Reunion Ranch weekend

We spent August 21-24 up in Wyoming at the Reunion Ranch cabin with my side of the family. This is our 3rd time staying there and we hope to make it a yearly tradition.


Playing Rummikub

Easton & Bailee on the slip 'n slide.

We went on the hike up to intermittent springs, a spring that naturally turns on and off in the late summer/fall.

Kody is where the water comes out. It was off at this moment, but you could hear it gurgling and getting ready to come out.

Here it is a few minutes later, the water is gushing now.

Season (8 1/2 months pregnant), Brianna (16 weeks pregnant), and Mom holding Bailee & Trinidee.


After the hike we ate at the Homestead. We LOVE this restaurant. Tastes like home cookin. I had the Prime Rib.



After dinner, we celebrated Trinidee & Toby's b-days at the cabin.

Trin got this Tinkerbell dress & loves it!


Trinidee riding Asia.


Saturday, the family all drove up Dry Creek Canyon all the way to Dry Creek Lake. My dad & I rode our horses up and met the rest of them up there.



Then Kevin, Dad & I went on a little further up the trail for about an hour. Kody brought his motor bike. In the picture below, Kevin & Kody are pushing it up this steep part of the hill because it kept puttering out for some reason.




Me on Rosey on the Reunion Ranch property.

We took family pictures on Sunday.


It was a great getaway weekend. The temps are so much cooler up there, especially at night. I love the peace & tranquility of Star Valley!

Puppies!

My sister's dog, Zoe (a purebred German Shepherd) had these puppies about 6 weeks ago. They're not sure who the father is, (oops!), but they think it's a neighbor's black lab. Bailee & Trin loved holding them. Ryker wasn't sure what to think. If any of you are interested, they are for sale-- only $30 including their first shots!

Happy Birthday Trinidee!

Trinidee had her 4th birthday this past Saturday, August 16. She's such a big girl! We celebrated in Blackfoot, Idaho since we were there for the Chapman Family Reunion. She opened 4 of her gifts, and had cake and balloons, but little does she know, she has more presents to open when we have the party on my side of the family this weekend. We'll be spending it in Star Valley at the Reunion Ranch cabin.

Trin loves these color-wonder paints! (I love them, too. They keep her busy for a long time!) She's sporting her new "birthday" shirt.



She really wanted a Tinkerbell cake, so Kevin went to the Blackfoot Wal-Mart early that morning and ordered it. She loved it and was laughing when we showed it to her.
Happy Birthday, Trin! We love you!

Ryker's latest.....

Happy 10 month birthday, Ryker!! (on August 15th). Last time we weighed him, he was at 23 lbs. (big enough for a forward facing car seat). Well, we took a trip to Blackfoot, Idaho this past weekend for the Chapman reunion, and we wanted him to be able to watch the DVD's with his sisters, so we put him in the "big boy" car seat. He loved it! We also brought his rear-facing one as well, so on the way home, he could sleep more comfortably.

Ryker has been doing this for a few weeks now. He'll be crawling, then he'll pike up and put his head down through his arms and look around upside down for a while. But he never would hold the pose long enough for me to get a picture. I finally got one the other day! Yipee! I think it's the cutest.

Man, look at the chunky legs!

Okay Ryker, how do you REALLY feel about eating sweet potatoes??

The fair

I went to the SL County Fair with Trinidee and Ryker on August 7. (Bailee was in school and very bummed that she missed out). Here are a couple of pictures.

Trin rode a few of the rides, and enjoyed the petting zoo. That turtle was pretty fast!

Poem

I read this poem in the comments section of the 'daily scoop' blog I posted about a couple of days ago, and liked it so much, I thought I would share:

COME IN Come in.
But don't expect to find
all the dishes done; all floors ashine.
Observe the crumpled rug, the toys galore,
the smudgy fingerprinted door.
The little ones we shelter here
don't thrive on spotless atmosphere.
They're more inclined to disarray
and carefree, even messy play.
Their needs are great, their patience small.
All day I'm at their beck and call.
It's "Mommie come" "Mommie see!"
Wiggly worms and red-scraped knee.
Painted pictures, blocks piled high,
my floors unshined, the days go by.
Some future day they'll flee this nest,
and I, at last, will have a rest.
And which really matters more?
A happy child or a polished floor?
Author Unknown

Inspirational

My sister-in-law, Dawna told me about this blog, and told me to start reading it from June 13, when the accident happened. She reads it daily to keep a better perspective, especially when the kids seem to be too much to handle. I feel like this woman has changed my life forever, yet she is a complete stranger to me. Her story and how she deals with it are truly inspirational.
http://adailyscoop.blogspot.com

Watch Creations

So I went to the County Fair today. It was supposed to be a playgroup with the ward, and we were supposed to meet at the church at 10:45. I got there about 6 minutes late, and no one was there! I thought for sure everyone wouldn't leave right on time. That never happens. Anyway, one other sister arrived at the church right after me, and we thought, "where is everyone?" I didn't see anyone at the fair. Didn't ANYONE go?

So at the fair, one of the booths was "Watch Creations". They have the cutest changeable beaded watch bands. You buy the face, then as many different bands as you want. They look like cute bracelets. And they have other jewelry to match it if you want. (earrings, necklaces, etc.) There were TONS of cute colors. I couldn't decide. I ended up getting the package: One watch face and 3 bands. She was a really nice lady. I even dropped Rykers blanket on my way out without realizing, (duh), and she called me to let me know. I just wanted to put out a plug for her cute business. Her website is: http://watchcreations.blogspot.com/

Bailee's 1st day of school!

I walked Bailee to her first day of Kindergarten this morning! She was so excited. She's been asking us for weeks 'how much longer until school starts?' Daddy gave her a blessing last night and she has her student number memorized. I was nervous when we were standing outside waiting for the warning bell, (which I didn't hear, is there really a bell?). I had butterflies in my stomach. I just worry about other kids being mean to her, or maybe she won't understand something, or maybe she'll need help in the bathroom and no one will be there to help her. Or maybe she'll be too shy to ask questions. Okay, I need to calm down. I'm sure she'll be fine!

Bailee was commenting on how cute everyones backpacks were. But Ms. Ruby told me they shouldn't bring a backpack, since a lot of the kids use them as toys, weapons, etc. Why was my child the only one carrying her shoe box? We bought her a new princess backpack, assuming she'd need one for school. Has this been a rule for a long time? Have any of you other moms out there had this rule? Is it just for kindergarten? This is my first time sending a child off to public school and I'm trying to learn as I go. I set my cell phone alarm so I don't forget to pick her up!

Teton Hike

I just got back yesterday from a 2-day hike in the Tetons. Words can't even describe how wonderful and awesome those mountains are when you're that up close. I've dreamt of climbing them since the first time I saw them. Thanks to my brother, Shane, for doing the research and finding where the trails were, how far they go, how high you have to climb, etc.
Early Friday morning my brother Kody, my dad, and I drove up to Jackson where Shane lives, we stopped at a couple of stores, had lunch, then headed up to the trailhead (at 6,732 feet) at about 4:15PM. We wanted to make the hike a 2-day, so we carried our tent, sleeping bags, food, etc. It took us about 3 hours to get to "the meadows", a camping meadow at about 9,300 feet. On the way there, hikers coming down were telling us they saw a black bear along the ridge, so we were keeping our eyes peeled. A while later, I looked up the trail, and beyond my brother Kody (who was in front of me), I saw a big brown bear slowly starting to cross the trail from left to right. I froze in my footsteps and said in a kind of panicky voice, "Kody, Kody!!" he looked up, saw the bear, and immediately turned around to pick up some rocks. The second he turned around, the bear looked right at us, then continued on it's way down the other side. So we made a bunch of noise to keep it aware of our presence. We continued on the trail towards it, and looked over to where it might have gone. We couldn't see it at first, but after a few seconds, spotted it behind a bush only about 20 feet away from us. It was just eating everything and minding it's own business. We got a couple of pictures, then went on our way. It was exciting. I don't know if it was a Grizzly (if it was it must have been very young) or a black bear. But my brother told me Brown bears don't live in that country, and black bears aren't necessarily always 'black' in color.

The 3 of us arrived at the meadows, which is right at the base of the middle Teton. We set up camp, ate dinner, viewed the scenery, visited with some of the other hikers, then went to sleep to the sound of the rivers of melting snow all around us. I awoke about 5:00 am and looked up the mountains to see dozens of little lights slowly moving up the trail towards the Grand Teton. I was so jealous. Our goal this weekend was to climb the South Teton which can be done without climbing gear when conditions are good. But we met a guide that morning who informed us that there's still as much snow up there as there normally is in June, and one slip could be fatal. We asked about the middle Teton, and he said the snow is even worse on that one. And we already knew the Grand was out of reach since you have to have ropes, and all the necessary climbing gear to summit. Not to mention a guide who has done it before. So my dream to summit one of the mountains was shattered (for now).

We waited for the rest of our group, who didn't want to pack for an overnight, and started on the trailhead early the next morning: Shane, Jade (my uncle), Brianne (my sister) & Kyle (her husband, and Kevin's brother). They arrived at our camp around 8:30 AM. From there we were able to get to the lower saddle, which is right between the Grand and Middle Tetons, and see over the other side into Idaho. The elevation there is 11,600 feet. It was SO windy and cold. But the views were incredible. I can only imagine how much better the views are from the 'very' top! I'm starting to save my pennies to hike the Grand.