Taking in Natural Beauty

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.