Trust Matters This Spring, Don’t Skip the Small Things Lessons From Bear Lake MARCH 2018 (480) 418-1776 | KEYSTONELAWFIRM.COM
Now, when I say older, I mean old enough to walk. Sophia was only 3 years old, and the twins were 5, but they trekked along with me while their mom stayed back with baby Zach. The whole way, I was a typical dad, trying to be as fun as possible within the realms of safety. I started skipping rocks on the lake, and the kids were immediately fascinated. I tried my best to show them the finer points of the art form — it’s all in the wrist. But inevitably, the morning became a chorus of plunks as the kids just threw stones at the water with all their might. Then, there was a loud thwack , followed by screaming. Gabe was clutching his forehead, and there was a lot of blood. In her enthusiasm, Bella, his sister, had accidentally nailed him on the top of the forehead. All three kids were crying so loudly my wife heard them from across the lake. I picked Gabe up and started running. I’ve never been more glad to have married a nurse. By the time we got back to the car, Nicole already had the first aid kit out and was in full mom mode. She calmed Gabe down and got him cleaned up. Thankfully the rock left just a small cut, which she was able to bandage with ease. So what’s the takeaway from this story? Well, from Gabe’s perspective, he got a “cool” scar and a story he can lord over his sister for a lifetime. He has a good sense of humor about it. This was also our first indication of Bella’s athleticism. She definitely has an arm on her. For me, this is one of those life lessons. We took a risk taking our young family camping, but I would absolutely do it again. There’s never going to be a guarantee of safety in anything. Chances are that the things that seem scary in the moment will actually become the memories your whole family laughs about at the dinner table. That’s why we stuck with our annual spring trip — to keep building great memories together as a family. Truth be told, my kids never did get my full rock-throwing lesson …
There’s nothing like
an Arizona spring. The mild days and crisp evenings are perfect to head out and enjoy all the sights and sounds of nature. It’s a great chance to appreciate all the natural beauty we often take for granted. No matter how busy things get, Nicole and I always take the kids on a trip during their spring break. It’s been a yearly tradition in our family ever since the kids started school. Some years we’ll go to the beach, and others we’ll head up to the mountains — the trip is always fun and relaxing, either way. The fact we’ve kept up this yearly expedition is rather incredible when you consider how rocky our first attempt was. About six years ago, Zach, our youngest, was only 6 months old, but we were still brave enough to take the whole family camping. We decided to introduce the kids to one of our favorite spots above the rim, Bear Canyon Lake. The pine-scented air and the cool breeze coming off the water were just what Nicole and I needed to unwind. We were only going to be up there for the weekend, so what could go wrong? For the first two days, everything went great. We hiked and ate plenty of snacks, which made an altogether successful camping trip by anyone’s standards. Then, on our last day, I decided to take the older kids on a hike around the lake.
-Francisco
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