The Blanch Herd: Out There {July 2023}

July was a good month to be outside, and we were out there for a lot of it!

7.1.23
(picked up the kids from grandma's and grandpa's
and they treated us to dinner at Center Street Grill
which just happened to be right where the Cruise In
was starting, so we stuck around to watch a few laps.)

7.3.23
(a lovely Independence Day weekend hike on
the Icebox Canyon loop)

7.3.23
(Crazy that this bridge used to be our destination back
when we first started hiking here - now it's just a third of
the way through the loop!)

7.3.23
(so lush!)

7.3.23
(poser)

7.3.23

7.3.23
(one of my favorite views!)

7.3.23
(so patriotically dressed!)

7.3.23
(group shot!)

7.3.23

7.5.23
(Gregg invited me to hike Nordic with him for a morning
workout. I could not make it one step further than midstation!
Sheesh! I was pooped!)

7.6.23
(a beautiful morning hike with my friend Janice in
North Fork - we looped from the corrals to the
environmental center disc golf course, and then up
on the waterfall trail and down to the parking lot)

7.6.23
(Huntsville Park shenanigans with our friends the Wights)

7.7.23
(Sam was Gregg's hiking buddy this morning - they made
it a little past midstation)

7.9.23
(we were matchy matchy for church, so I requested a
selfie before we left)

7.10.23
(another North Fork hike with Janice, and
this time Cal and Sam came along. We did the
waterfall - not our favorite waterfall, but the
waterfall that everyone does and we have avoided
as much as we possibly can because it's just not
a great trail. BUT now it is!! I kept expecting it to
be horrible and then all of a sudden we were there
and we didn't have any horrible stretch. Marvelous!)

7.10.23
(I think I can recommend this trail now.
I may need to write it up on Tyke Hikes!)

7.10.23

7.10.23
(just documenting the number of the site
we liked in the campground right by the trailhead)

7.10.23
(isn't that magical?!)

7.10.23
(we met up with a bunch of Thornleys at
Farmington Pond for an afternoon of visiting
and a yummy dutch oven cookoff dinner)

7.10.23
(the kids had a blast playing with second cousins
on the kayaks on the pond)

7.10.23
(fishing was attempted, but no fish were caught)

7.10.23
(we got to meet baby Gwen, my cousin Emily's little
girl, and everyone was excited to hold her!)

7.10.23

7.12.23
(I made it to the top of Apollo with Gregg! I was nearly
dead, but I made it!)

7.12.23
(watering my friend's flowers and they were
just too pretty not to snap a pic)

7.12.23

7.13.23
(after my session, I took a walk around the Bountiful
Temple and soaked in the lovely flower gardens
along the path)

7.13.23

7.14.23
(morning walk along the Old Highway trail - this is
our "secret beach" from years past - no beach this year!)

7.14.23
(glorious morning!)

7.14.23

7.14.23
(I just love this color palette!)

7.14.23
(we met up with my parents and Nate's fam
and Mugs at a Blue Sox game in Smithfield.
Yes, we were mostly there for the lion pups
and burgers, but this booth was super entertaining
for the kids as the Blue Sox were losing badly)

7.14.23

7.14.23
(oh miss Maggie and her poses! ha!)

7.14.23

7.14.23
(and Ev is the most flexible weight lifter
I've ever seen!)

7.14.23

7.15.23
(we stayed over in Providence so we could
go to the Hyde Park parade and festivities
at the park to celebrate Hometown Days
with the Elwoods)

7.15.23
(then we drove to Salt Lake to watch the Shred (Ultimate
Frisbee) game with Swaze)

7.15.23

7.22.23
(always a happy site, though seems much rarer this year
than in years past)

7.24.23
(sunflower season is here!)

7.24.23
(and just look at that sky on my morning walk around
the loop!)

7.24.23
(the kids and I went back up to Cache Valley
to watch the North Logan Pioneer Day parade
at Nate's house, followed by lunch and homemade
ice cream at Grandma and Grandpa's that afternoon)