I can be your protector!

We went camping last weekend in the Pioneer Mountains

(Copper Basin, Iron Bog Lake Trailhead)

above Ketchum.

It was pretty remote and high up,

so I told Ben I would feel more comfortable if he brought his gun.

You know...just in case

some wild animal decided to check out our tent.

The boys asked why daddy had his gun.

I explained that he had it because he was the protector of our family.

The next morning, Bryce showed me his "gun"...

the stick slung over his shoulder and said,

"Mom, I can be your protector, now."

One day you will be, son.

What a great kid!

We did some bike riding

through the many creeks that continually crossed the road,

while wearing our crooked helmuts,

and showing off our battle wounds.

Bryson did plenty of "treasure" hunting...

or finding special rocks,

while wearing mis-matched socks

and showing off his big smile

Two brothers who love to go camping

and a little sister who is so happy

she can get around on her own

and eat as much dirt as she can before mom catches her.

Besides the dirt, she is ready and waiting for our

yummy dutch oven dinner

We also went on a hike up towards

Iron Bog Lake

(9 miles was the entire trail--

NO WAY)

Me & Colt

after I had already run the trail back & forth 2 extra times--

once to get sunscreen

second to get a diaper & wipes

I wanted a workout - and I got it!

Maybe next time I'll prepare better, though.

The only reason we can do hikes like this...thanks stroller.

Even Atlas needed a little rest from hiking after

cooling off in a stream.

Not only are our kids growing up so fast,

but our dog is getting pretty old, too.

Since when did we let him ride?

I guess we are feeling sorry for his old, tired body.

Great weekend! Perfect weather! Great kids! Except...

Anna, you can sleep better at night next time, ok?

Sunday Afternoon Drives

We love to take the jeep on little Sunday drives up the canyon,

BUT

our jeep has been stuck in 2nd gear for almost a year,

so there hasn't been any jeeping...

until now.

But, it almost wasn't to be.

A high school kid we know (Colton Seeley),

wanted to fix the jeep for us in exchange

for a snowmobile we have. Sure! Great trade for us.

So he got working on the transmission;

the seats were out, as was the plate in the floor.

After many hours, he finally got it fixed.

He was so excited he just had to drive it RIGHT then.

So, he sat on a rolling garage stool in the jeep and took it for a spin

out of the driveway, then back in...

THEN...

the stool slipped out from under him,

he went flying and got caught in the hole in the floor of the jeep.

He could no longer see where he was going

or do anything about it...

And as he fell, the wheel turned hard left

and he ran straight into one of our huge pine trees

So, now we had a fixed transmission...

but a smashed fender.

Luckily, he was ok...
and the pine tree took the hit pretty good...
just lost some bark.

We were out of town, and he felt so bad;
he immediately ordered a new fender
and had it on less than a week later.

Talk about a responsible high school kid!

Those are rare.

So, now we have a reason to actually start

making this jeep look better.

Then again, we kind of like being able to go ANYWHERE

without having to worry about doing anything to it.

Our drive to the top of Muldoon Canyon

gave us a great opportunity to take lots of pictures

to narrate our little jeep story.

Snowbird Week - Year 31

In 1977, my parents bought a time share in the

Iron Blosam Lodge at Snowbird.

That first year, it was just the two of them.

The next 20 years, they got the weekend by themselves...

then us kids got to come for the week.

For the last 10 years, it has began to include grandkids

Like these 5 handsome cousins

The BOYS

Carter, Ian, Colton, Cru & Bryson

Anna

The week is all about SWIMMING!


And more SWIMMING!


And more SWIMMING!

Until even my little water baby is begging to get out of the pool!
Goggle head...(that is what another little girl in the pool
was calling Bryce). He would respond with,
"Don't call me that!"

Those goggles were hilarious, though.
He'd go under water, they'd fill with water,
then he'd flip them over to empty them, put them back on
and do it all over again!
Too funny!


Cousin Ian, Brooke & Lily came for a couple days...

as did Nate, Becky, Adry, Cru & Carter

Cru - posing by the pool

We are so happy they are back in Salt Lake!

We get to see them so much now!

One nice thing that has changed over the last couple years,
is that ski resorts now have a lot more summer activities.

Aunt Leslie came up with some All Day Passes one day to
Ride the Tram up to Hidden Peak

Dave, Carli, Brooke, Lilly & Bryce on the Red Tram

Bryce and I at the top overlooking Little Cottonwood Canyon

Cool dude!

He was my buddy - up for anything!

Even playing in a little snow up on top...in JULY!

He even rode up the chairlift with me for his first time.

He kept asking if it was going to go faster.

It was a little slow for him, I guess.

The Alpine Slide wasn't too slow for him , though.

He did not pull back on the brake once.

We flew fast!

He loved it and did it again just as fast.

The bungy trampoline was a big hit, too.

Colton doing a back flip!

Bryce figured out a back flip in the first couple seconds.

Guess those gymnastics lessons paid off?

Lilly jumping high

Ian showing off his own backflip

Until next year.