McBlog

…OK not really, but we DID go on a child-friendly hike a couple weeks ago! (Grotto Trail up the Payson Canyon.)

The last time we did this hike (last summer), we enjoyed the cute babbling brook that you repeatedly cross over on makeshift log bridges. This year, since there had been so much rain, some of the bridges were washed out and that babbling brook that trickled along was more of a crazy crashing creek (just trying to keep the words starting with the same letter, here).

(Note the rickety little half-log that Chase is standing on.) In hindsight, I realize that we were absolutely crazy to do this hike. I kind of felt that at the time, once when Charlotte almost fell in & once when Chase & his friend were sprinting along the trail next to the water. In the last couple weeks in this area of Utah, there have been lots of kids falling into rushing water and not surviving. It’s very sad. We did have a great 4:3 adult:kid ratio on our hike, though.

Pace was daring enough to take off his shoes and get into the freezing cold creek to take this picture! Weird that last summer, we were able to cross a bridge and get to the waterfall to play in it. Not this time!

Charlotte enjoyed the hike overall, but she freaked out when she got mud on her shoes & once again when she saw an ant on her foot. Chase & the neighbor kid we brought along had the best time just throwing rocks & other debris into the creek. And Chase’s bendy legs looked too weird in this photo to NOT include it in the post!

Our city has a week long party to celebrate something. I’m not really sure, maybe it’s founding or maybe just to make money off the carnival and stuff. It doesn’t really matter why, it’s just a lot of fun. This year they posted a medallion hunt as part of the family fun. Each day starting on Monday they post a clue on the website around 9am. Figure out the clues, find the medallion and you “could win valuable prizes”. Given our family’s enjoyment of GeoCaching, I decided to check out the clues each day. Here they are, see if you can figure them out.

1. 16
2. No kindle
3. Shhhhh
4. Geraldo Rivera and Lionel Hutz

While you ponder on those clues, (I’ll explain them all later, so if you really do want to try and figure it out, don’t keep reading), I’ll kill the anticipation of these words and tell you what you already figured, WE FOUND THE 2011 SPRINGVILLE MEDALLION!!! Woo. It was SUCH a fun adventure. I’ll tell you all about it.

Ok so now on to the clues, this is the part where you’ve scrolled too far if you were trying to figure it out.

1. 16 = 16th Pres. was Abraham Lincoln and lawyer by profession
2. No kindle = It’s a book
3. Shhhhh = At the city library
4. Geraldo Rivera and Lionel Hutz = Lawyers

Got it? Go to the library and find the Lincoln lawyer book. Joy rushed to the library with the kids. After searching for a while she called me to tell me she hadn’t found it anywhere, when I heard Charlotte crying in the background I figured they were done looking. Then ten minutes later Joy called me back and whispered in a very giddy voice, “I found it!”. She then quickly went outside to the playground to tell me the rest.

She had asked the librarian if the book was in, to which the answer was, “They are all checked out”. So then Joy asked where they would be if they were there. She found the section and started looking in between the books, because we didn’t know what this thing even looked like. A disheartened Chase said, “Mom we never should have left the house! Lets go home!” Then she saw a copy of Lincoln Lawyer. GASP! What was it doing there? Chase quickly changed his attitude.

She took the book down and with Chase and Charlotte wondering, she opened the book. Inside had been carved out a diamond shape for the 2011 Medallion Hunt!

There was a note behind the medallion saying what secret action to take to participate in Plinko up on stage Saturday night. Understanding this is a small city deal, we are hoping to win at least a free meal at Wendy’s. That would probably be considered a valuable prize around these parts. The adventure of finding it was tons of fun.