A Little Adventure

Milo has been avoiding his nap some days. This results in some serious fatigue when he misses his nap too many days in a row. On this day he misbehaved and was sent to his room. When Scott went to talk to him about the issue a few minutes later he was asleep on his bed. He woke up about an hour later and was very, very groggy. We tried to convince him to go back to bed, but he wouldn’t have it. The next thing we knew he was asleep on the floor in this VERY comfortable position…

One tired, tired boy with his book.

Milo sleeping in the foreground and Holly sleeping in the background.

Since Scott was going to be out of town on Milo’s actual birthday, we decided to have an early birthday party for Milo. We invited his aunts over for the festivities. It was a fun little time.

Milo starting to open his card.

He had a rough time getting his card open…but he finally did get it open.

Oh boy!!!

What a happy boy! He will now have a backpack when we go on hikes in the future.

Not all of his presents had arrived when we had the party, so he opened a few later.

Opening another present.

Milo was really funny when we were singing him “Happy Birthday.” He had this sheepish little grin on his face. It was a mixture of pleasure and embarrassment. Very cute. The color isn’t great, but the cake does have pink frosting and candles as per request by Milo. That boy loves pink.

One of Milo’s favorite things…blowing out the candles!

Scott told Milo that he would take him camping since we missed the traditional Moab campout. Goblin Valley seemed like a good spot that could be enjoyed by both parties. Scott could take photos without having to worry about Milo walking off the edge of a cliff, etc. Milo could play around in the dirt and throw a few rocks and not harm anyone or anything. What more could you want in a camping trip? Yes, I know that some folks think something closer than a 3.75 hour drive would be nice, but you sometimes you have to sacrifice We got started a bit late, but we made it to Goblin Valley with plenty of time to set-up the tent, eat dinner, and walk around Goblin Valley before the sun went down. Milo played in the dirt while Scott took some pictures. Scott had a hard time with inspiration…probably because he was looking for a specific goblin that we never found. Just ask Milo how fun it is to look for “Dad’s special rock.”

The first thing Milo did when Scott started taking photos was to dig in the dirt…

We also found a hill that was great for sliding!

We took a small jaunt outside of the main valley area. We did some fun walking/climbing down a ravine. Milo wasn’t overly impressed, but he did tag along.

There were some very nice wildflowers blooming.

Milo ended up really getting into his play.

A fun little goblin as the sun is setting.

A small patch of mushroom goblins.

Milo liked to find the “sand rocks” (dirt clods) and break them into smaller pieces. There are PLENTY of “sand rocks” in Goblin Valley.

Scott must have been taking photos quite late as Milo just plopped down on this rock and tried to take a nap. After that little experience, Scott decided it was time to head back to the tent. We headed back, used the restroom, brushed our teeth, had a little bit of trail mix, and went to sleep without incident.

The next morning Scott wanted to be up and in Goblin Valley for sunrise. The alarm went off at 5:30. Scott woke up and started to get ready with the hope that Milo would wake up as well. That plan did not work. Finally, Scott woke up Milo and asked him if he wanted to go to Goblin Valley again. Milo said, “No.” Scott managed to get him up anyway. He wasn’t very awake, but he was up and in the car.

Scott likes the way the butte lights up in the morning…when there aren’t clouds blocking the sun that is…

Milo was out and walking around in Goblin Valley, but he really wasn’t awake yet.

A nice natural framing of the butte.

Scott had taken a few pictures of Milo, so Milo decided it was time to turn the tables and take a picture of Scott.

Then it was Milo’s turn again.

This was a very nice scene…complete with a goblin-like shadow in the bottom right hand corner.

We hiked on to a high point and Milo looked back toward the campground and stated that he wanted to go back there and get in the tent. It was time to get going anyway, so we headed back to the campground. We ate a quick breakfast, packed up the tent, and headed back home. It was a quick camping trip, but both parties had an enjoyable time. Certainly a successful trip.

It seems that Milo has been a little stir crazy lately, so last Saturday Scott promised to take Milo hiking. They headed up to the close and easy access to the Bonneville Shoreline Trail from the avenues. Scott figured that they would probably hike the first half mile to “the crossroads” then turn around and come back. Simple, quick, and easy. At least that was the pattern that he usually followed on hikes with Milo. This hike however turned out to be VERY different. It was actually a lot of fun. Milo is getting old enough to carry on a reasonably interesting conversation. Here are a few of the better excerpts…

After walking past a dog that frightened him terribly, “Dad, I will probably get a dog someday.”

After the 3rd or 4th mountain bike passed us…
Milo: “Dad, I forgot to bring my bike.”
Scott: “Milo, those bikes are made to go up the mountain. I don’t think that your trike would be able to go up this mountain.”
Milo: “I could try.”

After a brief discussion about Holly, “Dad, Holly is my special friend. Just like Aunt Jill.”

As we turned around to start heading back and passed a particularly large group of wildflowers, “Bye flowers!”

Those are probably the best quotes. He just seemed to be full of them. Scott and Milo hiked probably around a mile before they turned around. Milo did get a bit tired on the way back, but he did hike the entire way.

There were a fair number of wildflowers out for our enjoyment.

Milo posing for a picture just after the half way point.

Milo doing a dance while Scott was attempting to take a photo near where they turned around.

After Holly was born, both grandmothers decided that Milo needed a couple gifts. He got a Shrek bear from Build-A-Bear via Grandma Little and a sword from his Grandma Turner.

The first gift that Milo was given was a Shrek bear from Build-A-Bear. Milo’s aunt’s took him the day that Holly was born. After looking at all the different options, Milo decided he’d love to have the Shrek. Milo was very excited about it and came to show us at the hospital. Here’s a picture of Shrek & Milo.

Then when Monica’s mom came to stay for a day or two, she brought Milo a sword. He was the happiest boy alive. He’s had it tied onto his pants each day since he got it. He’s been watching all of his movies with sword scenes. These pictures are of him doing the battle scenes from one of the movies.

Holly is here…and she has her own blog right here