Nature/Nurture: Part Too (as in also)

Sam recently turned fourteen.

A magical age when young people begin to realize their parents are fallible,

even, dare we say,

IMPERFECT.

It's a difficult awakening for both parties.

Luckily for me, Sam is our seventh child so I have already been

made fully aware of my foibles and deficiencies by those who went before him.

That trail has been blazed.

And,  truth be told, it's a bit of relief to be humbled and then just

get up, dust yourself off and carry on with a little more clarity.

At a later point in time, comes the day of redemption.

The phone call. Maybe a letter.

Wherein the former fourteen year old tells you:

"Oh Mom, you were right!"

Or you might even get the full heart-melting hallelujah:

"You should listen to Mom, she knows what she's talking about."

Spoken with wisdom and authority by an older sibling to a younger one.

Those days give me the courage to carry on.

Now, as it happens, Sam is a pretty reasonable kid. He can be a pest (just ask Shane) but he will show some restraint when called upon to do so. I also get a lot of positive feedback from adults who work with him about how mature he is, how insightful, how wise beyond his years.

So I try to keep that in mind when I am trying to get him to give me my phone and get his school work done.

Or stop bothering Shane and go to bed.

And, I try to take every opportunity to spend quality time with him--to strengthen the bond--so maybe my faults will be balanced out with good memories.

 I never thought I would see the day when Moms would be invited on Boy Scout outings--but I jumped at the first opportunity that came up a few years ago with Seth.

And since that turned out fine, I tagged along

recently with Sam.

To Cedar Creek Falls.

Practically in our own back yard.

After the three mile trek slipping and sliding down the mountain, fording the

San Diego River a few times.

(OK it wasn't even knee-deep)

Sam had a blast jumping from the rocks into the pool below.

I enjoyed watching him from my dry, warm perch on the sidelines.

The rope swing was another hit.

We huffed and puffed our way back up the mountain  to civilization, just as the sun was going down.

And today during Conference, when the speaker was expounding on the importance of a good mother's influence,

Sam turned to me and gave me a thumbs up.

Some validation?

And years ahead of schedule.

Upcoming Events: Angel's Rest

Shayla and I have been previewing hikes for the upcoming
First Annual Gale Family reunion
We set out yesterday in search of
"Angel's Rest".
We did a bit of wandering as we tried to find the trail head.
But anywhere you wander in the Gorge is beautiful...
(Why is everything underlined and bold? I have no idea--and I don't have time to figure it out, so it stays!)
Here is Horsetail Falls:

We did eventually find it--so it will be much easier next time!

This isn't something you like to see at the beginning of a hike in the wilderness!

I asked the Deputy if there was a problem or if we could go ahead
and hike...he said, "Oh, there are about 20 bears on the trail, but don't worry about it.
Hahahaha."
Yes, he was quite the comedian.
He then said that it was a hiker with an injured knee.
Comforting.
I'm getting to the age where knees can betray you at any moment.
But, we set out anyway.

This little creek feeds a waterfall that you can barely see because of all the foliage.

A little taste of the beautiful views:

This is where the second set of EMTs passed us.

The guy's knee injury was a big gash--we came upon the blood after we had passed him with a crowd of Paramedics and his hiking companions. His knee had been bandaged but was still dripping blood and his sock was soaked as well.
But don't worry--It's a great hike and we'll all keep our balance and be just fine!

We crossed this ridge of rocks very carefully:

You might want to ask Shayla's opinion about the hike. About 1/3 of the way up she was murmuring. I tried to buck up her spirits with:
"Shayla, this is about the point we feel like quitting on every hike."
To which she replied:
"This is about the point where I feel like killing you on every hike."
To which I replied:
"I'll just step it up and stay a few paces out of your reach for now."

This makes it all worthwhile:

The hike back:

Almost done--
When we got to the car the temperature was 103 degrees!
We will pick a cooler day for the reunion hike.

Seth's Excellent Adventure

Here are a few pictures from Seth's recent trek through the Olympic Peninsula...let us all take a moment and gaze with awe upon the beauty of this amazing place we call the Northwest.

The sun sets on a long day of trekking through rain forest, climbing cliffs and shlepping through swampy sand.

You may not be aware that stairs like these grow naturally in the right conditions in some wilderness areas of the Great Northwest.

"I shall forge ahead and make a trail through this wilderness-that others may follow!"

Good Times

We got back from Utah a few days ago. It was a grueling drive but well worth it. We swung through Rexburg to drop off Shayla and Seth for OYA. Then we drove on down to Provo--where we got to see our older kids who are there working and/or going to school. Always a pleasure! While we were there we took the two younger boys to see some of the local attractions.

The picture below is Shane and Andy on the ski lift at Park City. As I was taking this picture Shane was saying: "I'm sorry, I admit imminent death makes me tense!" He kept his eyes closed for most of the ride to the top. He and Sam had a blast sliding down though. Then Sam and Andy went on the Alpine Coaster while Shane tried out the maze.

The next day we hiked up to Timp Cave:

After the Ranger told the story of the Indian Princess who threw herself off a cliff to save her tribe and now her heart is a formation in the cave... Shane said (in what he thought was a whisper but actually echoed loudly off the walls) "That story sucks."

We finished the tour and skulked out of the cave trying not draw anymore attention to ourselves. The hike down was much quicker and Shane had renewed energy after cooling off in the cave.

Sam found a lucky nickel on the way down.

We also went to Lagoon-- it was fun to have Siara, Shanna, Austin and Spencer with us for that. It was pretty hot but we had a good time anyway.

The Splendor of the Gorge

Today I went hiking with our ward Boy Scout Troop. Or Venturer Crew to be more precise. They are getting ready for a fifty-mile hike this summer so they are prepping for that with some shorter hikes. I got up very early and met up with two other moms who were tagging along. We drove up the Gorge to Beacon Rock. Beacon Rock is a 1 mile hike with lots of switch-backs--straight up a huge, ancient volcano plug. I am an old woman and I really don't know what possessed me to leave my warm bed on a Saturday morning and go out in the rain and climb up a big rock! Oh, but this was just the morning's warm-up. We still had to conquer Hamilton Mountain! A seven mile jaunt that was pretty much straight up the mountain... in the mud...on a narrow trail with a sheer drop-off on one side. The other moms are at least 10 years younger and one of them does triathlons for fun-- so you can see I was really out of my league. But, I would like to say I think I represented all the Old Mormon Mothers of Many quite well today. All those years of hauling a diaper bag over my shoulder, a baby seat with heavy baby (I only had heavy babies!) in one hand and a squirming toddler in my other arm made this seem like a walk in the park. Today I got drenched and muddy and I was cold, yet sweating from the effort. We saw some amazing views of waterfalls, the Columbia River, and the awe-inspiring vista of the Gorge.

And I will tell you why I got out of a warm bed on a Saturday morning and went: because my 16 year old son wanted me to go.