I believe are beautiful in this world:

1. The Gospel of Jesus Christ

2. Families and the idea that they can be eternal.

3. God's amazing and awe-inspiring creations that were made for us.

4. Seeing my kids recognizing beauty.

This life is wonderful.  There is opposition, but again, I state, that it is wonderful.  We just need to be shunning "the ugly" and search for "the beautiful."  This is something Trev and I are trying to teach these precious little ones.  Cherish the beautiful.  Great Family Night.