We watched the news on Thursday night and knew that it was supposed to be extremely stormy on Friday. We made sure we were a little more prepared for the rain and cold this day. We got up early, ate breakfast, made lunches and then headed about 20 miles to the Max Reid Trail.
This was such a gorgeous trail. This was
definitely Bryce and
myself's favorite all time trail. This first 13 miles takes you over the creek about 15 times. The trail is just wide enough to fit a four wheeler through. Marilyn described it best when she said "the trail looks like it is a path that has been carved right up the mountain through the trees. I love trails that are lined with trees, especially
quaky aspens.
When we got up to the top, we decided to put on our rain gear because it was getting darker and darker by the minutes. We stopped and took a group picture before we headed up the "rocky" path. There is a spot in the trail that is just big boulders and its fun to go over. By the time we got to the top of that trail, it started sprinkling and my hands were freezing.
We headed back down to an old mine that was there in the 1800's. There was a cabin there where a husband and wife raised their 10 children and housed the workers upstairs. It was still a pretty sturdy cabin considering it was that old.
Roger, who was our trail guide and leader most of the time, really wanted us to go up to the 12,000 foot pass. About a mile into it, it started
down pouring, so we pulled over under some pine trees to try and get some relief from the rain. We ate lunch here and waited for that rain storm to pass. After about 20 minutes, the rain stopped and a small
piece of the sky was blue, so we decided to take off up the trail.
There were so many different landscapes and different types of mountains. Some were really sandy, others had red rock and many were covered in pine trees and aspens. When we got to the top of the pass, the wind was blowing good and it was quite chilly up there. I took a few pictures and told everyone I would see them at the bottom. My hands were freezing, so Nicki and I warmed them by the exhaust pipe.
Bryce led us back
down the mountain and he was going a pretty good speed. When we got to the part where we could go back to our original spot or go a different route, a huge lightning strike hit near us and it thundered really loud. We took off and headed back. We were going around 25 mph and by this point the rain was coming down good. I was trying to stand up for most of it, because I didn't want to soak my crouch again. It didn't work. When we got back to the trail head, the rain was sprinkling and we were all soaked.
We made up our minds that it was time to head back to the trailers. By this time, we had been out on the trails for 6 hours and it was a fun ride, but dangerous to be in the storm. We had 13 miles back down the windy and beautiful trail. There was one part of the trail that was a little steep and slippery, but we all made it through safely.
On the way down, those puddles of water had turned into big puddles of water. When we went through them in the morning, I was careful not to get wet. But, on our way down, I was already soaked, so I had a fun time blasting through the water.
When we got back to the hotel, Bryce and I hit the hot tub as quickly as we could. We were so cold and it took us
at least 15 minutes to finally warm up. I went and worked out in the hotel gym and then jumped in the shower. For dinner, we went to a cabin looking restaurant and the food was awesome! We were so tired after dinner that we headed back to our rooms and crashed for the night
Yesterday, I met Jocelynn in Logan so she could snap some pictures of my boys. I like doing it this way rather than buying "school pictures". The weather was perfect, and the boys were pretty good themselves. I always struggle with patience on "picture days".
Clayton found some sticks to play with and he really enjoyed putting them in his mouth. At one point, I had to throw a bunch of sticks in the air to get him to smile. Sometimes I would have to pretend there was a bug on Jocelynn's head and try to smack it.
The area we took the pictures at, was really pretty and the boys just wanted to explore instead of take pictures. Clayton kept trying to run off. I found a rock for Cooper to sit on for one of the pictures. It worked well because Clayton wanted a rock also. He sat next to his brother and put his hand on his knee....so cute!Everytime we would try to take a group picture, Clayton would be a stink. So, I decided I better just get a picture with Cooper and try Clayton on another day!
We left the hotel around 9:00 and drove towards Scipio. We weren't' quite sure which road to take, but we finally back tracked and made it to our trail around 10 am. The sky was blue for the most part, but it was kind of chilly. We could see our breath, so we knew we better dress warm. Most of us through on our rain gear to help block the wind. The skies started to build dark clouds and it threatened most of the day, but we ended having a dry day, which was nice since it was colder that day.
The trail we took winded up the mountain through the pines and aspens. It was so pretty and green. There were even a few leaves that were starting to change colors. As we climbed, we could see just how far up we were going. I have learned that it doesn't take very long to climb up a mountain on a four wheeler. You can cover alot of ground in a short amount of time.
The trail we took on this day actually connected to the trail that we took on Thursday. In fact, we met up at the same point on the trail from Thursday. There is winter cabin up there that was the meeting spot. It's a rescue cabin. Anyway, the wind was blowing good up there so we decided to go back down to a warmer spot to eat lunch.
I couldn't believe the mountain ranges in this area. Pictures do not even do them justice. It just seemed like the mountains went on forever. It was a good mixture of Moab and Logan Canyon. Richfield was such a beautiful area. I had never been there before, so I was pleasantly surprised. 
Both Bryce and I had a great time on this trip. It is definitely something we would love to do again. It was so nice to be able to spend that time together without kids and also to get to know the other couples better. We enjoyed spending the three days with Mom and Dad, and look forward to doing it next year!
It took us three hours total to get to 
The trails down there are called the 
The trail for nice and smooth. In fact, cars could probably go up the first trail pretty easy. When we started back down the trail, the rain 
When we were about 5 miles from our trucks, we hit a trail that hadn't been rained on, so there was dust. Dust, wet wheelers, wet clothes and wet goggles don't go well together. We were so dirty when we got back to the trailers.
After we got cleaned up and dry, we went to dinner at a little place in Monroe about 8 miles down the road. Everyone enjoyed their food. I got a yummy turkey and bacon wrap. We wrapped up the night by soaking in the hot tub and taking a swim in the pool.
This past 8 months have been pretty rough for Clayton. He has ended up in the doctors office 5 or 6 times for Croup. His little airways must not be strong enough, because he keeps getting sick about every month. He has spent alot of time taking meds or breathing treatments and he is so tired of it. I don't think a 2 year old should even know how to say medicine, but he does.
Clayton has really found his love for four wheelers that last couple of months. Bryce keeps them on the trailer and everyday he asks about them. He would love life if we would take him on a ride every day! 
Clayton also loves tractors, trucks, and trailers. This summer he has really enjoyed hooking up his trailers to his trucks and pulling them around. He also points out all the tractors as we drive down the road. For his birthday, I made him a cake with tractors on it and then he received tractors, trucks, and trailers for gifts. 
Clayton does not enjoy shopping with me. If its a quick trip, then he is fine, but not it it takes me longer. He is in that fun stage where they don't really want to sit in the cart. But when he gets down, it doesn't take him long before he wants me to hold him. I tell him that he can sit in the cart because I am not going to hold him while I am pushing the cart. This is followed by him laying down in the middle of the aisle, crying, and sprawled out. It only last for a few seconds, and then I help him up and we are on our way! So much fun!
We have spent a lot of time outside this summer because the weather has been so beautiful. He has loved being able to ride all of his toys. He is very fast and coordinated on them and it is fun to watch him go! He just learned how to ride his tricycle a week ago and I thought that was a big accomplishment considering many kids don't learn the pedalling motion till their older.
Clayton is not a very good eater. In fact, I heard that children his age actually only have one good meal a week. The more I pay attention, I realized that is true. Clayton picks at his food, but doesn't eat a whole lot. His favorite foods right now are: eggs and raisins for breakfast, he loves cheese, string cheese, cottage cheese, yogurt, grapes, avocados, peaches, strawberries, rice and beans. 
For Clayton's birthday, we had the Gabrish's over for homemade pizza, cake and ice cream. I made chicken-garlic-bacon-spinach-tomato pizza and a pepperoni-green pepper-onion pizza. Clayton got a hold of the cup of flour when I wasn't looking and was having a great time with it.
After dinner, we sang Happy Birthday to him. He was scared of the candles, so he wouldn't bend down to blow them out. He really just wanted the tractors to be off his cake, so he could eat the cake and play with them. I think he had a great birthday. We are so thankful that Clayton is part of our family and that Heavenly Father sent him to us two years ago!
We picked out the perfect spot and unloaded our things and set up the trailer. As soon as we jumped out of the truck, we had to throw on some jeans and sweatshirts because it was starting to cool down. It wasn't long and we had a nice campfire. We all collected wood from around the area and the boys help Bryce start the fire. 
We roasted hotdogs over the fire and added grapes, chips, and beans to make it a perfect camping meal. After dinner, we collected a little more wood and then sat around the fire. All of a sudden a guy pulled up on his ATV and told us that we were not in a camping spot. We were actually in a group reservation spot. The man was very nice and let us stay till 12 the next day, because he had a big group coming into our spot. 
Cooper did not feel well at all. With him back at school, and around so many children, he picked up a cold and has been sick for a few days. He was constantly saying, "tissue". His sinus' were congested, his nose was running nonstop and he just didn't look good. I ended up giving him some benedryl and he sat on my lap with his eyes closed. It was so nice to be able to just hold him and cuddle him for a few minutes. I don't get that opportunity very often now that he is bigger. 
That night was a rough one. Between Clayton waking up twice and Cooper needing tissues and a midnight bathroom break, I think I was up every hour that night. But the good news is that the heat in the trailer worked very well and we all stayed warm and safe. 
We got up Saturday morning and Bryce cooked us breakfast. The boys had pancakes, eggs, and bacon. I decided to have a bacon, egg, and cheese biscuit. After we ate, we took the boys on a small hike around our big group campground. There were many trails and the kids had a good time. We packed up at 11 and headed home. It was a quick trip, but it was lots of fun and it was nice to spend that time as a family.
On Sunday, Bryce and I both needed to be at church for our callings. After church, we went to grandma's house to have a lite lunch with everyone. We sat our on the front lawn and enjoyed the nice weather and good food. Later that day, we went up and stayed with Bryce's parents. We had dinner there and enjoyed a fun game of Crowns afterwards. 
Overall, we had a great Labor Day Weekend! It was extremely busy, but that's what makes it fun. It was nice to be able to see many of our family and friends and also spend one on one time with our boys!