conquering piestewa peak

So this last saturday I had the great idea of taking the kids and going on a hike. It is my goal to go on a new hike at least every other Saturday until it gets too warm. I need to get out of the house on Saturday's and it is good for my kids. My dad had taken my sisters and I up Piestewa Peak many times in the past when we would come to the valley to visit Grandma Wessel. Back in the day when it was known as Squaw Peak, we would hike it...I don't know how willingly, but we would hike with my dad. So I took the kids and we were off to Piestewa. It is straight up!!! Didn't remember that too well. My kids are very active, we walk mile every day, they ride bikes, roller blade, ride scooters, and Jacob has been enjoying his ripstick. So I knew they could handle it. A few weekends before we hiked the Wind Caves Trail at Usery Park which is a 3.2 mile hike and they did just fine. But this trail wore them out! It was just too steep. They were fussing, whining, and not happy when they realized how straight up it was and when they noticed how much further we needed to go. We had a 'small' pep talk, seemed to work. They pushed thru the pain and tiredness, and beat me to the top. What a hike! They are troopers, my kids! Was so proud of them and they were pretty pleased with themselves once they were on the top. It was well worth it. They practically ran down the mtn, happy as bugs, while my legs nearly gave out on me. Going up was hard on the breathing and heart, going down was hard on the legs! After conquering the mtn, we headed to my sister Gabys house, she's just about 10 minutes from the peak. Spent a good 3 hours with her, Carson, and their kids. She fed us a yummy dinner and we headed for home.