PDP3

Three years ago, my sister-in-law Heather and her sister-in-law Wendy went on a hike at Red Cliffs on President's Day and ended up jumping in the frigid water. A tradition was born. Last year we had a lot of fun at the President's Day Plunge, and we (especially Terral) were really looking forward to going again.

It was so nice to be out in the sunshine for a while, especially since we woke up to blizzard-like conditions the day before. Gotta love Southern Utah!

Ethan was just so excited to get outside and explore. He wasn't feeling super great, so every time I told him not to do something (like play in the river or fire) he had a mini-meltdown, but in spite of all that he really enjoyed himself.

Here he is exploring the water spigot. He's been making an "oh!" face whenever he thinks something is cool lately, which I think is pretty fun.

Terral made him the blue shoes he's wearing over the weekend so he could explore uneven terrain a little better. They didn't come out exactly as he wanted and they're a bit big, but they stayed on and were pretty functional, so we were pretty pleased with them. Not bad for making it up as you go! They are made from PUL material, so they are practically waterproof.

Laura's boys brought some foam swords, and they provided a lot of fun. Zack and Ethan are playing with them in this picture.

I had to have a picture by the funky tree again this year. Maybe that will be a tradition too. ;)

Here's Chris at another fun spot on the trail

He and Zack couldn't resist posing for an epic battle pic.

And even I got in on the sword-playing fun. As Terral later put it, "Don't mess with a woman with a baby on her back!"

When we got to the jumpin' spot, Chris was the first one to jump in. I think I had my camera on the wrong setting, because it wasn't fast enough to catch several of the jumps. In any case, I thought the after pic of Chris was fun. Yes, he jumped in with the sword.

And here's Terral's dad. He dedicated his jump to Jay.

 He says, "It feels goood!"

Next up, newly-weds Mike and Wendy.

Even though Wendy was one of the founders of this tradition, she didn't seem very excited to get in the cold water this year. I think her face says it all. :)

Erin was a little more nervous this year too, since she found out how cold it was last year. She kind of looks like she's bracing herself against the water.

Then it was Heather's turn.

And then it was me!

Yup, all you get is a splash. You can see proof that I jumped when Terral makes the video. I actually wasn't sure I would jump, but I came prepared. I guess I was kidding myself that I was undecided though, because when I asked Terral on the way down if he thought I would jump, he said that I would as if there was no question. 

Speaking of my honey, I missed his jump too, but here he is swimming laps just for fun. Just kidding, he got out of there pretty quick. And then he did a monkey dance from the cold.

I was surprised at how I didn't want my towel right at first. I just wanted to drip and let the sun warm me. Luckily, there was no wind up in that canyon. I was also grateful that my hair dried out quickly.

Here are the soon-to-be-newly-weds Maycie and McKade.

And last, but certainly not least, little Rachel decided to jump in too. And yes, she did have an extra pair of clothes if you were wondering.

If you look behind me in this picture, you'll see a fully clothed gentleman who is rather wet. He was trying to get past the climbing spot with his dog and ended up taking a dunking. When he got out of the water he said, "Don't you all know that water is cold?!" We all laughed a bit and were glad he was okay. His wife just shook her head at him, because she told him not to try it.

This was the first time Terral's parents had been on this hike, so I had to document that they were both there. Unfortunately, the picture didn't turn out great. It was really fun to have them there, though, and I was really proud of them!

When it was my turn to jump, Laura was kind enough to watch Ethan for me. She took the three youngest boys back on the trail a ways to where they could play in the sand.

Can you tell he had fun with the rocks and dirt?

Oh, yes. It was a very fun day.