This was our first attempt at snowshoeing.

We went up above Sundance Ski Resort near Aspen Grove.

The weather was perfect.

We only made it about 3 miles total, but once again, it was our first trip out.

It took us a little while to figure out how to walk, but after a bit, we got the hang of it.

We listen to it over and over. She is becoming quite the little singer.

“Box of Rocks” by The Song Trust

Joey+Rory | MySpace Music Videos

Here’s Kenzie’s version…..

One lucky shot!

Wow- what an experience this year! I was a little unsure of the whole hunting thing even as the morning began. It did not take me long to find out what all the excitement is about that I have seen Russ and my brothers go through every year. Opening morning I got up and had my coffee with Russ and Joe and those two giving me a hard time about bringing my Cosmo hunting. Once I had all 4 layers of clothing on, and my very stylish orange binnie we hit the road.

It only took us an hour before Russ spotted this deer. The bad thing was, I was off watching the sunrise and hiking around. When he rounded me up, I have to tell you that every nerve in my body was shot! He is so patient with me and handed me the loaded gun and told me to shoot.  Shoot, shoot, shoot already! I couldn’t see the deer in the sights. He fixed that for me and I finally shot. He wondered around about a hundred yards and fell. We were not lucky enough to see him and we never did find any blood. I just happened to be walking down a gully and ran into him. When I screamed, like the girl that I am, Russ thought I found blood finally. When I told him that I found the deer, he yelled at me to get away, thinking he was still alive. I knew there was no way that was true.

I got my first high five from Russ in the 14 years we have been married. I think he was a little proud of me, which made it all worth it. I had to thank my dad for all the good shooting genes that he passed down to me. One bullet on the first shot. I have never shot at an animal in my life, call it beginners luck, I will take it either way.

Jeff was a sweetheart and nice enough to send me down the mountain in his Jeep to get more help. I was not going to pass up that deal, I kill, they clean….sounds good to me!

A little history on this deer – Apparently this buck has been made famous through email. People have been watching him since the archery hunt in August and all the way through to the rifle. I seen the pictures but this is my first hunt and I never really paid much attention to those things. Now that I see them and we have made the connection, it is really cool.  I am definitely hooked and look forward to spending many more hunts with my family and my kids who will start hunting next year.

Some of our best memories (Marcy’s and Mine) as kids are from this great place.

The weather is usually warmer than it is at home, and the water is always inviting (though not so much in March).

Seems like we could go on forever talking about that one time at Lake Powell, or remember the trip when…..

We are hoping that our kids will cherish similar memories as they grow up and always remember the good times with family.

However, there comes a time when it is so good to just leave the kids home and see this magical place in a whole new light.

We finally made a short trip without them. Yes, this is the first time that we have done this since Marcy and I have been married.

Seems weird, waking up, having coffee, sitting around in a chair on the back deck of the houseboat, literally doing nothing. Walk inside, mostly quiet, kind of boring (missing the kids maybe just a  little).

No, “Dad, will you take us wakeboarding?” or “Will you pull us on the tube?” or perhaps “Will you take us on the water weinee?”

Just mostly silence and peace (and quite – is that the same as silence? I think I already mentioned that one.)

That is, until the wind starts to blow.

Always seems that way, the most peaceful places can also be the most unforgiving.

The wind decided to blow all day….harder and harder as the day progressed. Dang I hate the wind, especially when I am in a boat.

Oh well, still no nagging, crying, whining (except maybe for a little from Matt and Ryan – whining)

Put out another anchor line or two, sit back and wait it out.

It was a great trip anyways, though always too short.

Even more memories created at this special place called Lake Powell and we look forward to many more.

Today was a little different for us. Russ had told her that when she woke up, he would take her to buy a new movie. She went right to bed knowing that when she woke up, she would get to go. She wondered down the stairs about 45 minutes after we has laid her down. I caught a glimpse of her out of the corner of my eye and she was going into Chase’s bedroom, which is scray enough without being half way asleep. I gave her about five minutes and went to see what she was up too, she was being a little to quite. I was shocked to find her curled up and asleep in his closet. She has never been a sleep walker. I let her sleep for another hour and she wondered in the office a little confused. I told her she fell asleep in Chases closet and she gave me a sly little smile and started to laugh and then started to tell me that “her daddy was taking her to the store to buy a new movie”. She  must have been dreaming about it, woke up, came down to get Russ and got confused on her way down. I am just glad I got the camera to show her.

Seems like it’s been a long summer and I’m ready for snow.

The kids mention it all the time too. Kenzie always asks if I’m taking my snowmobile to the cabin.

She remembers riding the snowmobiles – though I don’t know how – she sleeps 90% of the time she’s on them.

I get “winter sick” this time of year, call me crazy, but I just love it.

We especially enjoy spending time with the family at the cabin in the winter. We can often go for the whole weekend and never see another person. This just isn’t the case in the summer – too many people out camping, riding 4 wheelers etc.

While most are sitting home in the winter, waiting for spring, we’re out snowmobiling enjoying our time with friends and family.

Remember, safety first and always stay on the groomed trail!

Family Night

With all the struggles we all go through everyday, it is always nice to have the simple things make it back into your lives. We have discovered that the simplest outings are the funnest. Our ward has made August family month. We took that to heart this year. With no scouts or other meetings they have given us a list of family activities to take advantage of. This has been one of the kids favorite outings. It seems that we have taken a lot of things for granted through the years. We always do the big things with the kids like trips, camping, snowmobiling but it is the simplest trip to the park that they enjoy the most. We have done this for two weeks in a row and Chase is loving it. We go get a cheep pizza and head out to the first park we can find. Spending a few hours away from home, stress, the business in our basement that we both get so wrapped up in, and just spend a few hours running around the play ground and playing a good game of catch. This trip Colten was at football practice, he always has something going on, but he will be making it to all the other family nights we have planned. This is one thing that we are going to incorporate in into our lives from now on.

Don’t they make the cutest group of girls?  Brit put them on the back deck and they did the Cha Cha dance for all of us.  Gage and Garrett take dance and they have some really good moves, my boys on the other hand, did not get the dancing jean from me and were not really sure what this was all about. These are the times you are glad to have camera’s and video, these pics will come in handy in the future for some good blackmail!

He will make as awesome player as he gets older, I am so proud of his dedication and talents. It really helps to have the coaching staff like he did this year. I swear they had a coach for every player, but that is what made all these boys excel this year. I was really proud to see them play in the city and then go onto state. They are an awesome group of players!

I love you Coconut!!

There were 15 of us total and we actually came out alive and laughing. Mike was lucky enough to catch a snake with his finger. Poor little guy thought Mike was an even match. LOL But he did grab onto his finger and was not about to let go.  I was the lucky one who caught the one and only fish thos day, I really wasn’t to excited about that,  there is nothing worse than catching a fish between you chest and chin and have it flop around your face. Poor Natalie, I think I ruptured her ears with my screaming. I sure wish I had my camera with me down the river to catch some of these moments. Looks like I should invest in a water camera for the next go around.