We went to Seven Peaks twice this summer.  And both times, we didn't stay longer than an hour and a half.  Such is life with a toddler, right?  This sweet little swimmer kept declaring that everything was "too cold" and just wanted to lay out in the grass. Come on, chica, it's the middle of August here.  

But really, it's not like we wasted a ton of money.  Nathan found an amazing KSL local deal where we got 2 season passes to Seven Peaks for $20.  And Clementine gets in for free.  

Out of all the things that are "too cold," Clementine really does like the dinosaur kid pool area.  She is brave enough to go down the slides alone, as long as she is on her tummy.  And she could sit on top of the dinos in the water all day long.  She saw another little girl with the exact same floaties as her, and just about freaked out- she thought that the other little girl had taken what was rightfully hers.  Since then, she has been really into the idea of "yours" and "mine."  

From the outside, this place doesn't look exciting.  But we put it on our summer bucket list because it was highly recommended online as a fun thing to do with kids in Salt Lake... or rather, South Jordan.  

It's essentially a warehouse entirely full of bouncy houses.  What could be more fun?  Clementine started out hesitant, but she warmed up to the idea pretty quickly.  She was climbing up walls and sliding down slides like a champ.  But as much fun as she was having, I'm 100% sure that Nathan and I had MORE fun.  I haven't had that kind of fun in a long time.  I really felt like a kid again.  I think adults could benefit a lot from regular sessions at Jump n' Bounce.  Who wants to join us next time? 

If you want to see Clementine in action, here's a link to a video of her fearlessly climbing to the very top of a huge slide.  

https://goo.gl/photos/gz2mKKFJobJ1QMXb6

I'm a little bit sad that we didn't leave more time for Bryce Canyon.  Neither Nathan and I had ever been there before, and we were skeptical of how cool it could really be.  Especially since we had paid $30 park entrance fee for Zions the day before, we were hesitant to spend another $30 for less than a full day in Bryce Canyon.  But we bit the cheap-o bullet and decided to give it a go.  The park brochure recommended the Sunset to Sunrise trail for people with a baby who was ready to go home, with parents who could strap her in a stroller and only spend a few hours.  It was the perfect hike for us.  

Even though we only did one "hike" (paved trail walk), we took a TON of pictures.  This place is stunning.  Next time we will be better prepared to spend more time and energy exploring this gem of a National Park.   

Bryce Canyon. Sorry we underestimated your awesomeness.  We will be back! 

We ended up racing the clock on our drive home to make sure that we picked up Samson before Camp Bow Wow closed for the night and forced us to pay another nights worth of boarding.  By some miracle and prayer, we pulled into the parking lot with 3 minutes to spare and we were reunited with Samson at last.  

We made one last stop on the journey home.  Two pork burritos with black beans and medium sauce from Cafe Rio hit the spot! It was nice to be home.  

After leaving Sand Hollow, we decided to head to Zions National Park.  The funny thing, though, was that since we weren't using our cell phones for navigation, we drove about 45 minutes too far north and then had to back track.  Woopsies.  

We came to Zions a just about two years earlier, for our babymoon- our one last hoorah as a family of 2.  I was 35 weeks pregnant.  I can't even believe it. We love this place. Thanks to Lacy and Brian for letting us use their awesome kinderpack, otherwise hiking here would have been a joke.  Nathan packed Clementine up and down the Emerald Pools trail, and then she finally fell asleep on the shuttle.  The kinderpack doesn't look so comfy for sleeping- when your head is cranked back the way Clementine choose to do it.  

We set up camp at the South Camp Ground- snagging one of the last spots left in the whole park.  After primitive camping, I wasn't sad at all to be right across the way from the bathrooms and the water pump.  And then we headed back out on the trails.  We put Clementine in the stroller and did the Canyon River Walk.  We even got to see one of the only 70 remaining California Condors left in the United States, just chillin' there next to the water.  Wildlife is cool, yo! 

After a full day of hiking and camp food, we were starving.  We ended up at a cute little Thai place just outside of the park for some of the best curry I've ever had.  Or maybe I was just extra hungry.  

After our camping supplies were purchased, we decided to head to Sand Hollow.  And on the way there, Clementine fell asleep.  (This sort of became a theme of the vacation).  So instead of stopping and making camp, we decided to drive around a while and try to prolong the nap as long as possible.  We saw a brown recreation sign from the freeway for the Red Cliffs Desert Reserve, and it sounded interesting enough, so we took the exit.  And thank heavens for our SUV, because it was a rough road!  But BEAUTIFUL views!  I'm sad that we didn't take more pictures.  

And then she was still sleeping, so we decided to take the drive up to Toquerville Falls, that we knew almost nothing about.  I had read on RoadTrippers that it's supposed to be cool.  But that's where my research ended.  The road to the falls started out normal enough, especially because we were used to rugged terrain from earlier in the Desert Reserve.  But then it got STEEP and crazy bumpy.  And crazy close to the edge of cliffs and stuff.  And I was freaking out.  So Nathan and I decided together (read: Jamilyn made Nathan) turn around and throw in the towel.  I had awful visions of us driving off a cliff and dying and leaving our families to pay off our SUV debt.  It was bad news.  

Here's video footage of the drive, if you're interested.  But I warn you, it doesn't do it justice.  

https://goo.gl/photos/X3Vvo4n3VPDCEb1dA 

After the drive, we were curious if we really were on the right road to get to Toquerville Falls, so we broke our rule and checked our cell phones- sure enough, we were on the right track.  And probably ALMOST there.  Ugh.  next time.  The article I read DID say that you shouldn't do the road unless you have an SUV or a truck, and a spare tire.  We'll know better next time.  And I'll be brave.  

The crazy bumpy road woke up Clementine, and so we headed back to Sand Hollow.  We decided to get a "primitive camping" site instead of at the camping loop.  Primitive camping, I guess, means find a place on the beach to park your car, pitch your tent, and put your fire in a circle of rocks.  No bathrooms.  No running water.  You're lucky to find a picnic table.  What an adventure! 

After setting up camp, we decided to rent a canoe and spend the rest of the evening paddling around the lake.  We boated around clear until sunset.  Clementine had a great time, scaring her parents to death hanging out the side of the boat to touch the water.  

That night, after putting Clementine to bed, we roasted some hot dogs and marshmallows over the fire, and looked at the stars.  Which always puts me in the mood for serious and deep discussions.  So we discussed.  And then tried to go to bed, but it was SO HOT.  And this steamy teenage couple decided to camp pretty much right next to us, and they had fun... all night long.  Consequently, we didn't sleep much either.  

In the morning, we were packing up our tent, and from under the canvas crawled a SCORPION!  What?!  We had been sleeping (or not sleeping) on a scorpion all night long?  I thought Nathan was going to have a heart attack.  And our car/table/cooler/tent was covered in a million white tiny bug carcasses that I'd never seen before.  Primitive camping is no joke, guys!

Before we left in the morning, we drove over to the prettier side of the lake for some morning swimming and such.  The sand and the rocks here are gorgeous.  I'm glad we came.  

Canoeing.  

Primitive camping.  

Our scorpion.  

The weird white dead bugs. 

Swimming.