Celebrating the 4th!

 On the 4th of July we took all the kids and drove up to Sundance to go on a hike to Stuart Falls.

It was a gorgeous day and there is nothing I love more than being up in the mountains with my sweeties!

Since we had the little ones with us, we cheated and rode the ski lift half way up the mountain, and then began the hike after we got off the second stop.

Honestly though, I loved the ride. The view was breathtaking and it was so enjoyable to be together and just take in all of the beauty around us. It was so much fun.

 Clint, Kambriella, Kesslyn, and I all rode together, and then Carew, Dallin, and Gavin all rode together...

 So we kept waving to them and shouting hello. :)

 My little sweeties...so much fun!

 We had quite the time holding Kesslyn's attention on everything around us...so she wouldn't try to climb around the seat we were in. I would NOT want a fall...that's for sure! We saw a deer, squirrels, birds, and other friendly people that said hello. :)

 It was beautiful!

 We set out on our hike and enjoyed the shade...Kesslyn needed help since her little legs would only take her so far so fast...She was the first one to bite the dust...literally! She tripped and did a slow motion walrus type belly flop rolling from her feet all the way up her body to her mouth, where she ate the dust. It was actually pretty funny...;) Then, Kambriella took a little trip and landed her arm in some stinging nettle. She was OK just had an itchy wrist for the rest of the afternoon...Then, it was MY turn to take a spill! I was carrying Kesslyn and ROLLED MY ANKLE IN THE DIRT. :( 

I normally would have caught myself, but with my hands full I wasn't able to. I heard my ankle actually pop and I knew that it wasn't good. I handed the baby off to Clint and tried to stand up and brush it off, but I could tell this was a little more serious than to just "walk it off." A kind lady was right there after it happened and handed me 3 Motrin which I took immediately...which I think was wise to help with swelling and pain...

 There was a picnic bench with the best view of the waterfall that we were hiking to, and we made it over to the bench where I tried to assess the situation and determined that we had all better head back. I felt bad for cutting the hike short, but I was still really enjoying being with my family! The kids kept on asking me if I was alright and I just kept telling them, "Yes! We are still having a great time!" :)

I walked behind Clint while leaning on both of his hands that he held behind his back to support me evenly on the narrow trail...and I yelled to the kids...

"I'm still having fun! I'm just staring at dad's butt the whole time and it''s great!!!" :)

When we made it back to the lift where we got off, the operator called for medical and a guy came and checked me out. He wrapped my ankle and drove me down the mountain in his Razor to the medical room...Clint and the kids all rode the lift back down and met me there when they made it down too.

 My poor foot swelled INSTANTLY!

Thank goodness it didn't hurt too bad... 

Here I am with my schouffer...It was actually a really fun ride down the mountain too! I got to go pretty fast and down a trail that I had never seen before so that was pretty cool. :)

 After we all made it back to the car we decided to grab a bite of lunch for everyone on the way home and then Clint was going to take me to the instacare just to be sure everything was OK. We went through the drive through at Dairy Queen, dropped the kids off at home, and headed to the hospital. The doctor could tell pretty quickly that it wasn't broken and it was just a sprain which I figured it was or else I would have been in a lot more pain. My mom, Shane, and his kids Leighton and Madyson came over after that and we all went and sat out at the pool. It was actually just what I needed with my ankle, and with the heat!

 We visited and relaxed and got splashed while the kids played...

 I believe it was actually 100 degrees so sitting in the pool was definitely the PERFECT thing to do! 

 After we were done swimming we went inside and started getting some food ready for dinner. Clint grilled some chicken on the BBQ and we had corn on the cob and some other yummy food.

By the time we were done it was almost time for fireworks, but with my foot feeling pretty sore we didn't really feel like going anywhere...

Lucky for us, our neighbors had decided to put on their own fireworks show that night! We could hear and see them going off even from inside our house so we grabbed a blanket, laid on the front lawn, and watched the most awesome show right above our heads.  I felt like we were actually at the city fireworks show they were so awesome!!!

 This is what my swollen kankle looks like!!!

It is getting lots better though...I might not be able to go run for a couple of weeks but at least I can still get around. It was a fun holiday even with the minor injury and once again I am grateful for my health, happiness, freedom, and family!!!

God BLESS America!!!