After going to the mountains for 2 days in a row, our Hungarian girls were really wanting to see the lake . . . as in, Utah lake. We told them it was gross and really wasn't worth seeing. Apparently they have a large, beautiful lake at home where everyone goes to swim and play. They really wanted to go to Utah lake anyway, so we packed up all our stuff and drove out there. Right away, they understood why we told them it wasn't worth visiting. The beach was really disgusting and the water was green and too shallow to swim. We tried to make the best of it, so we unpacked our chairs and stayed for a little while. The kids didn't seem to mind the conditions and had fun playing in the water anyway.
This is our little area. We moved from the first area because there was a rotten watermelon sitting on the ground and a bunch of roofing pieces and nails scattered everywhere. So, this is the "better" spot.
The day after Payson Lakes, we found ourselves in nature again - this time on a grander scale. Bori and Aggie wanted to meet up with some other dancers and go to Sundance, so we left early and went to meet their friends. We all drove up to Sundance and decided to ride the lift and then hike to Stewart Falls. The other host family didn't come with us, so it was just our little family and 7 of the dancers. This is the back of Mt. Timponogos from the ski lift.
Jeremy, Nathan, Alexandra, and I shared a lift chair. Nathan and Alex were so excited to be riding on the lift. They both held on the whole way and they kept just looking all around and giggling. Nathan got a real kick over the mountain bikers that were riding on the trails under the lift. He kept yelling out to them and laughing when they would go off jumps.
This is the view looking behind us.
Once we made it to the top, the views were spectacular! Turned out to be a perfect place for pictures.
This is the Hungarian group we went with. I didn't ever get the names of the men in the group! LOL! We just spent the day with them. The girls from L to R are Agnes, Bori, Katie, and Dalma.
I didn't know there were monkeys up here, but Jeremy found some and took a picture really quick.
Once all the pictures were done, we started our hike towards Stewart Falls. Jeremy and I have never hiked to the falls from this direction, so it was an adventure for all of us.
I had Alexandra on my back, and within about 10 minutes of hiking, I could feel a deadweight little blob on my back. Sure enough . . . she was fast asleep.
Check out how big this tree is! The girls had a little fun trying it on for size. I would have been up there, but Alexandra was still on my back.
And look at the size of that stump! Cute Nathan.
Once we stopped at the big tree, Alexandra woke up. Aggie offered to give me a break, so she took Alex and I took her bag. She carried Alex for quite awhile up on her shoulder. Jeremy asked her if Alex was getting too heavy for her and she replied,"Not at all! My costume is heavier than her."
Here we are bringing up the rear. Nathan discovered these giant dandelions on the hike and LOVED them. He was trying to collect them and kept getting behind.
Ahhhhh, sweet. I got this lovely flower from my sweetie and had to check out how I looked with the camera. What else do you do when you don't have a mirror?
Very pretty terrain. I wasn't sure we were even following a trail at this point.
At last, after about 40 minutes we made it to the waterfall. This is Stewart Falls. It is gorgeous and definitely worth the hike!
We all got to cross that river and the water was absolutely NUMBING! I was standing in the water while I helped Athena and Samantha across and I couldn't feel my feet. BRRRR!
Jeremy wanted to try to get under the waterfall, but stopped here. It still makes a cool picture. :)
Lovely cowgirl, Athena. She borrowed Aggie's new hat for a little while. It suits her nicely.
Of course, the little kids enjoyed throwing rocks in the water. I had quite the time with Alexandra. She would go in and get her hands wet, throwing rocks. Then she would climb up the banks by putting her wet hands down onto the ground and all the dirt would stick to her hands. So I would take her down to wash off the dirt, then she would immediately turn around again to climb up and put her hands in the dirt for leverage! It took a few tries to get her hands clean.
As a host family, we were supposed to take our Hungarian friends to do fun things in the area. When we asked them what they wanted to do, they really wanted to go to places where they could see the beautiful places of Utah. For our first day together, we took them to hike up to the grotto and then to Payson Lakes. Here we are starting our hike.
We made it to the grotto! It is a little waterfall that comes down into this little pool that is surrounded by rock walls. Very pretty! This is Aggie, Bori, and Athena.
Bori and Athena
I think it's cute that Athena went through her closet and tried to match what Bori was wearing. Athena never ever wears the skirt she has on, but it certainly worked for today!
This is it . . . the waterfall.
Alexandra had fun throwing rocks in the water, as usual. Samantha is behind her, also throwing rocks.
The water was really cold, so we didn't really get in it much. Just enough to take some pictures. Here is Aggie and Nathan.
All of us together. :)
Jeremy put Max in this little cave and is letting him take a drink.
Right before we left, Athena was trying to show off a bit and slipped on a rock. She got a little more wet than she intended!
We only stayed at the waterfall for about 15 minutes, then hiked down. On the way back, Samantha slipped on a rock when we were crossing the creek and fell into the water. She didn't get hurt, though. Then Jeremy was on a steep part of the hike and he slipped. He actually got hurt pretty bad and cut a big hole in the bottom of his foot.
Next we went to Payson Lakes. We packed a picnic with us and when we got there, all the picnic tables were taken. We finally resorted to a little shady spot where we sat out our chairs and fixed our sandwiches in our laps. It all turned out OK for lunch even though it was a bummer to not have a table. Most of our conversation was about comparing the differences between Hungary and the U.S. It's always so interesting to me to learn about cultural differences and how others live. I enjoyed talking to them.
After our picnic we took the usual walk around the lake. It was really nice. Aggie walked Max all the way around, Bori helped me with the kids as we walked, and Jeremy stayed in one little spot and tried to catch fish, but had no luck. During the walk Nathan fell several times. I don't know how he falls so much. Maybe he does it to create drama. It made me feel like our family is a little bit of a circus act! Constant drama and rounding up and noise. Alexandra made it a point to try and pick up every rock and put it in her pocket. Her pockets were so full that if her shorts weren't overalls, I'm sure they would have fallen off.
I wish we had a boat or a raft to take the girls out on, but unfortunately we do not. They did wade their feet a little before we left. Overall they said they really liked the hike and the lake, so I guess we did good!
When we left, Nathan ended up limping to the car because of his latest fall. He wanted me to take a picture of his skinned knee. Bori gave him that tissue and put water on it to try to make his knee feel better, so he is carrying that around. Poor little boy! Glad he was able to recover.
Athena and Samantha put together this wedding ceremony. They dressed the bride and groom in their best attire and then got themselves dressed to the hilt as well. I especially thought it was cute to watch Nathan. He was the first one they dressed and he was so proud to be wearing such a handsome suit. Then as they got Alexandra and themselves ready, he just patiently sat and waited the whole time - in his suit! He was actually excited to play this game and he just played along the whole time - happy to be the groom. Alexandra wasn't especially fond of her wedding dress, but she managed to make it all the way through the wedding before ripping it off. 
It was actually really good and the kids loved it! Bori said it was just a fast meal because normally they eat things that take quite a bit longer to put together. We really didn't have much time, but it was fun to let them make something for us. :)
