Near sighted

Right now I'm looking down from my computer chair at Reese, wearing her backwards foam filled fluorescent pink and purple swimsuit, sitting right next to Ivan on the floor pretend eating his hands while he laughs hysterically at her with his little squinty eyes and w-i-d-e toothy smile. I must always remember to love the here and now, and not be wishing for the next great thing, because really - right now is amazing!

I've felt so inspired by Dieter F. Uchtdorf's talk from this last weekend's General Relief Society Conference. I'm sure you've seen lots of links to this talk. Why? Because it is THAT good! Listen to it and life will become much more beautiful!

Donut Falls

We hiked to Donut Falls a while back while the river was still so high that you couldn't get to the regular base of the falls and there was so much water volume that you couldn't tell there was a "donut" in the rock formation of the falls.

So we went back last month once the water had eased and it looked like a totally different place. It was a beautiful cooler day, perfect for a hike!

 Eric is the only one who ventured to the top, which ended up being a great idea since you have to free climb some areas, and that just doesn't work when you're holding kids :) Plus, Reese enjoyed sitting at the bottom of the falls throwing rock after rock into the river.

 The "donut".

We found a little bird by the side of the trail on the way back down. We stopped for a while to observe it.

And the moose that ran in front of us as we were driving from the trailhead to the main road. All that searching in Yellowstone for Moose paid off when we spotted one in our backyard mountains. Ha ha, that scenario seems to play out all too frequently:)

Dew Tour

The night before the Dew Tour, we went to The Gateway to check out a couple stores. We noticed something going on at the Energy Solutions Arena, it was a pre-show for the Dew Tour. By the time we did our Gateway excursion and headed to the arena, the show was over. But.....they did still have free Mountain Dews and tickets to the Dew Tour for the next day.

Eric has 2 favorite sodas, at least that we stock up on regularly. Orange and Mountain Dew. So, of course Eric and I each grabbed a can, and of course Reese had to have a swig (or fifteen) of Eric's in front of the Dew Tour sign...since she doesn't get soda very frequently, but LOVES it!

We got 5 tickets so we invited who else but the two we know are up for most things, even last minute or semi-unorganized things....Micah and Rachel. Rachel was such a good sport walking around so much in the heat with her overdue baby in her belly, which she had 2 days ago! We LOVE that baby!!!!!! I'm afraid I might become annoying with how much I want to see and hold that sweet little thing!

Reese got her first temporary tattoo, ha ha. I don't know that I'm a fan of those these days. I used to buy bazooka bubblegum ALL the time at Day's market, when I was young, so I could get the temporary tattoos inside and put them all over myself. These days permanent tattoos are so "in". We believe that our bodies are special gifts to us from our father in heaven and the leaders of my church have discouraged us from tattooing them. So... I don't want Reese thinking it is ok to ink her body all up. So....this may not only be her first but her last temporary tattoo - we'll see, call me a prude if you must.

 Ivan doing his tricks!

I'm goin' to Jackson...

Eric's mom was in Utah for a couple weeks. At the conclusion of her stay we all (Eric, me, Ivan, Reese, David, Nicole, Amber, Eric's mom) met up with Jackson (Eric's dad) in Jackson, WY - yep this post might get confusing with all the "Jackson"s in it. Jackson and Jill's purpose in going was to see the Bar J Wranglers concert. Eric and I decided that the kids might get a little crazy at a long concert, where you are seated the entire time, so we explored Jackson and enjoyed a free concert in the park (I know - typical us and our free entertainment - I LOVE it!!)

This bear was gigantic! I can't even imagine coming face to face with one of these beasts. I could curl up in a ball and fit inside it's head.

 There were lots of cool little shops and allies.

Johnny Cash and June Carter's "Jackson" was in my head the entire time we were on vacation. No worries though, I love that song, and still love that song - not really the story line of the song, but the tune and the voices of both Johnny Cash and June Carter reeling through my mind.

The next morning we headed to Yellowstone. I have always wanted to go to Yellowstone, and this was my first time. Eric guided in Yellowstone for one summer so he was excited to be with me for my first trip there. It did NOT disappoint. I didn't even know how cool it would be. What with all the colorful hot pots, gorgeous forests, fantastic mountain scenes, and Old Faithful. How did I not at least know of all the things Yellowstone was going to offer me?? We definitely need to take another trip there but devote a week or more so we can do some of the hikes.

Oh the Tetons! Fondly reminded me of our week long adventurous journey along the Teton Crest Trail with little Reese in a backpack. While reminiscing, I frequently thought how glad I am that she didn't weigh as much as Ivan did at the same age. Ivan swam with sharks at 6 months, Reese hiked the Teton Crest Trail at 6 months - no big deal :) We have a lot to live up to with any additional kids.

 Some of these pots were boiling! What in the world!! One had even cooked up a nice little mouse - yum.

 Old Faithful. I know I've heard stuff about it, but to be honest, my memory isn't the greatest, because I couldn't remember what exactly it was. I was AMAZED that the geyser, and the predictable nature of it, is all natural. SO neat!

While waiting for Old Faithful, we walked around and hung out in the lodge. It is so intricate - Swiss Family Robinson on major steroids.

There she blows!!

Reese was without a nap and NOT wanting to stand at the edge of the walkway to get her picture taken. You'll thank us one day Reese ;)

The Grand Prismatic Spring - again, super neat, mineral colored, hot pots, though so totally different than the ones we saw earlier.

If real estate wasn't so darn expensive, I think I'd be pushing to move to Jackson - or to Yellowstone - if that was a possibility.

East Canyon

We like to drive. Or rather I like to sit in the seat next to Eric while he drives, and he rather enjoys driving. So, when we have nothing else to do in the evenings we drive. A couple weeks ago we drove up East Canyon. Have you seen the town of Coalville? It is darling! As is Porterville, where we found this gem of an old building - a church, built in 1898.

 East Canyon Reservoir. We didn't get in the evening we drove up, I regret it. Eric, however, drove up here on his motorcycle a couple days later while me and the kids were at Amy's bridal shower. He went for a swim and reported back that the water is rather nice.

 Reese is SO into being a big girl and doesn't want help with anything. She was stressing me out the whole time climbing on the rocks, but kept reassuring me, "mom, I be careful, mom, I be careful".

We sure do live in a beautiful state!

Farewell concerts in the park

We're sad that the free concerts in the parks are pretty much (or maybe completely) done for the season. We went at least once a week to a concert, sometimes multiple times a week. Now we'll have to find something else to do....maybe start biking again since the weather is cooling a bit.

 At this Twilight Concert Series concert Reese almost got crushed twice by 2 of the 3 fights that took place right in front of our blanket. Luckily I have cat like reflexes :) No worries though, the lady in front of us, with spiky hair and a bandana wrapped around her forehead, took care of one of the fights. She grabbed the 2 guys' heads and hit them together, and then pretended to punch them in the face while cursing at them to get out of there. We had never had problems with fights at the concerts before, but for some reason, this concert drew out the haters....? We ended up scooting back a ways, next to a tree and other blankets with little kids.

 Here is Ivan doing his trick! While at Bear Lake, our friend Jared Swanson showed us the tricks his 15 month old could do, which consisted of standing on Jared's hand and then balancing on a single leg and switching between legs. He said, "let me see Ivan" and lo and behold, Ivan stood on Jared's hand. Eric practices with him. Ivan's pretty great at it and is SO proud of himself. He just giggles and waves his arms while you clap for him.

 Reese enjoys the people watching just about as much as we do. And she TOTALLY grooves to the music. I don't know where she gets her rhythm, but she got it good!