The End of Summer

The end of summer brought a lot of changes.
Ben started his first semester of College.  He is taking a few General Ed classes at SLCC and working.  He works at a place called Rocky Mountain Care as a CNA.  For the most part he enjoys helping others and making a difference.  I think it helps him to know that it's a stepping stone for where he wants to be.

Brooklyn went back to school.  She is in Middle School now and loves it so much.  She still attends North Star Academy.

I went back to work to help alleviate the costs of having two college students and soon a missionary.  I work in the lunchroom at Brooklyn's school for two hours a day.  I am the lady who sits at the computer and takes the lunch numbers.  I actually really enjoy it.

We took a trip to Southern Utah to see Linc's mom.  It will be Ben's last trip south before his mission.  We had a great time with family.  The guys hiked Angels Landing in Zion National Park and had a great time.  The girls shopped and enjoyed girl time.

On our way home we went to a place called the Parowan Gap.  It is a place with a lot of hieroglyphics.

Here are a few pictures.

West Yellowstone Part I

This month we took a family trip to West Yellowstone!

Our main objective in going was to see Bailee perform at the Playmill.

But, while there why not see the United States first

National Park, Yellowstone.

Our first day in the park..

The first animal life we saw...

Bison (Buffalo)

And we saw a lot of them.  Some even caused a traffic problem as they were crossing the road. 

It's amazing how BIG these animals are.

 Love this one of him scratching his neck on the tree.

 Next we were off to Old Faithful.

And after waiting about 90 minutes it didn't fail to amaze us...

 The ground rumbles and shakes as it erupts with steam and water.

It really is a sight to behold.

 That night we went and saw "Dirty Rotten Scoundrels" at the Playmill.

It was our first sighting of Bailee as well. :)

She and the rest of the cast were amazing.

Day two started with Linc and the kids going Horseback Riding.

This was no easy riding they went on small trails way up into the high country.

They loved it.

 Then into the part again

Our goal today to see Biscuit basin.

An area full of active hotpots and all kinds geysers.

One of the most noteworthy pots...

The Sapphire Pool!

What an amazing shade of blue.

Linc and the kids then made a hike to Mystic Falls.

 On the way out of the park that evening we saw this...

along the Madison River.

Moose

Then we walked around the town of West with Bailee in her curlers..

Isn't she gorgeous.  She loves this look. ;)

Each evening before the shows open the cast walks the street singing

and inviting people out to see the show.

Here are a few pics of Bailee and her Playmill friends.

Bailee, Jack and Jenni

 Bailee, Addison, Dave, Bryson, Jenni

 The Theatre

We saw Bailee perform in "The Drowsy Chaperone" tonight.

I LOVED it!!

They do a Preshow and a Variety show that are both amazing.

This experience at the Playmill is one of a kind.

It's really family oriented.  The cast even sells you concessions in character.

We enjoyed it so much and hope to return later in the summer 

to see Annie Get your Gun.

We didn't really get to see much of Bailee except for her shows Friday and Saturday.

But Sunday is her day off so we have the whole day.

This will be Part II.

Sense of Humor and a Getaway

We took a much needed little getaway for UEA

to the Great Basin National Park.

On the road driving into the park...

we witnessed the Sense of Humor of someone...

Isn't it Grate?..

There were all kinds of fun things along the fence line.

We only stopped to photo op 3.

*(this post contains 13 pictures...sorry)

Meet Barb Wire

&

Bob Wire

While in the Great Basin

we went and saw Leehman Caves.

A really neat cave and fun to see.

Below some pictures to mark the event...

Cave Bacon

Ben and Brooklyn
Another Cave formation

We then drove to the top of the park at 10,000 ft above sea level.

And hiked up 1200 ft. more

to an area where they have trees dating back to BC.

Seriously. They are AMAZING!!

They are a Bristle Cone pine tree.

There is also a glacier.

The hike was at times icy and narrow with steep ledges.

You can imagine my joy in this part.

What you can't see is that this tree

is up on a very steep incline. We had to trek to it.

Hence, my less than joyful smile.

I hate heights. ;)

The kids loved climbing on this old tree.

below

wider view of some of the area.

It was a great time had at the Great Basin.

We then drove to Saint George

to spend time with Lincoln's mom.

We had a great time together.

It was a fun getaway.

The only thing missing.....

BAILEE!!

We missed you. ♥

"Labor" of love

Camping really is a labor of love.
So much preparation....

1)Clean the Trailer

*Which had not been used in over a year
So was dusty beyond belief.
Took me a whole day.

2) Restock Trailer

*We had been robbing paper products etc.
from it so it was depleted of all essentials.

3) Make new curtains for Trailer

*The Curtains for the back bed had all been
sun rotted, I made great new ones.

4) Grocery Shop

*Grocery shopping in general stinks...
for camping, even harder.

5) Pack

*This pretty much means lists, lists and
more lists. Lists for every family member.

I love camping with my family. We always have a great time.
But it does take work.
Work getting ready
and work when it's done.
But......
The time spent...irreplaceable.

Here are the few photos I took to mark the trip.
We went to the Mountain Man Rendezvous in Wyoming
and camped about an hour away from that
in the High Uintah Mountains.

Camp Fire photos. Above, Lincoln being funny.

Below, Bailee, Brooklyn and Bailee's friend Isaac

roasting Marshmallows and starbursts.

While at the Rendezvous

Benjamin and Lincoln learned to make fire the old fashioned way

by rubbing sticks together.

They tried it out

and succeeded!!

LOOK AT MY FIRE!!

A cute snaphot of Brooklyn at the Rendezvous.

So even though it is a Labor of love.

It was a great Labor Day weekend with the family.

Snapshots of Summer

You may or may not have noticed...

But, I have been on Hiatus from blogging.

Writing not reading.

Writing takes time and forethought

reading is just plain leisure.

So during this busy time I have taken a break from writing.

Now I must play a bit of catch up.

Snapshots of Summer So Far....

Summer started of with a bang!!

The long awaited trip to NYC with Bailee.

Instead of downloading all 100+ pictures I took

here are a few highlights.

Times Square

Billboard in Times Square...

Wait...who is that famous person...

on the American Eagle Sign?!

Yes Bailee had her 15 seconds a fame. ;)

Bailee and I on the ferry at the Statue of Liberty.

Us again at the "Top of the Rock"
or the top of the Rockefeller Center.
You can see the Empire State Building behind us.
The view was amazing!


Times Square at night before we attended one of our
9 Broadway shows!

In the middle of the Brooklyn Bridge.

The trip was amazing and we saw so many great things.

The shows and the sights.

The food was amazing too.

For the rest of the summer we are having us a

"Staycation"

A vacation from home.

We have so much going on.

The kids have many responsibilities, we decided to do a lot of small things.

The Bingham Copper Mine.

We had never been as a family.

The girls had never been at all.

Did you know it's one of the things visible from space?

It was a beautiful day.

Lincoln of course torturing the kids during the photo op.

He's such a tease!

The Fourth of July is such an awesome time.

We attended the Rodeo

Where Bailee and the rest of the Riverton Royalty

sang the National Anthem.

They were all amazing.

These girls are so nice and genuine.

They are all becoming great friends.

Then it's the Parade.

I didn't get many pictures but I did capture a few.

Benjamin opted to stay home and hang with friends.

Lincoln was working...

so just me and Brooklyn.

We sat with my great friend Kathie Perkins.

Brooklyn waiting patiently for the start.

Bailee on the Riverton Royalty float.

This is one of 5 parades she will do.

It was very crowded and Brooklyn gathered

TONS of candy.

What would Riverton Town Days be w/out the Parade?

The Aquarium.

Our kids participated in the Penguin Experience

and feeding the sting rays.

To see the Penguins...visit Bailee's blog.

Our kids loved it!!

They also loved feeding the Sting Rays.

Except for the splashing

and well...holding dead raw fish in your hands. ;)

They will come up and eat it right out of your hands.

Brooklyn opted for the metal hook....

I do think she may have tried it bare handed a few times.

It was funny to watch them all.

Lucky me!! I was the photographer!

I'm just sayin'...

I did not want to hold raw fish

and feed a sting ray.

Maybe next year on our cruise?!

We are really enjoying ourselves.

We have seen many fun movies together.

Picnics at Liberty Park.

Seven Peaks.

(where I wiped out and bruised many parts of my old body)

I'm too old for water slides. Lazy River and Wave pool for me.

Games of Frisbee.

Video Nights.

Gardening.

Barbecue, barbeue, barbecue!

Our newest adventure.

Kayaks.

We just purchased two sea kayaks.

Some friends have some and we love them.

As soon as we take them out I'll post pictures.

Although I can't guarantee regular posting till school starts.

Too much fun still to be had.

The end of summer is coming fast.

It's a bittersweet thing.

Kids back to school.

Bailee off to college. :( and :)

What will I do with myself?