Two Wheelin'

In August Owen learned how to ride his bike without training wheels. He's keeping up with his brothers who learned when they were 3yrs old too (Ryan was actually 2.) Owen's little 12" bike was perfect for him to learn on, but he's now graduated to a bigger bike. He loves it.

Christmas (Meadows) in July

Over the 24th of July weekend we went camping with the Howes family. We have been going to a campground in the Uintah's called Christmas Meadows for many years now, but for the 3 years that Ralph and Edy were living in the Philippines we didn't go. It was great to get back there this summer and experience the beautiful Uintah mountains. It's such a wonderful place that some of my family decided to come along too. We had a great time with lots of cousins and grandparents to play with.

On the way we decided to stop and fish.

Owen had all the luck. He caught 2 fish and the rest of us were skunked.

We usually have the same sites every year with trees near the table and the men are easily able to put up a tarp over the table. This year we had 3 different sites and the trees weren't quite close enough to tie the ropes to. So most of the first day was filled with creating this elaborate system to keep up the tarp. It involved a lot of time, ropes, branches, bungee cords and clip ons. The men finally succeeded and we were very happy because it kept the sun and rain off of us.

Working in the axe yard is the most popular activity while camping, but this year is was extra fun because Papa brought his jungle bolo from the Philippines. The kids loved it. Of course, the little kids needed closer supervision. There were a few cuts, and 2 people needed stitches, but those cuts came from pocket knives.

Who knew a knife could be so much fun?

Near our campsites was a large pile of twigs and pine needles which happened to be the home of many a chipmunk. Another favorite activity was to catch those chipmunks, (they really like trail mix).

Aunt Mimi helped the kids go on a nature walk and find the many colors found in the mountains. They painted each hole of an egg carton a different color and then walked around to find things in nature that matched the different colors.

We had such wonderful time being in the outdoors and with so many of our family. We look forward to next year and the adventures it will bring.

Jackson Hole

Every other year we go to Jackson Hole with all of Jason's family. This is a trip that our boys look forward to for months and months in advance, and this year was no exception. It seems that we mostly do the same activities every time we go, but I guess we just love doing what we always do.

One of every one's favorite days is canoeing at String Lake. This is the whole family!

Zach loves to go out on the lake by himself.

For the people who can hack it...swimming to the rock across the lake is a cold endeavour. This year the water was even colder than usual, but Jason, Zach and I did our duty and swam to the rock. The one right there near the top center of the picture. Ryan chickened out even though he swam out there last time. We'll get him next time...and Aunt Mimi too!

At the beginning of the trip Owen wasn't too comfortable in the water, even with his life jacket on. He just wanted to sit on the stairs or in the baby pool at the condo. But after a couple of days he was doing cannonballs just like his brothers.

We always go on the Alpine Slide. Zach and Ryan kept telling me how fast they were going to go, but...

Owen and I caught up to Ryan pretty easily.

The boys each get to buy a souvenir on the last day of our trip. Owen didn't want the hat but he looked so cute I had to take a picture. He chose a gun instead, so did Ryan. And Zach chose a knife...life with 3 boys.

We had a great time in Jackson with all of the family. We especially loved bunking with Jason's sister Jamie and her husband Mike and their family. Some of those highlights are:

*learning how to ALWAYS win (ie. cheating) at online Boggle.

*Jamie's...can I say it...fart machine...well at least it was a highlight for her. And we had fun listening to her giggle nonstop.

*Playing Canasta until after midnight. Be assured that the girls will win next time!

Other Highlights:

*Running in the beautiful Teton mountains with my nephew Kelson.

*The fantastic downpour of rain at String Lake as we were getting ready to leave.

*The fireworks we bought in Alpine Junction.

*Spending time with the entire Howes family.

We loved being in Jackson this year, as every year, and look forward to next time.

Baseball

Zach and I were just looking at our blog and he asked if the Philippines was my last post. When I said yes he gave me a look and told me I really needed to update our blog. I've been meaning to post some baseball pictures...so here they are. We were extra busy this baseball season with 2 players (this was Ryan's first year to play), but we had a great time and both Zach and Ryan were invited to play on the All Star teams for their age group. Zach decided to turn down the offer since some of the games would interfere with our trip to Jackson Hole. I'm sure it won't be too many more years that Zach will think that a family trip is not worth missing the opportunity to play All Stars.

Zach up to bat. Zach did a great job pitching this year.
Ryan up to bat. Ryan pitching. This was his first year, but he did a good job.