Hoop lake and cousins

Last week I had the opportunity to watch my sisters three kids for a week.  We had a lot of fun during the week but I did not get any pictures (its hard with two 2 1/2 year olds running around) I did get a couple of pictures when we went to McDonald one day.  They kids loved that the playland had saddles to sit on and not chairs.  They had big saddles for adults and little saddles for the kids.   On Friday and early Saturday morning the rest of my family came over except for my youngest sister and her family who were deeply missed. Ethan wanted to go to the park and show his mom the tricked he had mastered during the week so away we went with plans to go to Flaming Gorge afterwards just to check it out as no one but my mother had ever been there.  Some local fireman were having a birthday party of one of there kids and my sister being the friendly person she is began talking with them.  She asked them where they would go and they both agreed NOT Flaming Gorge but to a little lake called Hoop Lake.  They gave us directions and off we went.  We are very glad we took there advice.  It is about an hour drive from my home and was the perfect place to spend a Saturday.  We packed a picnic so we ate and then spent time with the kids throwing rocks into the lake (they were trying to skip them but most of us could not.)   Richard and I will defiantly be taking the kids back to this hidden lake in the east side of the Unitas.

Speak Softly and Carry a BIG Stick- I think he has stick radar.  Where ever we go it never takes him long to find one.

Grandpa instructing Sarah and Becca how to skip stones

Cute babies and there beautiful mom

Becca took some pictures of Sarah and Kiersten for me.

Fun weeks

We have been busy getting moved in and learning about our new home and the area it is in.  Our fist week here the primary had an activity that Dallin went to.  They had fun activities for the kids that they tied into gospel lessons.  One of the activities was a three legged race.  Dallin got to do it the first time with a cute 2 year old. He was such a good sport!  He was so good to let the little boy hold on tight (as you can see in the picture) and told him which leg to use. They did amazing.  They were able to move quite quickly and Dallin did not end up dragging him like I was afraid he would.  It is always nice when you see you kids be kind and gentle to another person.

The following week the girls went to Girls Camp so Dallin and I the house to ourselves for the day during the week.  On Monday of that week Becca surprised by driving up for a visit.  She was able to stay for two nights and we enjoyed her company.  It was super  nice to have her up on Tuesday when Dallin went to day scout camp. We found out when I picked up the girls that he was in the same spot they were and Kiersten had helped set up the day camp the day before he went up.  


The girls had a great time at Girls camp and came home feeling like they were going to fit into the ward just wonderfully.  I am so grateful that they feel so comfortable in the ward.  It is one more blessing of many the Lord has given us with this move to help up know we have done the right thing.

Two weeks ago this was the view out my back door.  The sunset really was this beautiful and I love having cows in my backyard to watch.  Just so the three of you that read this blog know how much I enjoy watching the cows, one day last week while watching the cows I noticed that there was a calf laying down sleeping.  I thought it was cute how the mama cows stood around "protecting" it while it slept.  About three hours later when I looked out the window the calf was still laying in the same position but the mama cows had moved away. Richard came home from work and I told him I was worried about this poor baby who had been lying there for about 3 1/2 hours without moving.  I was sure it was dead and the other cows had left it there.  He told me not to worry but seeing how distressed he was he said he would call Kevin (the rancher who owns the cows.)  He made the phone call and I began making dinner.  He came, looked out the window and then told me the cow had just lifted his head and seemed fine.  He did not want Kevin to think that I was just making things up so he went out to the cow and meet Kevin.  The rancher was super nice (I had never met him) and came over and thanked me for watching his cows.  We visited for a while and then he hopped on his motor bike put a big shovel under his behind and rode off.  (yes, I did just say a shovel under his butt.) I laughed for a few minutes at this and then once again thanked my Heavenly Father for letting me live in such a friendly town where people are very down to earth.  (and sometimes a little strange, but that is another post all together)

Where the Buffalo Roam

Ok, not buffalo but I do have cows in my backyard.    I have learned that they moo very loudly especially at 6 am.

On June 9th we packed the family up and moved to Wyoming.  If I had been smart I would have taken pictures but we had tons of help both leaving and coming. I am grateful to all who came to help.    We will miss all the friends we have left behind in Utah but look forward to making new ones here.  I have decided to bet back into blogging because I want family and friends to have a way to know what is happening in our lives and also to keep a record for us.

Since we have gotten here things have been busy. I have spent the past week and a half getting the home set up.  It is almost complete.  Kiersten began working her first job, and went to a regional youth conference.  Dallin has had a primary activity and yesterday went to day scout camp.  Sarah and Kiersten are at girls camp this week.  I can't wait to hear what they have to say about camp.  I am pretty sure they have been freezing this week.

Today we finally got internet service.  It is so nice to be able to stay in touch with the rest of the world!

October Fest

A few weeks ago we went with our friends the Holts to Oktoberfest up at Snowbird. We rode the tram up the mountain and got up there just in time to hear the apline horns be played. They sounded amazing up on top of the mountain. We took a little walk and then rode the chairlift down the mountain. No trip to Oktoberfest would be complete without dinner. We had wonderful German food while listening to polka music and watching people dance to it. It was cute to watch parents take their little kids up to the dance floor and dance. For dessert we had the most delicious German Chocolate Cake! Thanks to the Holts for coming up with such a fun way to spend an afternoon.

Whistler

In July Richard and I had the chance to go to Whistler, Canada. It was so beautiful and we had a blast. On the second day there, we took the Peak-to-Peak chair lift. We went up Backcombe Mountain and came down on Whistler Mountain. To get between the two mountains we took a gondola that crossed the space between the two mountains. The distance between the mountains is 4.4 km with 3.4 km unsupported by any towers. It was an amazing experience. The photo up above shows the distance between the two mountains. On the way down we got to see a black bear eating dinner. Just after we saw the bear it began to rain.

The view from the gondola between the peaks.

This is the symbol for the Olympics. On our last day there, we went and saw where they held the skiing events.

This is the beach that was about 30 minutes away from Whistler.

This picture is blurry because I took it from the car while Richard was driving. This is the view we got to enjoy all the way along the sea to sky highway that goes from Vancouver to Whistler. It is such beautiful country and I hope we get a chance to go up there again.

SOCCER

A few weeks ago, Dallin began soccer. He practices 3 days a week and has at least 1 game a week. A few of the weeks he has 2 games a week. His coach is really into soccer and Dallin is learning so much so fast. He loves to run and is one of the fastest boys on the team. This week as their second game and I remembered to charge the battery to my camera this week (last week was not my best camera moment.) so I have pictures. He is making friends and looks forward to his practice almost every day. This week the coach taught them the positions and today at the game he would assign them the positions and they played where they were supposed to. His team is the silver dragons and he is number 4! I am so glad that we have found a sport he loves. He keeps telling me that he is so glad we let him play soccer this year.

I sure love this little guy!

Becca turned 16!!!

March 14th my little girl turned 16. My how the years have flown. I do not feel old enough to have a daughter that can date and drive. To celebrate, I threw her a suprise birthday party. Our good friend Connie was kind enough to help me chaperone and my parents were kind enough to let me use their house since it is bigger than mine. Here friends came, Richard brought her later and all had a good time.

The awsome typewriter so got from her friend Robert.