Backpacking the Uintahs

Here are some photos of a backpacking trip, Drew and I made with our friends Dave and Jaime in the Uintah Mountains on July 8th. It was my first time backpacking and I wasn't sure what to expect. But luckily Drew had taken this route many times and guided us to an awesome location.

This is a photo just before we took off up the trail. Here's the top of one of the mountains we had to climb - elevation 11,070 feet. It was about 4 hours into the hike and I was already exhausted. But at least we could see the finish line from here.

Believe it or not, this was the first thing we did when we arrived at our camp site. The place was loaded with fish. So many, that you could catch them with your bare hands. NO JOKE! Dave making dinner.

Drew enjoying some fishing.

Here's our little two man tent we rented from REI.

OK, so look closely at this picture, to get an idea of how many fish were in the stream.

Drew made quite a nice camp site for us. Too bad there were about a billion mosquitos driving us crazy. That's the reason for the hoods.

How awesome is this?

This is our hike back two days later.

This is one of the hills we had to climb.

And this is basically what the trail looked like. Not the easiest hike in the world, especially when you're carrying a 30 pound pack.

Our last picture before jumping into the truck and heading for a shower. That night we took the kids to pizza and a movie. It was a really exhausting but fun trip and I hope to do it again...maybe next year.

The Things We Do For Our Kids

It's Official...

We've Moved!!!

Why??? For our kiddos, that's why. I'm giving up my dream kitchen in order to get a yard for the kids. Drew did a great job picking out the house we've rented for the past year. And I know he's the man for me, because he had my interests at heart when he selected this place. This kitchen - which is where I spend most of my time - was just about perfect. But we just can't live with the 6 foot deep yard anymore. The kids are stuck indoors and Drew and I both agreed that it would be worth the hassle of moving to get them what they want most - some wiggle room. So I'm saying my final good-byes to this beautiful kitchen. We're moving into another great house with a lot fewer cabinets, but someday.... someday I'll get my 39 cubbards and 23 drawers back. Someday!

So send me an e-mail if you don't have our new address. And pretty soon you'll be seeing some great photos of new moments in our new home.

Two Adorable Dancers

Ok, so I went a little crazy taking photos of Mia and her friend Aspen in their dance costumes. But hey, Mia is my only girl so I have an excuse, right? Here are just a few of them. Their recital is not for another week and a half, but they had to get dolled up for their pictures. I must say, I think they have the cutest costumes of all. They insisted on doing a silly face.

I'll post the group shot when I get it back.

Finishing 1st Grade

Well, I'm a little slow at getting these photos posted, but here they are.

Mia loved her last few weeks of school. During the last week, the 1st graders had a Luau on the courtyard. Here's a photo of Mia with her teacher, Mrs. Lopez.
Sitting under a tree, enjoying the yummy hotdogs.

Her school also had a 1st grade awards ceremony, and Mia was honored with two awards. She got one for making the "All A's Honor Roll" and she also received a math award. Her teacher even called her "My Math Genius". She is a little math wiz. Way to go, Mia!

Sleepy Boy

After a full day of swimming, Cole fell asleep on the pottie. I don't think I've ever been that tired.

Preschool Graduation

Here are some photos of Cole's graduation from preschool. He also received a special award for finishing the entire reading program. Way to go Cole!

Cole and his teacher, Miss Camille. He just loved her.

Luke's Reaction to Dogs

Ok, so Luke isn't the biggest fan of dogs. We tried our best to get him used to Rhett's dogs, but it didn't work so well... as you can see.

And just when we thought he was finally starting to relax around them...

Poor doggies. It's gotta hurt their self esteem.

For Memorial Day we headed to Cali to see our family - Rhett, Marie, and Austin. It was a fun filled two days. The boys mostly played with the hose.

And of course we had to swim in their pool.

On the way back we stopped at "Calico" ghost town. That was fun. The kids really loved it.

I thought this sign might be fun to put over my front door.

Ice cream push ups seemed like a good idea.

Not so fabulous. Thank heavens for baby wipes.

Mia's Piano Recital

Mia performed in her first piano recital and did an amazing job. I'm so proud of you Mia!

Field Day

Mia had Field Day a couple of weeks ago. It's a lot different than the field day I had as a kid. Her's was more like a big water fight. But I guess that's what you do in all this heat.

Luke wasn't sure what to think about the whole thing.