Utah State Parks

Utah State Parks
Hiking Wild Horse Canyon

Wednesday, July 25, 2012

Kennedy and Karen in McCall

I think I could live in McCall during the summer.  Karen invited me to spend a few days with her and Kennedy at the Johnson cabin while the parents were white water rafting.  The days were glorious - warm, quiet, filled with delight at the antics of a 16-month old.

We needed no other entertainment - just watching her explore, laugh, and pick huckleberries was enough for us.    She is a little fussy about getting her hands dirty and doesn't like the feeling of sand on her feet.  We filled a little tub with water and she enjoyed dumping water on the ground, but insisted that Grandma Karen keep her feet clean.

We grandmas were impressed she kept her hat on to protect her little face from the sun.  She can say ball and all those balls were a big hit in her little ducky tub.

She has a mouthful of teeth - even a molar!
We filled a baking pan  with pinto beans and dominoes - the beans mostly got spilled on the deck - we thought we could bury the dominoes and she'd have fun finding them, but instead she picked up the beans and put them in other cups or dropped them on the deck.

On Tuesday we loaded the Bob into the back of Zeke's pick up and headed to Ponderosa State Park to do a little hiking.  Karen also loaded buckets and belts just in case we found some huckleberries!



We thought we'd just pick a few along the trail, but we noticed lots of bushes on up the hill so we took Kennedy out of the Bob and sat her on a mossy rock.  She was content as long as Karen gave her a few branches with berries on them.  She'd patiently pick them off and eat them!








We picked enough berries for our dessert on Tuesday night and special huckleberry pancakes this morning.  Kennedy loved the pancakes almost as
much as we did.  I took her for a little walk while Karen did the dishes and she walked right to the center island in their driveway and found some huckleberries growing in her backyard.  We should've asked her first before driving to the State park!








Ann Marie called everyday, but we hoped that she wasn't worried about her sweetheart.  Hopefully she was having way too much fun diving off the rock cliffs along the Salmon River.
I can still hear Kennedy giggle as Karen pushed her in the big swing.  This swing is for big kids, not toddlers, so Grandma had to hold her in, while swinging her.  I wondered if my bungee cord would hold her in tight enough so we could just push her.  It worked and we took turns pushing her in the swing.   The only sad moment happened when we told it was time to quit so we could get her ready for bed!
















Karen and I talked long into the night, covered in soft fuzzy blankets, just watching the colors of the sky reflect pinks and blues onto the lake water.  Talks revolved around our childhood, our marriages, our children, life, love, spirituality, positive attitude, heart math, emotional intelligence, and expressing our feelings.  I love being with Karen because she reads a lot and spends hours researching the things that are important to her now and she knows how to share that knowledge.   She's learned how to relax after years of stress working the real estate market in Moscow.  She learned how to smell the roses and no longer feels the need to accomplish something other than noticing creation, expressing gratitude and loving other people.  She's tender with Kennedy, even recognizing how much she misses her Mom and Dad.  She found a picture of them that Kennedy could touch and practice her vocabulary.  Karen and I both suffered many forms of fear over the years and I think she understands why and continues to work on healing that part of her "wiring."  Even though I'm the older sister, I have much to learn from Karen and her outlook on life.  I'm looking forward to hiking with her near Stanley, Idaho, in late August.
I didn't want to leave this morning so Kennedy delighted me with a big wave bye-by.  Karen gets to enjoy her through the weekend when Mom and Dad will be back and Dale and the rest of Johnson boys will be there to enjoy this beautiful place and sweet toddler!

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